How Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) raised lifesaving funds with their Run 31 challenge
Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) is an independent charity delivering emergency medical care via helicopter. It costs them £20.4 million a year – that’s £56,000 per day – to operate their lifesaving service.
Key results
Driving impact, making a difference
Setting the scene
The situation
Their “Run 31” challenge (run every day in January) came out of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the team realizing that they needed to innovate and test these kind of challenges during uncertain times. This particular campaign, held in January 2025, was their sixth virtual challenge, complementing other digital initiatives like their dog walking challenge “Hound Hike” and various other fitness challenges.
Key to the success of this Run 31 campaign was to maximize fundraiser participation and donations without overwhelming their limited staff resources.
“We’re a small team so keeping on top of the engagement in the Facebook group can be tough,” explains Lola Inge, Running and Challenge Manager at Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS).
More than Facebook fundraising
The GivePanel solution
Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) implemented GivePanel as their central management platform for the Run 31 campaign, which transformed their approach to digital fundraising:
- Multi-platform fundraising: GivePanel’s JustGiving integration allowed participants to choose their preferred platform. “Although these challenges derived from using Facebook tools, we now see more fundraising through JustGiving than we do Facebook.”
- Automated email journeys: “You can build an automated email journey within GivePanel that people are sent off on as soon as they sign up – however simple or advanced you’d like it,” explains Lola. This automation reduced manual workload while maintaining consistent supporter communication.
- Seamless user experience: “GivePanel’s features allow you to create a super smooth user experience from the moment someone sees an ad for your event,” making the supporter journey from awareness to fundraising frictionless.
“GivePanel is a godsend. We manage Run 31 and other virtual fundraising through it.”
– Lola Inge, Running and Challenge Manager, Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS)
Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) complemented GivePanel’s technology with tangible incentives from Bluestep Solutions:
“We ordered our incentives from Bluestep Solutions from T-shirts to trainer tags; they’ve got all you could need! We’ve worked with them for a while now. We order our technical T-shirts, running vests and cycling jerseys from them too, amongst other fundraising resources.”
These physical rewards helped motivate participants throughout the challenge.
To further maximize engagement, Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) developed smart community management strategies:
- Recruiting voluntary “group experts” to help cheer participants on and answer questions
- Recognizing that “the community will naturally build, and you’ll see peer-to-peer support”
- Complementing group engagement with personalized phone calls and messages
The results
The numbers that matter
129
active fundraisers
108%
of active fundraiser target achieved
£31,000+
raised
172%
of fundraising target achieved
£18,300
raised via JustGiving
59%
of total funds raised via JustGiving
2nd
best performing Run31 campaign in history
“We had a team of 129 lifesavers that collectively raised just over £31k, far exceeding our target of £18k. They made this Run 31 our second best performing, following our very first one during the pandemic,” shares Lola.
Key success factors
Key takeaways for other nonprofits
1. Leverage multi-platform fundraising with GivePanel
KSS found that while the challenge originated on Facebook, JustGiving brought in 59% of donations. “Encourage multi-platform fundraising. Don’t forget to encourage traditional offline fundraising too,” advises Lola. GivePanel’s platform integrations make this approach seamless.
2. Create platform-specific supporter journeys
The KSS team recommends creating “an Instagram/JustGiving bespoke journey” to meet different supporters where they are. GivePanel’s automation tools make it possible to create tailored communication streams without multiplying your workload.
3. Use micro-challenges to boost engagement
Test different types of content during the challenge – we found that a micro-challenge like ‘Find your nearest defibrillator’ not only helped them mix up their run but really engaged and educated them,” shares the KSS team. These mini-challenges within the main challenge kept momentum going throughout the month.
4. Convert more leads with GivePanel tools
For future campaigns, KSS plans to “utilize the Lead Ad Performance Tool to nurture and convert leads to turn them into fabulous fundraisers.” This feature helps track which Facebook ads are generating the most valuable leads and automates follow-up communications.
5. Don’t forget non-fundraisers
Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) recommends reaching out to registrants who don’t raise funds: “Tell them you understand that life happens but give them the opportunity to still support the team and share that £X could help buy X.” GivePanel helps identify these segments for targeted outreach.
6. Make repeat participants feel special
“Segment repeat participants and make them feel super special,” advises the KSS team. GivePanel’s data tracking makes it easy to identify returning supporters for VIP treatment, encouraging continued participation year after year.
With GivePanel as their fundraising management platform, Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS)’s small team was able to run a highly successful virtual fundraising challenge that far exceeded targets. As Lola put it: “A challenge worth running – pardon the pun!”