Run for it!

The Run for IT!  fundraising event was launched in 2012. A few NGOs in some other major cities in the country came up with a similar project last year, the Swimathon. That program was based on swimming. We considered the run more feasible in our Odorhei. A Run for IT! is a fundraising project, which helps raise the necessary funds for the efforts of local NGOs.

The success of the program lies in its widespread mobilization and networking.

NGOs, donors (individuals and businesses) and volunteers will take part in the action. The culmination of the program is the actual sporting event, the running / walking in the City Park, which will be different this year due to the epidemiological situation, so each team will run / walk in different locations at the same time.

The project will take place as follows: the NGOs will apply with a community building project, while recruiting ambassadors (runners) who sympathize with the project. Donors donate through ambassadors. They can make an offer for the number of laps the runners will accomplish, or they can support with a fixed amount. Ambassadors run their laps on the day of the event.

During the first 5 years, 658 runners participated, 8054 km were run, 4320 supporters helped the program, 6081 donations were received, 66 community projects were implemented and 256754 RON was collected.

During the 6th Run for IT! 406 ambassadors (from 34 settlements) collected donations. On that year, runners ran more than 3000 laps, which means more than 4000 km. 2088 supporters joined the action (with 4154 donations) to help realize the ideas of 34 NGOs. They made offers from 182 settlements and 14 countries (Hungary, Switzerland, Ireland, England, Denmark, Austria, Australia, Canada, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, the United States, France, Germany).

In the year of 2018, 342 runners were ready to join the event, 29 out of them ran abroad or in some other settlements of the country: Canada (Montreal), United States (Oakland, Los Angeles), Hungary, Macedonia, Germany, Sweden, as well as Zetelaka, Sepsiszentgyörgy, Torda, Bucharest, Arad, Konstanca. They ran a total of 3200 km.

35 NGOs participated in the 7th Run for HIM!, 15 of them were new (in the program). 2618 donors helped NGOs from 133 domestic settlements and 13 countries. (England, British Virgin Islands, Denmark, United States, Netherlands, Iceland, Canada, Hungary, Germany, Norway, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden). This year, a total of 202162 RON donations were received.

The 8th Run for IT! fundraising event had 389 ambassadors, 16 of whom completed the run at other locations. A total of 3502 km (this is the length of a highway to Portugal). In 2019, a donation of  266 509 RON was collected. Thus, this year there were a total of 4753 donations and 2960 donors, who, in addition to Romania, came from Argentina, the United States, England, the Philippines, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Canada, Hungary, Germany, Norway, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Serbia and Wales.

In 2020, 24 NGOs have pledged to join the Run for IT! fundraising event to raise the profile of their community effort and to work with their ambassadors to support that. 12 out of these 24 NGOs have participated in the project for for the first time. With their enthusiasm and perseverance, they have achieved exemplary results. All together 274,423 RON was raised. This is 90% more than the target amount of 144,125 RON, that the project promoters had planned at the beginning of the program.

2021 was the 10th anniversary year of the Run for IT! programme. This year 33 NGOs or initiative groups joined the event, many of them for the first time. 558 ambassadors helped to fundraise for 33 community causes. A new feature was that ambassadors on bikes could also enter, with 162 people cycling in the 10th Run for IT! on 10th October. There was no shortage of enthusiasm and determination this year, with donations coming in well over the planned amount. A total of 524 182 lei was donated to community causes.

In 2022, the Fuss NEKI! fundraising sports event celebrated its 11th anniversary — and its record-breaking year. A total of 731 ambassadors (529 runners and 202 cyclists) joined the participating civil organizations, raising a record amount of 692,961 lei to help achieve various community goals.
The initiative brought together 5,450 individual supporters, who made 8,836 contributions to help realize the visions of 44 civil organizations — 17 of which took part in Fuss NEKI! for the very first time.

The highlight of the program — the well-known collective community run — returned to the Odorheiu Secuiesc City Park. At the same time, following the model of 2020 and 2021, participants could also choose alternative routes or locations where they could run, walk, or cycle on the day of the event, either individually or in teams.

A novelty of that year was that, thanks to the project “Civil Triangle for Community Philanthropy,” the first Fuss NEKI! events in the region were also organized in two additional locations — Miercurea Ciuc (on May 21) and Gheorgheni (on September 25).

In 2023, small efforts brought about great changes. On Sunday, October 8, 50 civil organizations were represented at the start line by 927 ambassadors. Among them, 554 put on their running shoes, 253 cycled, and 120 completed their pledged distance by walking. During the fundraising period, 7,697 people donated nearly 1,093,000 lei, once again proving that small efforts can lead to significant transformations.
To our delight, the ambassadors used their creativity to raise support and took an active part in the fundraising games. Unlike previous years, the event was held in the city center of Odorheiu Secuiesc, in Márton Áron Square.

In 2024, many initiatives once again had the opportunity to raise funds and thus turn their ideas into reality. On Saturday, October 5, 46 civil organizations lined up at the start with 811 ambassadors. 493 ran, 190 cycled, 116 completed their distance by walking, and — as a novelty — horseback riding was also an option, with 12 ambassadors completing their route on horseback.
During the donation period, 7,222 people contributed nearly 936,924 lei, showing once again that small efforts can create big change.
This year, too, many ambassadors came up with creative ways to gather support and actively participated in the fundraising games. The event, just like the previous year, took place in the city center of Odorheiu Secuiesc, in Márton Áron Square.

In 2025, nearly fifty initiatives were given the opportunity to raise funds and thus bring their ideas to life. On Saturday, October 4, 49 civil organizations took part with 927 ambassadors at the start line. 526 ran, 221 cycled, 171 walked their pledged distance, and 9 chose horseback riding.
During the fundraising period, a total of 15,336 contributions amounted to 896,996 lei, once again demonstrating that small efforts can lead to big changes.
The event, as in the previous year, took place in the heart of Odorheiu Secuiesc, in Márton Áron Square.

Our goal is to continue to help at least 20–30 NGOs a year through this program.