CHARITY RESOURCES
We’re pleased to share that exciting changes coming to our events in 2027! The Bank of America Chicago Distance Series is partnering with Let’s Do This (LDT) and GivenGain to strategically build on the success of our events and the respective charity programs for years to come.
We recognize changes like this can raise questions. Please know that supporting you and your team through this process is our top priority.
This page will be updated as information becomes available, so please continue to check back.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Event Contact: eventpartnerrelations@cemevent.com
GivenGain Contact: chicago@givengain.com
MATERIALS
WEBINAR RECORDINGS
FAQs
Question? Please view the frequently asked questions below to find the answers to your questions.
The following FAQs will continue to be updated as information becomes available.*
*Updates as of March 24, 2026.
- NEW PLATFORMS
Why is the Bank of America Chicago Distance Series changing registration and fundraising platforms?
Event organizers continually evaluate the tools that support the Bank of America Chicago Distance Series Charity Programs to ensure they meet the evolving needs of runners and partners. Beginning with the 2027 event cycle, the series will transition to multi-year strategic partnership with Let’s Do This (LDT) and GivenGain to provide a modern registration and fundraising infrastructure. This change will support improved fundraising capabilities, enhanced reporting and a more seamless participant experience.A partnership between best-in-class registration and fundraising platforms delivers a superior user experience by combining two purpose-built solutions, each optimized for its own specialty.
What specific benefits will charities see from the GivenGain and Let’s Do This (LDT) partnership?
The integration of LDT’s registration platform with GivenGain’s fundraising tools creates a connected journey for participants and that directly benefits charities in a number of ways:- Earlier engagement: With fundraising embedded into the registration flow, charities are introduced to participants at the point of sign-up, giving them more time to build relationships and inspire giving before race day.
- Greater reach: LDT’s participant base and social tools (team registration, referrals, invite features) mean charity campaigns have a wider network to tap into from the start.
- Streamlined setup: Charities can get up and running on GivenGain quickly. Fundraising pages take under 60 seconds to create, reducing the administrative burden for smaller organizations with limited resources.
- A 100% nonprofit fee structure: GivenGain’s nonprofit model means charities keep the vast majority of what is raised, with a focus on fee transparency and a “donor covers the fee” model, which encourages donors to cover the processing fee, so charities don’t have to. The platform fee does not go to shareholders or into for-profit pockets but rather is reinvested into the GivenGain Foundation for it to continue improving its operations and technology.
- Data and visibility: Charities gain access to real-time fundraising performance data, leaderboards and campaign tools that help them understand what’s working and engage their fundraisers more effectively.
How will this decision benefit the Charity Program overall?
The transition is designed to strengthen the Charity Program by providing charities with powerful fundraising tools, global donation capabilities and enhanced support resources.Charities will benefit from improved reporting, easier campaign management and a more streamlined experience for fundraisers and donors. Most importantly, this change positions the program to continue growing its impact in the years ahead.
What does this mean for charities participating in Bank of America Chicago Distance Series events?
The new partnerships are designed to serve the Bank of America Chicago Distance Series charity partners for the long-haul, with improvements made year over year to ensure optimization and continued success.This addresses several goals: modernizing the fundraising experience, expanding global donation capabilities, improving data and reporting tools for charities and creating a more integrated journey between registration and fundraising. The objective is to make it easier for runners to fundraise and easier for charities to manage and grow their campaigns.
How does this support long-term growth in my charity’s fundraising totals?
GivenGain is purpose-built for endurance fundraising and helps charities activate more fundraisers, reach more donors globally and better track performance. By improving the fundraising experience for participants and providing charities with stronger tools and insights, the GivenGain platform supports higher engagement and stronger fundraising outcomes over time.As part of GivenGain’s global giving community, charities enjoy year-round access to the platform and its full suite of tools, supporting fundraising across all Bank of America Chicago Distance Series events and beyond. There is no cost to use the platform for additional events or endurance races, providing a unified solution for your charity’s peer-to-peer fundraising long term and outside of a single race.
What will change for participants who have registered for Bank of America Chicago Distance Series events before?
The core experience of registering for the events remains unchanged. What’s new is the technology behind it—faster, more intuitive and personalized to each participant. Additionally, participants will have a seamless option to fundraise for a charity of their choice as part of the registration journey, eliminating the need for a separate process. - FUNDRAISING
How will this help our charity raise more funds?
GivenGain is designed specifically for endurance fundraising, helping charities activate more fundraisers and engage donors more effectively. Through GivenGain’s integration with Let’s Do This (LDT), runners who secured their own entry can opt into fundraising during registration, making it easier to begin their fundraising journey earlier. The platform also expands access to global donors and provides multiple ways for supporters to give. Once onboarded, charities benefit from aggregated fundraising data and insights across future campaigns and events, creating stronger long-term fundraising opportunities beyond the Bank of America Chicago Distance Series.Will international donations be easier?
At its core, GivenGain is a borderless payment processor. Due to its unique structure as a foundation, GivenGain can process donations from all over the world- this means that every fundraiser, charity, and donor has a consistent experience regardless of where they are based. There are no additional fees or hurdles for you to receive donations from international donors, and their governance structures ensures that the strictest of regulatory compliance and financial guidelines are adhered to, with GivenGain assuming that risk, not your charity.GivenGain currently serves charities in more than 100 countries, processing donations from donors and for fundraisers based in 190+ countries.
Do you have results from other major events using GivenGain?
Yes. GivenGain powers fundraising for major endurance events worldwide, including serving as the official fundraising platform for the Boston Marathon Official Charity Program. At the 129th Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America, fundraising on the GivenGain platform supported hundreds of nonprofit partners and thousands of fundraisers who collectively raised more than $50 million for charitable causes. The platform helped charities activate runners earlier, reach donors globally and track fundraising performance in real time.This experience provides a strong foundation for supporting the Bank of America Chicago Distance Series charity program and helping participating charities grow their fundraising impact.
- ADMINISTRATION
Will this create any additional administrative work for our team?
While some processes may change slightly, the transition is designed to streamline administrative work rather than add to it. With day-to-day fundraising visibility on the GivenGain platform, monthly reports are no longer necessary and donor data, tax receipts and reporting are generated automatically. Encouraging fundraisers to collect all their donations directly through the GivenGain platform will help ensure these processes remain efficient and minimize manual work for your team by not having to log anything on the backend.Will financial reconciliation change?
With GivenGain, donations clear for transfer on the first Monday after a 14-day period has lapsed from the date of the donation. For example, if a donation is made on Friday, January 1, 2027, the 14-day period would end on Friday, January 15, 2027, and the donation would clear for transfer on Monday, January 18, 2027.An actual bank account transfer will only be made if the total amount is equal to or higher than the minimum automatic transfer limit set by your charity, which can be updated at any time. There are no transfer fees, even for international donations.
What reporting tools will be available?
Charities receive access to GivenGain’s secure admin platform with visibility across their individual donations (including donor data where consented); active projects, teams and fundraisers; totals raised per project, team and fundraiser. Detailed financial reports for every donation transfer batch, including all relevant reconciliation and payout information are also readily available.All of your charity donation data can be filtered by multiple criteria (e.g., date, team, fundraiser, amount, etc.) and exported in CSV format for offline reporting and accounting purposes.
Is there a cost to use GivenGain?
There is no cost to use GivenGain. Further, there are no paywalls to access certain features or tools, nor to receive an additional level of service. At its core, GivenGain strives to democratize giving and provide a transparent process with any fees listed upfront for the donor to see and no hidden fees for the charity at the end of an event.As a nonprofit foundation, GivenGain has a unique 100% nonprofit donation model:
- 95% of every donation goes directly to the charity
- 5% retained to support GivenGain’s platform and infrastructure (security, compliance, technology, and global support) – all surplus is reinvested into the platform technology and operations.
Payment processing (pass-through)
- Cards and digital payments: ~3.0%
- GivenGain actively encourages donors to cover this total~8% platform and processing fees on behalf of charities – approximately 83% of U.S. donors choose to do so, resulting in more money for the charity and no fee for them or their fundraiser.
The average all-inclusive net effective rate for charities on GivenGain is just 2.56% – lower than a standard 3% credit card fee.
- SUPPORT AND TRAINING
Will training be provided to our team?
Yes. If you have questions about platform usage, you can always schedule a one-on-one walkthrough of the platform with GivenGain. To ensure a smooth transition, charities will have access to the following program-wide support opportunities:- May 14 – Charity Workshop: A best-practices session for charity coordinators covering fundraising strategies. During this session we will also introduce upcoming transition support resources.
- June (dates to be announced) – Transition Support Series: A set of live, topic-focused virtual sessions covering platform integration, new improvements, tools and analytics, along with dedicated Q&A at the end of each session.
All sessions will be recorded and shared as webinars for those unable to attend live.
Is there a dedicated GivenGain support contact for charities?
Yes. The Bank of America Chicago Distance Series team is not changing, and GivenGain comes with a dedicated, best-in-class support team focused on making the journey as smooth as possible. Email is the best way to get your questions addressed quickly, and GivenGain has team members around the globe to ensure questions are answered in a timely manner regardless of the location of your fundraiser or donor.And support does not stop after the onboarding process is complete. Once you join GivenGain, the platform and its support resources are available to power all your charity’s fundraising efforts, even beyond the Bank of America Chicago Distance Series.
