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How to Run a Sneaker Drive: The Step-by-Step Guide

A sneaker drive, or athletic shoe drive fundraiser, is a unique, sustainable fundraising option that requires no upfront costs. Plus, it’s an easy way to give your pre-loved sneakers a new home where they’re recirculated to second-hand markets rather than tossed into a landfill. 

In this guide, we’ll explore the ins and outs of sneaker drives and how you can launch a successful one with Sneakers4Good. Here’s a brief overview:

  • What is a sneaker drive?
  • Who can run an athletic shoe drive?
  • How to run a sneaker drive fundraiser in 4 steps
  • Benefits of recycling athletic shoes 

You can repurpose your athletic shoes in many ways, but a sneaker drive is a proven way to help the environment, give back, and earn funds. 

This win-win-win outcome is easy to achieve when you team up with an expert partner like Sneakers4Good. Our team can guide you through the process with step-by-step resources and offer knowledgeable, around-the-clock customer service to support your athletic shoe drive.

What is a sneaker drive?

A sneaker drive is a sustainable way to trade in your gently worn, new, and used athletic shoes for funds. Any group that goes through running shoes can transform their gently used sneakers into hard-earned cash by collecting them and shipping them off to a recycling partner to be repurposed. 

In return, you’ll receive a check within 24 hours of shipping arrival, making this eco-friendly fundraising idea a great opportunity for running clubs, retailers, and marathoners! 

Who can run an athletic shoe drive?

At Sneakers4Good, we’ve partnered with the following groups and can provide you with expert tips for collecting sneakers:

 

Schools

Cross-country or track teams, school athletic departments, or even entire middle and high schools can raise money for their programs and favorite causes with a running shoe drive fundraiser. It’s a great fundraiser for kids because plenty of students have extra gently worn, used and new athletic shoes they’d be happy to donate. The fundraiser also provides plenty of opportunities to show team and school spirit.

A location near your school’s gym is a good location for a collection site, as are classrooms or homerooms if you’re getting the whole school involved. Want to encourage participation? Make the fundraiser a competition, offering a prize to the class or homeroom that collects the most shoes.

A running shoe drive fundraiser is perfect for funding the costs of team travel or new gym equipment, but your school can also use the fundraiser to raise money for a local charitable organization.

Cross-country or track teams, school athletic departments, or even entire middle and high schools can raise money for their programs and favorite causes with a running shoe drive fundraiser. It’s a great fundraiser for kids because plenty of students have extra gently worn, used and new athletic shoes they’d be happy to donate. The fundraiser also provides plenty of opportunities to show team and school spirit.

A location near your school’s gym is a good location for a collection site, as are classrooms or homerooms if you’re getting the whole school involved. Want to encourage participation? Make the fundraiser a competition, offering a prize to the class or homeroom that collects the most shoes.

College Campuses

A running shoe drive fundraiser is perfect for funding the costs of team travel or new gym equipment, but your school can also use the fundraiser to raise money for a local charitable organizationA running shoe drive fundraiser is great for college teams that may need to cover travel expenses. Your team can also partner with other student organizations to use the fundraiser to raise money for charity.

Make your on-campus collection sites easy to access, near locations such as the gym and the residence halls. Lots of students will have athletic shoes they can donate. Encourage members of participating organizations as well as supporters of your fundraiser to spread the word in person and on social media!

In addition to raising money for your team, student organization, or favorite charitable cause, this fundraiser works well as a way to draw attention to environmental concerns. Repurposing the shoes gives them a second life and keeps them from being thrown away when students no longer want them.

Running Clubs

Do you meet with friends in your community to go on morning or evening runs, train for races, and motivate each other? Apply that camaraderie to planning and hosting a running shoe drive fundraiser to benefit your group’s favorite cause.

Serious runners are advised to change their shoes for every 300-500 miles they run. It means that if your club’s members run regularly, it’s likely that they have plenty of pairs of gently worn, used and new athletic shoes to donate!

Your group’s regular meeting place is an excellent collection location if it’s indoors. Otherwise, one of your members can be responsible for collecting the shoes at their house or another location. Don’t forget to encourage other friends to participate in your running shoe drive fundraiser!

A running shoe drive fundraiser is a great choice for your group because it’s easy to set up and connects to the activity that you share regularly. You’ll enjoy working together to collect the shoes for a good cause.

Gyms

If you’re a member of a gym or owner, this can be a great location for a running shoe drive fundraiser, especially if you know several of the other members. Work together with them to choose a good cause to support and set up the fundraiser.

The gym is an excellent location to collect athletic shoes. Members are already thinking about athletic wear when they’re preparing to go to the gym, so it’s easy for them to remember to bring an extra pair of shoes to donate. Some of them may even have a pair they don’t wear often hiding in their gym bag or locker!

Make sure that the other members of your gym are aware of your running shoe drive fundraiser. It’s likely that they have friends who may be interested in contributing a pair of shoes, so encourage them to spread the word about your fundraiser.

Community Athletic Leagues

If you participate in a community athletic league with several teams, you’re connected to a lot of people who likely have extra gently worn, used and new athletic shoes they’d be happy to donate. Set up a collection location at your community or recreation center and spread the word!

Want to encourage a little friendly competition? Offer a prize to the team who contributes the most shoes to the fundraiser. You can give each one a collection station in your community center, showcasing their team colors, to motivate donations and keep track of which team is in the lead.

Contributors don’t have to be limited to your league’s team members—be sure to spread the word at your community center and on social media, encouraging even more people to participate in this fundraiser for your league or a good cause of your choice.

5K / 10K Runs 

Because many 5K, 10K, and other road races support charitable causes, many registrants expect to donate when they choose to enter the competition. For a unique variant on this formula, organizers of these races can ask participants to bring an extra pair of running shoes with them to donate.

Road races are a great opportunity for sneaker recycling because they attract the perfect participants! Runners are highly likely to have a pair of shoes they’d be happy to give. They get to clear out their closets and then have fun competing in the race!

Collect the trainers from participants, as well as the friends, family members, and supporters cheering them on, before the race as a registration donation. Volunteers can collect the sneakers and provide information on the good cause your running shoe drive fundraiser is supporting.

Running and Sports Stores

Running and sports stores can benefit from a running shoe drive fundraiser just as individuals can! If your store has running or other athletic shoes that you cannot or have not sold, partner with a facilitator to participate in sneaker recycling.

Your facilitator will provide you with the materials you need to ship the unsold merchandise to their warehouse. In return, you’ll receive a check for the athletic shoes you donate within just a few days.

Using your unsold merchandise to participate in a running shoe drive fundraiser is environmentally friendly and helps small business owners in developing nations. It’s a great solution to the problem of extra running shoes that you have difficulty selling.

For students, athletes, business owners, and many other individuals, a running shoe drive fundraiser is an excellent way to connect your interests to a good cause that can help several communities. Easy to start and carry out, running shoe drive fundraisers are also a great way to build community and team spirit!

Click here to partner with Sneakers4Good

Walkathons

Does your group want to raise money and awareness for your favorite charitable cause or organization? A walkathon is an excellent way to have fun, get active, and spread the word about organizations that are doing great work in your community and beyond.

Typically, walkathon participants collect pledges from supporters before the event. These supporters agree to contribute a defined amount for every mile (or other units of distance) the participants walk. While you can use this model to set up your walkathon, you can also ask for a different kind of donation: your participants’ gently worn, used and new athletic shoes!

Have volunteers collect your participants’ athletic shoes after they complete the walkathon. You can also encourage participants to bring extra pairs to donate, making your walkathon running shoe drive even more successful. Once the sneakers are cleaned, they’ll be ready for repurposing.

How to run a sneaker drive fundraiser in 4 steps


If you’re part of a group that regularly uses running shoes, sneaker drive fundraisers are a relevant and effective way to repurpose them. Not to mention, they are easy to set up. You can get started with these quick steps:

The steps of how to run a sneaker drive fundraiser, as explained below

1. Contact Sneakers4Good for a recycling kit.

Get started on the right foot by partnering with a sneaker recycling program facilitator like Sneakers4Good. Our dedicated sneaker recycling kit provides a pre-paid shipping bag for you to fill with sneakers as you collect them from your community. Other supplies and resources you’ll have on hand include:

  • A Welcome Kit of collection materials, strategy sheets, and goal charts
  • Weekly tip emails to help plan and execute a successful shoe drive fundraiser
  • Digital folder of pre-built social media posts & captions
  • Flyer templates, press release guide, and volunteer sign-up sheets
  • A dedicated fundraising coaching team from start to finish
  • A full library of YouTube “How To” videos and fundraising tips
  • Free access to our annual webinar series to take your organization to the next level! Equipped with these materials, you’ll be ready to raise awareness and collect sneakers from your coworkers, friends, and family quickly and easily.

2. Collect gently worn, new, and used athletic shoes.

After receiving your sneaker recycling kit, it’s time to spread the word and collect gently worn, new, and used sneakers from your community. Set up a few convenient collection locations, post on social media, and share the news among your networks to encourage participation.

3. Ship the sneakers in pre-paid shipping bags.

When you partner with us, we’ll support you every step of the way. Plus, our free shipping bags will fit 10-15 sneakers per bag. Just keep athletic shoes together by rubber-banding them or tying their laces together.

Then, take the filled bags to UPS or your preferred carrier and ship them to the Sneakers4Good warehouse.

4. Receive a check issued for the athletic shoes.

The amount of money your group receives depends on the number of athletic shoes you collect. Specifically, Sneakers4Good offers X dollars per pair, so make sure you spread the word about your running shoe drive fundraiser and choose a collection site that’s easy for your supporters to notice and access.

After you ship the running shoes you collect and we receive them, you’ll get a check within days.

Benefits of recycling running shoes

Still not sure if a sneaker drive is right for you? Unlike other traditional fundraisers, sneaker recycling programs are opportunities to raise funds and save the environment—all without any buying or selling on your behalf. Check out these notable advantages of sneaker drives:

  • Supports the circular economy. Sneaker recycling reduces waste by promoting the reuse of materials. Rather than discarding rubber, foam, and textiles after use, sneaker recycling conserves these natural resources by repurposing the materials already in circulation.
  • Conserves energy and natural resources. Sneaker drives bypass the energy-intensive processes of extracting, transporting, and processing these raw materials, leading to substantial energy savings. 
  • Creates opportunities. The pre-loved sneakers can be resold to those in need. At Sneakers4Good, we partner with over 4,000 micro-enterprises in developing countries to provide gently used athletic shoes they can resell. 

The shoes collected after your shoe drive fundraiser become an economic lifeline for individuals and families in developing nations facing systemic poverty, lack of education, and economic opportunity. Sneakers4Good works with individuals who create micro-businesses, essentially small businesses.

These commerce and sustainable opportunities make it easy to keep your old sneakers out of landfills and give them to those who need them the most—all while raising funds!

Raise funds and do good with Sneakers4Good

When you partner with Sneakers4Good, you’ll work with a team of passionate, experienced experts. Since we began pursuing our social enterprise work, we’ve achieved:

Statistics illustrating Sneaker4Good’s environmental impact, as explained in the text below.

  • Over 2,927 sneaker recycling partners nationwide.
  • More than $16 million paid to partners and their local charities.
  • Rescued 15 million pairs of sneakers from landfills worldwide.

We have a proven track record of successfully repurposing running shoes and giving you the funds to put toward the causes that matter most. Unlike other fundraising events, sneaker drives are incredibly versatile and promote a culture of sustainability and physical activity. 

Interested in learning more about recycling sneakers? Check out these resources:

Click here to start recycling sneakers with sneakers4Good

Shoe Lace

GOT QUESTIONS?

We’ve got answers! We get it, getting paid to recycle sneakers may seem too good to be true. But we promise to make it as easy as possible. Check out our Frequently Asked Questions page, which might answer some of those burning questions, then give us a call!
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