FAQs

No, but we encourage all participants to set competitive goals for themselves and for their team to help us raise critical funds for the cancer community. Don’t worry if you have never done peer-to-peer fundraising – we can help!

Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, 100% of all participant-raised dollars support EMF's portfolio of funds:

• Discovery Fund at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
• Innovation Fund at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
• SAMFund which provides financial assistance to young adult cancer survivors

Yes!

Once you register on the website, you will automatically receive a personal fundraising page. Team captains will create Team pages.

Yes, a donation can be made to your team page. If a donation is made on your individual page, it is credited to you and your team. If a donation is made on your team's page, the donor will have the option to credit the donation to a specific individual. If the donor does not select an individual, the donation will go to the team, without individual credit.

Yes! Check out our fundraising tip section of the website for some helpful tips on how to maximize your fundraising. 

For starters, here are our four best practices: 

1. Personalize your page
2. Share on social media
3. Email your contacts
4. Rule of 3 reminders – people appreciate reminders!

Yes! If a donor is donating in a way other than a credit card, they should complete this form so you get credit on your page. 

Donors may contribute by sending a check or donate through their Donor Advised Fund, as well as through payroll deductions, stock, United Way or company matches. Please make checks out to Expect Miracles Foundation and send donations to: Expect Miracles Foundation 89 South Street, Suite 701 Boston, MA 02111 Expect Miracles Foundation (tax ID: 20-4127495) is a registered 501c3 nonprofit organization. Donations are deductible to the full extent allowed by applicable tax laws.

Please use this form to get credit for any donations that are not made via credit cards. 

No, but it can be! While most participants ask for donations to support their participation in the Distance Challenge, you may ask people to pledge a certain amount for each mile you complete (i.e. $5/mile). You will need to personally keep track of your pledges so that you can follow up with those supporters after you finish the Distance Challenge.

Yes!

Anyone 2 and above can participate! Do keep in mind, however, that there are two types of teams: a Corporate Team and a Friends & Family team. A Corporate Team should mainly include employees of that company.

Teams are welcome to name more than one captain to help rally, lead, and motivate their team to reach their fundraising and mileage goals. However, due to restrictions on the website, only one person can technically register and be listed as a Team Captain on the fundraising page. If you do have more than one captain, feel free to mention so on your fundraising page & contact us to let us know: (DistanceChallenge@expectmiraclesfoundation.org). 

Every company is different. If you want to create friendly competition between your office locations or business groups, having multiple teams is a great strategy. Or, if you’d like to have just one large company team, that’s fine too!  

When an individual registers they will select an “organization.” So even if your employees are on different teams, you will be able to see an aggregate fundraising and mileage leaderboard based on teams and organizations.

Yes, donations can be made to a team page.

If a donation is made on your team's page, the donor will have the option to credit the donation to a specific individual. If the donor does not select an individual, the donation will go to the team, without individual credit.

If a donation is made on your individual page, it is credited to you and your team.

Logging miles will begin on May 13. The EMF Distance Challenge mobile app is a new and easy way to track your distances this year.

Download the app today:

iOS: App Store

Android: Google Play

Or simply search "EMF Distance Challenge" in the App Store or Google Play!

A "My Fitness Activity" dashboard section will appear on the backend of our Distance Challenge Webite and Mobile App on May 13. Within the app, you can connect wearables of Strava, Garmin, and Apple Fitness.

You can manually enter / self-submit your mileage on the backend of our website in the "My Fitness Activity" dashboard.

You can also manually enter / self submit your mileage through the mobile app.  

Apple Watch fitness will be able to sync through our new mobile app this year. You will need to start and stop a workout to send them into your distance tracking. General steps will not be automatically sent to the app. Be sure to only log the activity type you registered for (run/walk, bike or other). Any activity of a different type logged in this app (i.e., biking if you registered for run/walk) will not count toward the total activity logged on your webpage and leaderboards.

Download the app today:

iOS: App Store

Android: Google Play

Or simply search "EMF Distance Challenge" in the App Store or Google Play!

If you have downloaded EMF's Distance Challenge Mobile App, then Peloton acitivites through Strava can flow into the event. Only the activity type you registered for (run/walk, bike or other) will flow into the Distance Challenge website. Any activity of a different type logged in this app (i.e., biking if you registered for run/walk) will not count toward the total activity logged on your webpage and leaderboards.

Download the app today:

iOS: App Store

Android: Google Play

Or simply search "EMF Distance Challenge" in the App Store or Google Play!

That's great! We are excited to hear you will be doing something that gets you moving for the Distance Challenge. You are welcome to swim, dance, rollerblade, etc! If you would like to submit your distance in the fitness tracker on the backend of the website, you are welcome to, but please note the leaderboards will only display biking & run/walk. Our staff will send you a conversion sheet for how to track your acitivity in mileage. You will still be seen on the fundraising leaderboard! 

No, just mileage. 

During the week of May 13-20, you can view leaderboards on our website and track organization, team, and individual; fundraising & mileage.

Yes, each participant may run, walk or bike as many times as they would like during the day / week.

That is perfectly fine!

For running and walking: Participants can run or walk outdoors, run or walk on a treadmill, or use an elliptical to log miles.

For biking: Participants can bike outdoors or track via a stationary bike. 

For "other" activity: You can track your activity by time. Our staff will send you a conversion sheet to change your time to mileage. Unfortunately, we will not have a leaderboard for miscellaneous activities but your fundraising will be shown on the fundraising leaderboards!

For questions, please contact us: DistanceChallenge@expectmiraclesfoundation.org

Log in using the same email and password you used to register for the event. If you’ve forgotten your password, simply tap “Forgot Password” and follow the link sent to your email to reset it.

Visit the Overview Page to view your progress. Scroll right to see how your team is doing and check the overall event progress.

On the Fundraise Page, you'll find everything you need to make fundraising easy and effective:

• A QR code specific to your fundraising page
• Suggested messages to share via text or other platforms
• A fundraising link you can copy and paste to social media

On the Donations Page, you'll see the donor’s name, donation amount, and date. You’ll also have access to their email address so you can thank them directly.

On the Donations Page under “Thank Donors”, we provide a few sample notes you can use, or you can create your own. You can also personally text your thank you or share your thanks on another platform including Facebook & LinkedIn.

Go to the Manage Page to update your personal or team fundraising pages. You can:

• Change your photo
• Edit your personal story
• Share why the Distance Challenge matters to you

Go to the Overview Page to update your personal or team fundraising goal. In the center where it says Your Progress, on the bottom right hand side, there is a blue “Edit Goal” hyperlink.

On the Recruit Page, you’ll find:

• A unique QR code to share with friends and family
• Pre-written recruitment messages ready to copy into text, email, Facebook, or LinkedIn

The Distance Challenge Leaderboard shows real-time rankings for individuals, teams, and organizations. Starting May 13, the Fitness Tracking feature will launch, giving you mileage rankings by activity and overall impact.

Beginning May 13, use the Fitness Tracking feature to log your daily mileage. Be sure to track only the miles for the activity you registered for.

At this time, only EMF staff can update your mileage goal. Starting May 13, a new "My Fitness Activity" section will appear on the website, allowing you to update your goal directly.

Beginning May 13, the Fitness Tracking feature will be available. You can either connect your app to Strava, Garmin, Apple Health or Google Fitness, or manually enter your distances.