How Houston Marathon Committee Built a More Proactive Charity Program as Fundraising Grew 37%

The Opportunity

Houston Marathon Committee’s Run for a Reason program turns participation in the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon into meaningful support for local and national charities.

As the program grew, Houston Marathon Committee faced a challenge shared by many large endurance organizations: fundraising success depended on far more than recruiting additional runners and charity partners. The team also needed to keep fundraisers engaged, help charity partners direct their outreach, and prevent registration or account issues from disrupting the runner journey.

That required Houston Marathon Committee to answer important questions while there was still time to act:

• Which fundraisers had fulfilled their commitments?
• Who was progressing toward their goal?
• Who might need additional encouragement or assistance?
• Which charity partners needed updated participant information?
• Where were runners encountering friction in the process?

Without timely answers, the team risked missing opportunities to support fundraisers before deadlines passed. Houston Marathon Committee needed the visibility and control to manage Run for a Reason more proactively as participation and fundraising increased.

The haku Approach

haku gave Houston Marathon Committee direct access to the information needed to move from reactive program administration to more proactive fundraiser and partner support.

Instead of waiting for reports to be compiled or piecing together information across disconnected processes, the team could see fundraiser progress, registration status, applications, donations, and charity partner activity within haku.

“The ability for me to pull the information I need when I need it, without having to bother anyone, that is probably the best thing,” said Augie Rayner, Charity Program Manager at Houston Marathon Committee.

That access mattered because it allowed Houston Marathon Committee to act on the data. The team could identify fundraisers who were falling behind, share relevant information with charity partners, and address issues that might otherwise prevent runners from participating or fundraising successfully.

Turning Fundraiser Data Into Timely Action

Fundraising progress is most valuable when teams can act on it before the campaign ends.

Using haku’s participant fundraiser reporting, Houston Marathon Committee can see every runner with an active fundraising account and evaluate their progress toward their commitment. The team can distinguish between fundraisers who have already met their goals, those who are progressing as expected, and those who may benefit from additional outreach.

This allows Houston Marathon Committee and its charity partners to focus their attention where it can have the greatest impact. Rather than treating every fundraiser the same, they can prioritize the runners who need encouragement, guidance, or reminders while there is still time to improve their results.

That creates a clear path from insight to action:

• haku surfaces current fundraiser progress
• Houston Marathon Committee identifies where support is needed
• Charity partners can target their outreach more effectively
• Fundraisers receive relevant support before campaign deadlines

“All that information is at our fingertips,” Augie said.

This more proactive approach has helped Houston Marathon Committee strengthen the way it manages fundraising across Run for a Reason as the program has grown.

Giving Charity Partners More Actionable Support

Run for a Reason’s success also depends on Houston Marathon Committee’s ability to support a diverse network of charity partners.

With direct access to current fundraiser information, the team can respond to partner questions more quickly and provide clearer direction about which runners may require attention. Charity partners can use that information to follow up with participants, encourage fundraising activity, and focus their limited time on the areas with the greatest potential impact.

haku also supports more complex reporting requests that Houston Marathon Committee or its partners cannot resolve independently. This combination of accessible data and responsive assistance helps keep campaigns moving without forcing partners to wait for the information they need.

“I would have to say that the best thing is the responsiveness of the haku team,” Augie said.

Removing Obstacles From the Charity Runner Journey

Fundraising performance can suffer when runners encounter friction during registration or account setup. This becomes especially important when participants need to move between registration pathways or already have fundraising activity connected to another account.

For example, a runner may initially register through open registration and later need to transfer into Run for a Reason. Previously, resolving that type of exception could involve multiple systems, manual coordination, and several rounds of communication over multiple days.

With the runner’s registration and fundraising activity available through haku, Houston Marathon Committee can investigate the issue in context and frequently resolve it within one business day.

Faster resolution helps prevent individual account issues from becoming barriers to participation or fundraising. It also gives charity partners greater confidence that their runners will receive support when unusual situations arise.

Augie experienced the participant journey herself when she created fundraising pages for her children. Using one email address, she was able to set up both pages and receive registration and donation updates throughout the process.

That experience reinforced the importance of a journey that works not only for administrators, but also for the families and runners using it.

Building the Operational Foundation for Growth

From 2019 to 2025, fundraising through Run for a Reason increased by 37%.

That growth reflects Houston Marathon Committee’s broader work to develop the program, engage fundraisers, and equip charity partners for success. haku provided the operational foundation that helped the team manage those efforts with greater visibility and control.

With haku, Houston Marathon Committee can:

• Identify fundraisers who may need support before deadlines pass
• Give charity partners timely data to guide participant outreach
• Address registration and fundraising issues before they interrupt the runner journey
• Manage applications, registrations, donations, and progress tracking together
• Maintain a responsive participant experience as the program grows

The result is not simply greater access to data. It is a more proactive approach to managing fundraiser performance, supporting charity partners, and keeping runners moving toward their commitments.

The Results

• 37% increase in Run for a Reason fundraising from 2019 to 2025
• Earlier identification of fundraisers who are behind goal and may need support
• Faster access to actionable data for Houston Marathon Committee and its charity partners
• Greater operational control across applications, registration, fundraising, and partner support

What Endurance Organizations Can Learn From Houston

Growing a charity program requires more than attracting additional runners. It requires an operating model that helps every participant and partner contribute successfully.

Houston Marathon Committee’s experience demonstrates how timely information can influence what a team does next. Fundraiser reporting enables earlier intervention. Actionable participant data helps charity partners focus their outreach. Faster issue resolution keeps runners from getting stuck. Connected program oversight allows the organization to maintain control as fundraising grows.

With this foundation in place, Houston Marathon Committee has built a charity program that is better equipped to translate increased participation into measurable fundraising impact.