Season 2 | Episode 1: Raising The Bar For Your Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers with Pan-Mass Challenge’s Jarrett Collins

In our Season 2 premiere, Jarrett Collins, CEO of the Pan-Mass Challenge talks about how his team sets a high fundraising bar for their riders and how they rise to meet and exceed it.

As professional fundraisers, we often find ourselves playing the role of the “proud beggar”, grateful for every donation we receive, no matter the size. While that is a worthy and admirable approach, it can do a disservice to our participants and to the missions we champion.

Our peer-to-peer participants aren’t just signing up to walk, ride or run – they are signing up to raise funds in support of a cause close to their hearts. Our responsibility is to understand their goals, empower them with effective strategies and inspiration to achieve them and challenge them to go even further.

In the Season 2 premiere, P2PPF’s Marcie Maxwell is joined by Jarrett Collins, CEO of the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC). Together, we’ll discuss how the PMC has grown its bike-a-thon over the past 45 years into a program that today raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the world. Jarrett will share how his team fosters a true culture of philanthropy among its riders and how they continuously motivate them to achieve higher fundraising levels.

In this episode, we’ll also explore:

– How the PMC is leveraging a major fundraising milestone to drive support in 2024
– The average lifecycle of a PMC rider – and how they keep them coming back every year
– The power of recognition

Mentioned Links
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Podcast Guest

Jarrett Collins is the Chief Executive Officer of the Pan-Mass Challenge, the nation’s single most successful athletic fundraising event, leading all aspects of the organization’s operations and its professional staff. He has been riding in the PMC since 2009 and joined the professional staff in 2019.

Prior to the PMC, Jarrett worked for Partners In Health, an international NGO, co-founding and operating their pioneering health sciences university in Rwanda, the University of Global Health Equity. Jarrett has deep experience in for-profit ventures, as well as supporting entrepreneurs as an early-stage technology investor for the first half of his career. He earned his undergraduate degree in engineering from Tufts University and his MBA from the University of Southern California.

Podcast Host

Marcie Maxwell is the Managing Director of the Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum. Marcie joined the P2PPF team in 2021 after 15+ years as a front-line fundraiser, national events & campaign director and fundraising consultant. In her role, Marcie serves as a primary thought leader and community builder for the peer-to-peer fundraising industry. She started her career in fundraising with 10+ years at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where she ran local fundraising events, managed national volunteer partnerships and launched their national walk program. She then spent 5+ years as the Director of Chapter Fundraising Events with Make-A-Wish America, where she provided strategy, support & training to 60 chapters on the full event portfolio – walks, school fundraising, an endurance hiking program and galas & social events. In her most recent role at Charity Dynamics, she partnered with clients to provide strategic guidance and analysis to help them optimize and grow their peer-to-peer fundraising events & campaigns. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from Louisiana State University and a master’s degree in Ethical Leadership from Christian Brothers University. She resides in Memphis, TN.