Fitbit Vs Strava: What’s The Right Fitness App For Your Event? 

Apps like Fitbit and Strava help bridge the physical and digital aspects of your event. They best complement distance-based event or challenge activities and DIY fundraising.

How it works

Your fundraisers connect their JustGiving page to their fitness account, via Fitbit and/or Strava. This will automatically load actions to their page, creating a feed. Individuals share these posts on social media to help solicit funds, raising 40% more than those who do not use fitness apps like these.

Page owners can also utilize features inside the fitness app to facilitate a stronger sense of event participation. For example, in Strava, you can create a group for all your cyclists to train and connect with each other. Or followers can leave a comment on a person’s run.

“We have a close-knit group from all over the country participating in our event. By having the tracking info available on our website, it keeps them engaged with each other and talking about the event more often, which brings a little friendly competition and makes it easier recruiting donations.”

-Jonathan Cain, Community Engagement Manager, Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund)

Not only do these apps help your fundraiser’s feel more engaged, physically, to your event. They also help the events come to life! The Virtual Race for Nature asked participants to use Strava to map out animals or elements of the natural world. This brought supporter engagement and creativity to the forefront, making the fundraiser even more fun.

When to use Strava:

• Your fundraisers may be nervous or hesitant to ask friends to donate; sharing a fitness activity is a natural lead

• Virtual, offsite participation is offered

• Fundraisers want a visual of the routes they take, like a map view

• It is desirable to track the distance of a run, walk, ride or swim

• Team or school sport fundraising

• Endurance-based events that warrant training routes

When to encourage the use of Fitbit:

• Your fundraisers may be nervous or hesitant to ask friends to donate; sharing a fitness activity is a natural lead

• Virtual, offsite participation is offered

• Accountability for step tracking is desirable

• You are hosting a step-based challenge

• Individuals can fundraise on your behalf DIY-style and some might like to host their own step challenge (like, walk 1 million steps in 3 months, while raising money).

• Employee wellness/step challenges

Don’t forget that you can upload a picture showing how to connect the app to their page, which encourages folks to set up Strava or Fitbit right away. We share instructions here.

Now, let’s get out there and use these apps to help virtual participants feel included and fundraisers raise more! Drop a link to your next event with fitness tracking below!