How It Works: Participants solicit pledges before the event, then walk en masse along a designated route.

What It’s Best For: Helping to address an important issue facing a community.

Pros: It’s an effective way to “not only raise funds but also raise consciousness” among people of all ages and interests, says Craig Miller of Los Angeles, the founder of AIDS Walk, a nationwide charity event.

Cons: Most walks take place on public streets, so there may be fees to pay and permits to secure.

Making the Most of It

Plot a course for your walk, then contact city or county officials to reserve it. Miller advises keeping the walk within one city’s limits to avoid dealing with fees or paperwork for multiple jurisdictions.

At least two weeks in advance, create and distribute pledge forms. Ask walkers to collect lump-sum donations before the event (rather than per-mile pledges afterward) so that the totals can be tallied and announced at the end of the walk.

Ask a few volunteers to act as team leaders, helping you to recruit groups of walkers and hand out bottled water and snacks at the staging area, says Dottie Moore, executive director of the Washington State chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.