DESJARDINS CHARITY CHALLENGE
Give meaning to every kilometer: Fundraise, support, celebrate!
Participants of Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend 2027 will take to the streets, paths, trails, and treadmills to participate in Canada’s largest hybrid (live and virtual) running event! In 2026, Tamarack Ottawea Race Weekend participants set a new fundraising record and helped the Desjardins Charity Challenge supass $10 million raised since its inception. We’re looking to supercharge taht fundraising total in 2027, by leveraging JustGiving, the world’s leading online fundraising platform.
It has been a few difficult years for many, including the frontline organizations and charities in our community and they need your support now more than ever. The Desjardins Charity Challenge is a way for YOU to help them. This program unites the spirit of runners and walkers with a fundraising platform, in order to raise funds for their charities of choice which enables charities to support and develop much-needed programs in order to help hundreds of thousands of people (and animals!) in need.
Ready to start fundraising?
Not registered for Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend 2027 yet?
- Register for your race
- During registration, select the option to raise funds for a charity.
- After checkout, a JustGiving fundraising page link will be created for you. This is your fundraising page!
- Set up your page right away—and you’re good to go! Start sharing with your networks with the JustGiving fundraising tools!
Already registered?
- Choose a charity from our List of Charities.
- Follow the prompts to set up your fundraising page.
- Need help? Check out the JustGiving Help Document.
Want to fundraise as a team?
Fundraising as a team is a great way to raise even more for your chosen charity!
Here’s how to get started:
- Each team member needs to set up their own individual fundraising page
Follow the steps outlined above.
- Choose your team captain
This person will create the team page on JustGiving.
- Create your team page
– The team captain should log into their JustGiving account and select ‘Create a team’.
– Fill in the team details—what’s your goal? Are you fundraising in memory of someone?
– Under settings, choose ‘Anyone can join’ so others can easily participate.
- Join the team
After setting up their individual JustGiving pages, team members should log into their JustGiving account, visit the team page and click “Join Team” to link their individual pages to the team.
Most asked Questions
I don’t see my charity of choice listed
If your preferred Charity is not on that list, they are likely still onboarding to JustGiving. Please email charitychallenge@runottawa.ca with the name of your charity and we will notify you when you can set up your new pages.
1. Official Charity with the largest total dollars raised
Eligibility: Cumulative total of all online and verified offline donations to Fundraising Runners, Fundraising Teams, and your Charity directly.
1st place – $4,250
2nd place – $2,500
3rd place – $1,500
2. Official Charity with the largest number of Fundraising Runners
Eligibility: Charities must have a minimum of 10 Fundraising Runners registered. Fundraising Runners can be registered in any combination of running events. For this prize category, only donations made directly to an individual who raises a minimum of $50 (online or verified offline) will be included in this calculation.
1st place – $4,250
2nd place – $2,500
3rd place – $1,500
3. Official Charity with the largest average dollars raised per Fundraising Team
Eligibility: Your charity team must have a minimum of 6 Fundraising Runners registered. The average dollars raised will be calculated based on team totals only. For this prize category, only donations made directly to a team or an individual within a team will be included in the calculation. Donations made directly to your charity will not be included in the calculation.
1st place – $4,250
2nd place – $2,500
3rd place – $1,500