The bold, brilliant campaign that makes fundraisers feel like they belong
Some campaigns just give themselves away—you can tell they were built by people who are obsessed with their supporters.
It shows in how they think about the experience. Not just the big picture—the cause, the brand, the fundraising goal—but the emotional reality of the people they’re asking to show up. The ones carving out time in the margins of busy lives. The ones hovering over the signup button, wondering if this is for them. Maybe even feeling a little nervous or awkward about asking friends and family for donations.
Sweat with Pride gets that. And it turns that understanding into action—building every touchpoint to say, loud and clear: You belong here.
That’s what makes it such a standout.
Peer-to-peer fundraising can be exhilarating. But it can also be deeply vulnerable.
You're putting yourself out there. Signing up publicly. Asking for donations. Sharing personal goals and moments. For many people—especially those in LGBTQIA+ communities—it’s not just a physical or fundraising challenge. It’s an emotional leap.
Sweat with Pride doesn’t just invite people in. It makes them feel like they belong—from the very first click.
It makes people feel confident, celebrated, and part of something bigger—something best explored by signing up and experiencing it for yourself!
Genius move: when you sign up for Sweat with Pride, you choose your own "Perspirational Trainer"—a drag-tastic coach who’ll hype you up, cheer you on, and guide you through your sweat journey all month long.
A campaign built on community, and now crossing borders
Created by Burnett Foundation Aotearoa, Sweat with Pride has steadily grown into one of the region’s most vibrant, community-first peer-to-peer campaigns. With support from Mix Digital, the campaign has evolved into something that’s not just fun and fabulous, but emotionally intelligent.
Now, it’s launching in Australia for the first time—led by Rainbow Giving Australia, with support from Donor Republic and with Mix Digital continuing with their implementation expertise. This June, supporters across the country are being challenged to get sweaty for 21 minutes a day and raise funds for LGBTQIA+ health and wellbeing.
The Australian campaign is proudly funding projects in partnership with ACON and Minus18—two organisations doing vital work to support and uplift LGBTQIA+ communities.
We’re thrilled to see this bold, beloved campaign expand as Rainbow Giving brings the Sweat with Pride experience to a whole new audience.
Em Scott, CEO of Rainbow Giving Australia presenting at F&P Digi.Raise 2025 in Melbourne, Australia.
The timing couldn’t be more important
At Digi.Raise 2025, Rainbow Giving Australia CEO Em Scott shared some sobering statistics:
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Just $0.05 in every $100 of philanthropic funding in Australia goes toward rainbow communities.
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Only 0.2% of registered charities list LGBTQIA+ people as primary beneficiaries.
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One-third of LGBTQIA+ organisations have closed or scaled back in the last 12 months due to lack of funding.
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Fewer than 50% have the resources to employ paid staff.
This is the context Rainbow Giving steps into. Their grantmaking supports grassroots LGBTQIA+ organisations—the ones doing essential work, often without the visibility or infrastructure of larger nonprofits. By bringing Sweat with Pride to Australia, they’re not just launching a fundraising challenge. They’re creating a platform for solidarity, visibility, and shared purpose.
And that’s why this campaign matters.
It also represents something we need more of in the sector: collaboration
Back in January, we wrote about 10 trends we hoped to see ambitious charities embrace in 2025—including the power of sharing campaign IP and working together for the greater good. This is exactly that in action. A Kiwi-born campaign, created by Burnett Foundation Aotearoa, being adopted and adapted by Rainbow Giving Australia to support LGBTQIA+ communities here. With two agencies—Mix Digital in New Zealand and Donor Republic in Australia—each playing their part. It’s a campaign shaped by many hands, all focused on one outcome: inclusion.
Because here’s the truth—fun gets people through the door, but belonging is what keeps them in the room.
Beneath the glitter is a blueprint for belonging
What makes Sweat with Pride so powerful isn’t just the drag makeup, the memes, or the Perspirational Trainers (though those are brilliant). It’s the campaign’s emotional clarity.
It understands that for peer-to-peer fundraising to work, people have to feel like they’re part of something. That they’re not alone. That this is a space for them.
And that clarity matters even more right now—at a time when hard-won inclusion is being questioned and unravelled in too many parts of the world.
It’s a masterclass in building belonging—not just for participants or donors, but for whole communities that are too often overlooked.
Want to dive deeper?
We unpacked the full Sweat with Pride experience—how it works, what makes it tick, and how Burnett Foundation Aotearoa and their team built something that’s not only high-performing but radically inclusive.
