Reviewed by the Help Dementia Editorial Team — our editors review every article for accuracy against guidance from the National Institute on Aging, the Alzheimer’s Association, and peer-reviewed sources.
Team-based fundraising sits at the center of this dementia and brain health question.
Team-based fundraising events build community around Alzheimer’s by creating shared missions that unite strangers, family members, coworkers, and neighbors in a common cause. When people organize or join a team to participate in events like the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, they’re not simply collecting donations—they’re creating networks of support, accountability, and mutual encouragement that extend far beyond the event itself. These team structures transform what might be a solitary act into a collective movement, where each participant becomes both a fundraiser and an ambassador for brain health awareness in their local community. The scale of this community-building effort is significant.
In 2024, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s attracted more than 350,000 participants who collectively raised $100 million, making it the world’s largest event dedicated to Alzheimer’s awareness and research funding. What makes this figure particularly meaningful is that it wasn’t achieved by isolated individuals working alone—it came from teams across more than 600 communities nationwide who organized together, recruited members, and motivated each other to reach fundraising goals. A marketing team in Denver might form a company team, a group of college friends in Tampa could organize a dorm reunion walk, or neighbors in Portland might create a block-based team, each contributing their own network to the larger movement. The community that forms around these events doesn’t dissolve when the walk ends or the final fundraiser concludes. Instead, it often becomes a foundation for ongoing connections between people who share personal experiences with Alzheimer’s—whether they’ve lost a loved one, care for someone with the disease, or are simply committed to seeing a future without this disease.
Table of Contents
- How Do Team-Based Events Create Stronger Community Connections Around Alzheimer’s?
- What Types of Team-Based Fundraising Events Go Beyond the Traditional Walk?
- How Do Team Participants Experience Personal and Collective Growth?
- How Should Potential Organizers Choose Between Hosting Events Versus Joining Existing Teams?
- What Challenges Do Community-Based Fundraising Teams Face and How Are They Overcome?
- How Can Workplaces and Community Organizations Support Alzheimer’s Fundraising Teams?
- Looking Forward: The Expanding Role of Virtual and Hybrid Team Fundraising
- Conclusion
How Do Team-Based Events Create Stronger Community Connections Around Alzheimer’s?
Team-based events create community by distributing the work of fundraising across multiple people, which reduces pressure on any individual while multiplying the reach and impact. When someone organizes a team, they’re typically reaching out to their existing networks—friends, family, coworkers, or neighbors—and inviting them to participate. This invitation creates a touchpoint for conversation about Alzheimer’s that might not otherwise happen. A colleague who joins a coworker’s team at the Walk to End Alzheimer’s learns about their personal connection to the disease, understands why the cause matters, and becomes part of their friend’s support network during the event itself. The team structure also provides built-in accountability and motivation. Team members track their individual fundraising progress against the team goal, celebrate each other’s milestones, and provide encouragement when energy lags.
This social component is especially valuable for people managing their own grief or stress related to Alzheimer’s in their families. A daughter caring for a mother with Alzheimer’s might find meaningful support in the friendships formed with other team members during their weekly training walks before the main event. Similarly, a team organized at a corporate office might discover that coworkers previously unknown to each other share similar family experiences with the disease, creating unexpected bonds of understanding. Compared to individual fundraising approaches, team-based events demonstrate stronger participation numbers precisely because they remove barriers to entry. Someone might hesitate to personally organize a Walk to End Alzheimer’s event, but they’ll readily join when invited by someone they trust. The Alzheimer’s Association reports that teams are a central element of their fundraising model, with participants able to “start or join a team and invite others to walk with them”—a structure that has enabled the organization to reach 600+ communities annually.
What Types of Team-Based Fundraising Events Go Beyond the Traditional Walk?
While the Walk to End Alzheimer’s remains the flagship team-based event, the Alzheimer’s Association has expanded offerings to reach people with different interests and fitness levels. RivALZ to End ALZ brings flag football competitions to young professionals, offering a competitive but low-impact way to fundraise while building camaraderie. Ride to End ALZ provides cycling-focused teams for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. Beyond these structured events, the organization also supports customizable team fundraisers including hiking, golfing, gaming tournaments, crafting projects, and pickleball competitions—recognizing that community-building works best when people can engage around activities they already enjoy. The variety of options addresses a significant limitation of one-size-fits-all fundraising: not everyone walks, and physical ability or mobility concerns can exclude people from participating.
A person recovering from joint surgery, someone with mobility limitations, or an individual who simply dislikes walking can organize a gaming tournament team instead, inviting friends to participate in a video game marathon or board game competition while fundraising for Alzheimer’s research. Similarly, gardening teams, cooking competition teams, or craft fair teams allow older adults and less physically active participants to remain engaged in the community-building mission. However, the proliferation of options also presents a logistical challenge. Teams organizing custom events must often handle more of their own coordination, promotion, and fundraising infrastructure than those participating in standardized walks with established systems. A team planning a local golf tournament must secure a course, arrange logistics, manage registration, and promote the event independently—tasks that the Walk to End Alzheimer’s structure handles centrally. This flexibility and autonomy appeal to some organizers while overwhelming others, particularly those new to fundraising.
How Do Team Participants Experience Personal and Collective Growth?
The process of organizing or joining a fundraising team often catalyzes personal growth and changed perspectives among participants. Someone who volunteers to become a team captain typically discovers they have organizational and motivational skills they hadn’t previously recognized. They learn to communicate about vulnerability—sharing their own Alzheimer’s story or that of a loved one—in ways that build genuine connections rather than perfunctory donations. A woman who lost her grandmother to Alzheimer’s and decides to organize her first Walk to End Alzheimer’s team might find that the process helps her grieve while simultaneously transforming her sense of helplessness into purposeful action. Team members frequently report that participation changes their understanding of dementia care and research priorities. As team members research the cause they’re supporting, they learn about advances in Alzheimer’s detection and treatment, the challenges facing caregivers, and the critical gaps in long-term care infrastructure.
This education ripples outward through their networks. A team member who learns about early detection efforts might encourage a parent with occasional memory lapses to seek evaluation sooner than they otherwise would have. Another team member might volunteer their professional skills—marketing, accounting, or logistics—to help the broader Alzheimer’s Association mission. The collective experience of a team moving toward a shared goal also builds resilience in a community affected by dementia. For families and friends dealing with Alzheimer’s directly, participating alongside a team provides witnesses to their struggle and validation that their cause matters. A caregiver’s team walking alongside them serves as both practical support during the event and symbolic affirmation that they’re not alone in their burden. Research on community-based health interventions consistently shows that social support improves both physical and mental health outcomes, suggesting that team-based fundraising generates health benefits beyond the funds raised.
How Should Potential Organizers Choose Between Hosting Events Versus Joining Existing Teams?
The choice between starting a new team and joining an existing one involves practical tradeoffs that should guide potential fundraisers. Starting a team requires more work upfront—recruiting members, setting fundraising goals, organizing communications, and managing the logistics of team coordination. However, starting a team also offers greater autonomy in defining the team’s identity, purpose, and culture. A company might start a team specifically for employees whose family members have Alzheimer’s, creating a space where colleagues can bond over shared experience while fundraising. An individual passionate about a particular type of fundraiser—a 5K run, a bake sale series, a trivia competition—can launch their own team and customize the experience exactly as they envision it. Joining an existing team requires minimal organizational effort and provides immediate community. A person new to an area might join the team organized by their new workplace, instantly becoming part of an established group.
Someone with limited time might contribute a small fundraising effort to a team led by family members without bearing the full responsibility of team organization. The tradeoff is less control over the team’s direction and activities. Join a corporate team, and you participate in their chosen event and timeline rather than selecting an alternative. In practical terms, the Alzheimer’s Association’s structure supports both pathways. First-time participants can browse existing teams in their area and request to join, while experienced fundraisers or those with unique fundraising ideas can start their own teams. For 2026, sign-ups are currently available for teams and individuals, allowing people to assess their availability and capacity before committing. New organizers should realistically assess their bandwidth, considering that team management requires sustained effort over weeks or months leading up to the event, not just on event day itself.
What Challenges Do Community-Based Fundraising Teams Face and How Are They Overcome?
One of the significant challenges in team-based fundraising is sustaining momentum and motivation throughout the preparation period. A team that starts with excitement often encounters a middle period—weeks before the event—where initial enthusiasm wanes and donated dollars slow. Team members might face genuine financial constraints that prevent reaching their individual goals, creating discouragement. Some team members may not pull their weight in fundraising efforts, creating tension or resentment among others who are putting in greater effort. A team captain needs strategies to address these issues: celebrating intermediate milestones, reminding team members of the broader purpose, and tackling difficult conversations about unequal participation. Recruitment and retention of diverse team members also presents challenges. Teams that start with a homogeneous group—all friends from one workplace, for example—may struggle to reach beyond established networks.
Growing a diverse team with people from different backgrounds, ages, and socioeconomic circumstances requires intentional outreach and authentic welcoming of new members. A team organized primarily by wealthy community members might inadvertently communicate that participants need significant disposable income to participate, excluding people with limited financial resources. Creating giving options that allow meaningful participation at any donation level—from $5 to $500—is essential but requires team leaders to actively communicate this flexibility. There’s also a tension inherent in fundraising focused on Alzheimer’s: many team members are participating precisely because they’re affected by the disease personally, often while managing grief, caregiver stress, or other emotional weight. A well-intentioned team celebration of fundraising success might feel hollow to someone who just lost a parent to Alzheimer’s. Team leaders should recognize that celebrating financial achievements while acknowledging the profound personal reasons behind the fundraising creates a more authentic and supportive community experience. The most effective teams explicitly create space for sharing stories and processing emotions, not just tallying donations.
How Can Workplaces and Community Organizations Support Alzheimer’s Fundraising Teams?
Workplaces have unique power to facilitate team-based fundraising by providing infrastructure and incentives that individual organizers cannot match. A company’s human resources department can allocate paid volunteer time for employees to participate in events, provide matching donations to fundraising goals, and integrate the team into regular company communications. When a major employer organizes a Walk to End Alzheimer’s team and grants employees two hours of paid time to participate, they’re removing a significant barrier—lack of time—that might otherwise prevent participation. They’re also signaling organizational values around brain health and dementia awareness, which can shift how employees think about these issues. Community organizations including places of worship, senior centers, recreation departments, and service clubs can similarly amplify the impact of Alzheimer’s fundraising by leveraging their existing membership networks.
A senior center hosting a team for their members immediately solves the participation challenge for older adults who might not have the technology or social networks to organize independently. A faith community organizing a team transforms fundraising into a spiritual practice aligned with values of caring for vulnerable community members. These established institutions bring credibility, logistical support, and built-in audiences that individual organizers cannot replicate. However, institutional support also carries risks of depersonalizing the cause or creating experiences that feel obligatory rather than genuinely motivated. An employee whose company requires or heavily encourages participation in fundraising might experience this as workplace pressure rather than optional community involvement. The most effective institutional partnerships invite rather than mandate participation, provide options for different levels of involvement, and honor the personal stories of those directly affected by Alzheimer’s without exploiting their experiences for corporate positioning.
Looking Forward: The Expanding Role of Virtual and Hybrid Team Fundraising
The pandemic permanently expanded the possibilities for team-based fundraising beyond geographic limitations and physical participation requirements. Virtual team fundraising allows family members separated by distance to participate in the same team, enabling an adult child managing their parent’s care in one state to join a team fundraiser coordinated by siblings across the country. Hybrid events—combining in-person and virtual participation—have become the norm, accommodating people with mobility limitations, health constraints, or scheduling conflicts that would previously have prevented participation. This flexibility, while genuinely expanding access, also presents questions about the community-building function of team events.
There’s something irreducible about physical gathering—the energetic boost of walking alongside others, the impromptu conversations that emerge from shared experience, the post-event celebration together. A fully virtual team experience, though inclusive and participatory, may not generate the same depth of in-person community bonds. The most successful teams going forward will likely be hybrid, offering in-person elements for those able to participate while maintaining fully accessible virtual options for others. This approach requires more complex coordination but honors both the community-building and accessibility functions of team fundraising.
Conclusion
Team-based fundraising events build community around Alzheimer’s by transforming an individual’s personal relationship to the disease into a collective movement that educates, connects, and mobilizes whole networks of people. The 350,000+ participants in the 2024 Walk to End Alzheimer’s and the 600+ communities nationwide hosting events demonstrate the powerful scale this model has achieved. What makes these numbers meaningful is not the aggregate sum, but the thousands of individual teams where people are showing up together, supporting each other, and claiming shared investment in a world without Alzheimer’s.
If you’re affected by Alzheimer’s personally or interested in deepening your community connection around this cause, 2026 provides an immediate opportunity. The Alzheimer’s Association’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s sign-ups are currently open for both new and returning teams. Consider whether you might start a team within your existing community—your workplace, faith community, friend group, or neighborhood—or join an existing team in your area. Either choice connects you to thousands of others working toward the same goal, transforming your individual effort into something far larger than yourself.
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For more, see Alzheimer’s Association — caregiving.
