FAQ

Fred’s Big Run is a virtual fitness and fundraising challenge for everyone, supporting the sight-restoring work of The Fred Hollows Foundation. We are challenging you to cover 50km, 100km, 150km, or a distance that challenges you,  throughout the month of August to raise funds to help restore sight to the needlessly blind.

Today, 9 out of 10 people who are blind or vision impaired don’t need to be. Many people stay needlessly blind because they live in poverty. In low and middle income countries, blindness denies people education, independence, and the ability to work - opportunities that can break the poverty cycle. But all this can be changed with as little as $25 in some countries.  

Start or continue your fitness journey and help change someone's world forever. 

Fred’s Big Run is a virtual online fitness challenge running for one month from 1^st August to 31^st August each year. You decide when and where to start and finish your challenge and how far you will go to help restore sight.

Wherever you live, whatever your fitness level, you choose the place and pace to complete Fred’s Big Run. Choose the distance you want to cover and your fundraising goal. Step up and start your challenge and keep track of your progress on your fundraising dashboard.


Challenge yourself to restore sight to as many people around the world as possible. As little as $25 can restore sight in some countries! You’ll reach new fundraising levels throughout your challenge - the more you continue Fred Hollows’ legacy, the more you will be rewarded.

Fred’s Big Run is more than just a walk or run, we encourage everyone to step up to restore sight. You decide if your challenge is on foot, on a bike, in a wheelchair, in the water or a combination that works for you! Simply adjust the distance in a way that will challenge you. The more challenging the goal, the more others are likely to support your fundraising goal.

So set a high target and we will help you along the way to reach your fundraising goal. You can also adjust your distance goal at any point by logging into your account and selecting 'My Fitness Activity'.

You are almost there – simply click here and get ready to step up to restore sight.

Registration and particiaption is FREE! Plus we'll support and reward you along the way with gifts and incentives as you reach key fundraising milestones. Just sign up and start your challenge and help restore sight to people living with avoidable blindness and vision impairment.

No, there is no age limit. People of all ages, locations and abilities can take part in Fred’s Big Run! If you’re under 16, please let a parent or guardian know you’re taking part.

1. Login to your Fred’s Big Run account and head to ‘Dashboard’.
2. Select ‘My Account’ in menu bar
3. Under ‘Update My Account’ select ‘Reset Password’.

Register for Fred's Big Run
After you have entered your personal details and set your fundraising and distance goals, you'll have the option to create or join an existing team:

1. Select Create a Team (if you were in a team last year, you still need to create a new one), choose a team name.
2. Decide whether you want anyone to join your team or just those you invite personally.
3. Select the team type (workplace, friends, school, sporting, etc.).
4. Invite team members to join via email.
5. You have now registered your team! Share your team page URL to start fundraising.
6. Your team fundraising and distance goals can be set once you've completed your individual registration.

1. Select CREATE TEAM on your dashboard and here you can complete setting up your team.
2. Follow the prompts to set up your team.
3. Upon completion of setting up your team, you’ll receive your team URL which you can email and share on socials to recruit team members.

1. If the team you want to join is set to Public, you should be able to search for the team by its name or a team member in the search bar. On the team page click 'Join Team'
2. If the team you want to join is set to Private you will need to contact the team captain or a team member directly as there will not be a button allowing you to join.

You can do this challenge on your own or invite as many friends, family or work colleagues as you like.

Together you will work towards your individual teams goal but also contribute to the overall Workplace goal and target.

Each of you will manage your own personal fundraising account, where you can track your distance and fundraising, but everyone’s tally will be added up and show in the combined total on your team and your teams tally in the combined total amount of your workplace page.

A Workplace page is for corporates or businesses wishing to create multiple teams under one umbrella.

A School page is for schools wishing to create multiple class teams under one School umbrella.

Workplace and School pages are created by the Fred's Big Run team - please get in contact if you would like us to make one for. We will connect your teams to your Workplace or School.

Creating an umbrella Workplace or School page is a great way for employees or students to take part in the challenge and work towards a shared fundraising and distance goal for an amazing cause. 

Your organisation/business or school may choose to establish several teams which sit beneath an umbrella Workplace or School, as a means of fostering internal competition and adding some fun to the workplace. You could consider creating Workplace teams based on departments, office/shop locations, or even invite external providers to form teams within your workplace.

Please do NOT use this option if you just plan to walk in Freds Big Run with a group of friends; in that case you should use the TEAM option and create your team fundraising page and then invite your friends to join your team.

Workplace and School pages are created by the Fred's Big Run team - please get in contact if you would like us to make one for. We will connect your teams to your Workplace or School.

Your Workplace or School page will be created and associated teams connected within 24 hours. 

Every Workplace and School page only requires a Workplace or School captain. All other employees or students will need to join a connected Team to take part.

You can create a team when you register yourself as a participant (see "How do I create a team and invite team members" under Team FAQ).

You can join a team by searching for the team in the search bar. If the team is set to private, you will need to contact the team captain or the Fred's Big Run team directly.

• Invite and motivate your colleagues to join a team connected to your Wokrplace or School page, or ask them to create a team to promote internal competition.
• Encourage senior leadership to join the challenge and lead by example.
• Connect us with the person in charge of your organisation's health and well-being program. Email fredsbigrun@hollows.org the details and we will help your company setting up and assisting with the fundraising pages and keeping everyone motivated during August.
• Urge your Workplace to match staff fundraising efforts to help restore sight.

Many employers support their employees’ charitable efforts through their matched-giving program. Even if an employer does not have a matched-giving program, they may still be willing to support your challenge and donate to you or your team. 

All you have to do, is ask! Check here for more info.

You can log your kilometres using your personal fitness app such as Strava and FitBit:

1. Login to your Fred's Big Run account.
2. Click on your name/profile picture in the top right corner of the screen and select 'Dashboard'.
3. Scroll down till you see 'Connect your preferred fitness apps'
4. Select your preferred fitness app and follow the steps.

To log kilometres manually, simply login to your online fundraising page and head to ‘My Fitness Activity’ in the dropdown and follow the prompts to record your activity manually.

It is good to get ready for Fred’s Big Run and you can start tracking your training kilometres prior to August, however we will reset your kilometres to zero on 1st August. This is so that everyone starts equally and together. 

We hope that you signed up for Fred’s Big Run to not only have a personal fitness challenge but also to challenge yourself to help needlessly blind people by setting your own fundraising goal and target.

Today, 9 out of 10 people who are blind or vision impaired don’t need to be. Many people stay needlessly blind because they live in poverty. In low and middle income countries, blindness denies people education, independence, and the ability to work - opportunities that can break the poverty cycle. But all this can be changed with as little as $25 in some countries.  

Start or continue your fitness journey and help change someone's world forever. 

So set a high target and we will help you along the way - raise $25 and you'll recieve your FREE pair of Fred's Big Run socks. Reach $125 and you'll be eligible to recieve your FREE Fred's Big Run t-shirt!

Make sure you set an ambitious but achievable fundraising goal. Over the 31 day period you'd be surprised by how much you can raise - just remember, if you don't ask, you won't receive! Ask your network of friends and family, use our tips and hints along the way and make use of the resources. You’ll be amazed at the impact you can make once you get started.

Your friends and family are more likely to sponsor you if they see you have an ambitious goal. The higher the goal, the more support you will receive! Don't forget to update your target each time you have reached it. As long as there is a goal to be reached people will want to help.

Asking for donations may be a a bit daunting, but remember that just $25 can restore sight to someone. Remind your friends and family that $25 is the equivalent of about 5 cups of coffee to restore someone's sight and transform a life. 

You can also use the available resources on the website. There are email templates for you to make use of too.

To keep you motivated we have some great prizes and incentives to be earned along the way.  

If you don't reach your goal, your efforts will still be appreciated and you will still have gone a long way to change so many lives.

When you register for Fred’s Big Run, your fundraising page is automatically created. With that page you can keep track of your distance covered, your funds raised and share the link with your network.

Fundraising is simple, easy and fun. Here a few quick tips to kick start your fundraising:

1. Lead the way and sponsor yourself - kickstart your fundraising challenge with a donation of $25 $25 to restore someone's sight AND receive your free pair of Fred's Big Run socks!
2. Tell your friends and family that you are taking this challenge seriously and help to encourage them to do the same. Use our email templates or social media posts available on the resources page.
3. Share your fundraising page on your social media channels and let your network know about the great thing you're doing. People who share their challenge on social media usually raise twice as much as people who only send out emails. 
4. Share internally at work! Ask your work collegues to join you or support you or find out if your workplace will match your fundraising.
5. Think outside the box and put the FUN in fundraising - organise a special event like a  trivia night, a movie screening or a bakesale and collect donations for your fundraiser!

Professor Fred Hollows was a man who got things done. He always pushed for change and put in motion a legacy to end avoidable blindness. In his time as a humanitarian and eye surgeon, Fred helped restore sight to thousands of people in Australia and overseas. Over the last 30 years, thanks to the help and support of people like you, the Foundation has been able to keep Fred’s dream alive and has restored sight to over 3,000,000 people in the more than 25 countries in which we work, including Indigenous Australia.

You can read more about the work of The Fred Hollows Foundation here. 

Upload a profile image so that people can find you on the Fred's Big Run website. Tell your story, update the blog regularly and share your enthusiasm and passion for restoring sight.

Lead the way and sponsor yourself. Once you're underway, your friends and family will be encouraged to follow and make their donations to help reach your goal. Kickstart your fundraisier with a $25 donation to yourself and receive your FREE pair of Fred's Big Run socks! 

Join our Fred’s Big Run Facebook Community This group helps answer any questions you might have. You can also share tips and ideas with other fundraisers and discuss training and running tips. Join here.

Put up a poster We have a range of resources to help you advertise your fundraiser. Put up a poster at your school, workplace, local coffee shop, gym or club and let everyone know about your participation in Fred’s Big Run. Click here for posters.

Add a Fred’s Big Run email signature to your emails Download our Fred’s Big Run Email Signature Banner from our resources page, and add this to the base of your emails.

Ask and you will receive Ask everyone you know to support your efforts to restore sight. Log in to your fundraising account, go to 'My Fundraising', then 'Get Support'. Use one of our email templates or social media posts.

Remember - if you don’t ask, people won't know. If you tell people about your Fred's Big Run challenge this August, they will want to support your challenge and donate. 

And don’t forget to thank your supporters for their donation!

Facebook is the leading platform for fundraising. 

People who use social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, LinkedIn) raise twice as much as other fundraisers on average!

Share your fundraising page on all your social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, LinkedIn) to maximise your donations. Make sure you read our FAQs on Facebook Fundraising to avoid donation issues.

Send a personal message to your friends explaining your reasons to help needlessly blind people and ask for their support.

Click here for social media images 

Sample Social post: “I’ve started a new challenge! Fred’s Big Run is a virtual challenge to walk or run Xkm or more during the month of August. I’m running Xkm and fundraising for The Fred Hollows Foundation to restore sight to people living with avoidable blindness around the world. Help me carry on Fred’s vision by supporting my run. Every bit helps! As little as $25 can help restore sight.”

Instagram doesn’t allow links in comments or posts.

The only way to add your fundraising page link is by adding it to your personal profile as a URL. Go to 'Edit Profile' and copy/paste your fundraising URL into the website field. 

Then to promote on Instagram, we suggest you download a social tile from our resources page on Freds Big Run website and add the words “Please click the the website link in my bio to support my challenge” to the tail end of the copy in your post.

Any donations made using a Facebook fundraising page will be received via PayPal Giving Fund and sent to The Fred Hollows Foundation bank account. A tax deductible receipt will be issued directly by Facebook (through PayPal Giving Fund) as they collect and distribute the donations received. The donation will show on the fundraisers page as a 'Facebook' donation without the donors name.

Yes! Facebook donations are handled by a third party so it may take some time for the money to arrive at The Foundation. However, Facebook donations will show on your fundraising page as a 'Facebook' donation. Your donor will receive their tax-receipt directly through Facebook and for privacy reasons, Facebook is not able to share the donor's name on your fundraising page.

If you want to have your donor's name appear on your fundraising page (and making sure the money is getting to us faster), we advise to always share the link to your fundraising page on your social media account instead of creating an actual Facebook fundraiser. 

When someone donates on Facebook, a payment (tax deductible) receipt is sent to the primary email address listed on their Facebook account.

The receipt includes The Foundation's name and details. It  confirms that the donation was made to a charitable organisation and that no goods or services were received in return.

Find your receipt in your Facebook payment history. 

1. Delete the initial post, as this is the only way to remove the Facebook Donate button,
2. Create a new Facebook post and share only the link to your fundraising page without adding the ‘Donate’ button.

The Facebook Donate button is a Facebook-owned feature, you will need to contact them directly with any queries about privacy and security. Here is the link to their policy: https://m.facebook.com/payments_terms/privacy

To have the donations go directly to the Foundation (and not via a third party), we advise to always share the link to your fundraising page instead of creating a separate Facebook fundraiser. 

All donations of $2 or more are tax deductible for Australian tax payers. If the donor receives something material in return for their money, such as a raffle ticket, a ticket for a movie, a dinner or auction item, these contributions are not tax deductible.

Your supporters will automatically receive a tax receipt by email when they make a donation online to your fundraising page. For cash and cheque donations see the next FAQ ["What do I do with cash or cheques?"].

The Fred Hollows Foundation does not usually issue receipt books to its fundraisers, unless a large event with potentially lots of cash donations warrants receipt books being used. If you need assistance with receipts, please email.

Add cash donations to your fundraising page by following these steps:

Step 1: Login to your fundraising page

Step 2: Go to 'My Fundraising' and select 'My Donations' and then select 'Add Offline Donations' 

Step 3: Add the amount and the details of the donor (First and Last Name and email address) should your donor wants a receipt. Or use your own personal details.

For a tax receipt please tick the box under the amount field. Please note any money received for goods sold (e.g. movie or raffle tickets, BBQ etc) are not tax-deductible so please DO NOT tick the box under the amount field.

Step 4: Use your credit card to make the donation

Step 5: The amount of the donation will be added to your fundraising total and a tax receipt is issue to your sponsor if applicable.

Deposit directly into The Foundation bank account

You can bank cash or make an EFT transfer to The Fred Hollows Foundatio through any Westpac Bank branch. For our bank details please contact us on 1800 627 982.    

Cheque donations

Please make sure any cheques are made out to The Fred Hollows Foundation. Send the cheque(s) together with a small note containing the event name (Fred’s Big Run), participant name, donor name and donor email address to The Fred Hollows Foundation, Locked Bag 5021, Alexandria NSW 2015. Make sure you mention it is in support of Fred’s Big Run.

We will allocate the money to your fundraising page and issue the donor with a tax receipt.

Of course, BBQ, movie night or trivia, a book club, dinner, high tea, girls’ night in, the options are endless.

1. Click here for tips and tricks for a bbq.
2. Why are trivia nights so popular? Because they work! Get your friends, family and work colleagues together and have fun with fundraising. Click here for more
3. Host a Lunch, Brunch or Dinner– a great meal with friends and families? Charge an amount to cover food, drink and a donation towards your fundraising. Click here for more
4. Movie Night – a movie night may be all you need to reach your fundraising goal. Enjoy a great night out with friends and family and restore sight at the same time. Click here for more
5. Raffle - A raffle can be incorporated into all fundraising events! It’s a great way to increase your fundraising.  Click here for more

Host a bake sale, casual clothes day, sausage sizzle or sports activity to raise money for The Foundation at your school. Check out our fundraising blog for more.

We reward fundraisers who raise more then $125 with our Special Edition Fred's Big Run T-shirt (while stocks last).

If you're not a runner or can't run this time round, you can still set up a fundraising page and donate $125 to receive a t-shirt (while stocks last).

Since Fred’s Big Run is a virtual event, we do not need volunteers for this event. However, you can volunteer for The Foundation in our office or at one of our other events.  The Foundation recognises that volunteers are a crucial part of the smooth running and success of events and in the office.

You can find more information here.

While the cost of cataract surgery varies depending on the specific operating environments in the countries where we work, in some countries it is possible to restore sight for as little as $25.

Our $25 cost includes the three key things needed to restore sight – the surgeon’s time, the consumable equipment and the intraocular lens (IOL) which replaces the cataract.

The most important element in modern cataract surgery is the IOL – Fred Hollows used to refer to them as "the most expensive pieces of plastic in the world". Reducing the cost of the IOL was the fundamental factor in making cataract surgery affordable.

Today, IOL prices vary significantly – including in low and middle-income countries.

In October 2021 The Foundation evaluated our program costs for small incision cataract surgery in countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Cambodia to ensure the $25 cost remained accurate.

Our assessment showed IOLs start from $4 in Pakistan, about $6 in Cambodia, and about $14 in Bangladesh.

The other key costs are the surgeon’s time (which is less than $1.50 per patient in those three countries) and consumable equipment (as little as $5.46).

So with the cost of the IOL, the surgeon and the consumables it is possible that The Foundation can restore sight for as little as $25 in some countries.

We acknowledge that not all surgeries in all countries are as little as $25. The cost of surgery depends on factors including the country of treatment, the age and circumstances of the patient, how and where the treatment is delivered, the type of procedure, the IOL used, the hospital type (government or private), the facilities of the hospital, inpatient or day procedure delivery mechanisms, and the economic status of people in the country or region.

We appreciate your request to visit our programme work. Program visits may take place on very rare occasions and under very specific circumstances. Many of our partner clinics cannot accommodate visitors in an attempt to avoid disruption to eye care services and to provide privacy and respect to the patients accessing eye care.

Please get in contact directly with The Fred Hollows Foundation if you have every questions