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TCS New York City Marathon Official Charity Partner Program

New York Road Runners offers blocks of guaranteed non-complimentary entries to qualified and selected non-profits through the Official Charity Partner Program of the TCS New York City Marathon. The application for the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon Official Charity Partner Program has closed. You may sign up here to be notified when the application for the 2027 TCS New York City Marathon opens.

Charity Partner Levels

Official Charity Partners for the TCS New York City Marathon will be classified as a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Level Partner at NYRR’s discretion.

Gold Level Partners are NYRR Team for Kids and MSKCC Fred's Team. This level is exclusive to these two legacy partners and not open to new applications.

Silver Level Partners commit to a minimum of 50 guaranteed entries in the TCS New York City Marathon. They can offer guaranteed entry, private bus transportation to the start, and access to Silver Charity Village to runners; and they are listed on the TCS New York City Marathon website with a brief description of the charity, the charity’s logo and a link to their website. Each charity can set its own fundraising minimum as long as it is at least $3,500 per runner.

Bronze Level Partners commit to a minimum of 3 guaranteed entries in the TCS New York City Marathon. They can offer guaranteed entry to runners and they are listed on the TCS New York City Marathon website with the charity’s logo and a link to their website. Each charity can set its own fundraising minimum as long as it is at least $3,000 per runner.

Charity Fee

Selected charities must pay a charity fee to NYRR to cover the cost of each guaranteed entry. The charity fees for each level are as follows and must be paid upon acceptance into the program:

  • Silver Level Partners: $1,040 per entry
  • Bronze Level Partners: $600 per entry

Please note that this fee does not cover the runners' race registration fees, which must be paid by each runner at race registration.

Fundraising

Selected charities will offer guaranteed entry to runners who agree to fundraise a specified fundraising minimum set by the charity. It is the Official Charity Partner's responsibility to enter into a fundraising agreement with each runner for the required minimum fundraising pledge.

Allocations

New charities accepted into the Charity Partner Program will be allocated 3 entries. Returning charities will be allocated a number based on partnership history and information collected in the application. No charity will be allocated more entries than requested on the application. We recommend that charities be conservative in the number of entries requested as there are no refunds for entries that are not filled.

Selection Criteria

NYRR strives to partner with organizations with demonstrated capacity to execute the program successfully. Charity Partners must meet specific requirements throughout the partnership; below is a list of the requirements. On the application, charities are asked to demonstrate a fundraiser recruitment plan; resources to support their runners’ fundraising goal; and recognition programs to connect fundraisers with the charity’s mission and the TCS New York City Marathon.

Accepted charities must meet all the following requirements throughout the agreement term:

(* New this year)

  1. 501(c)(3) status in good standing for a minimum of three years
  2. Registered 501(c)(3) and in good standing in every state that it operates, solicits, and receives funds *
  3. Registered 501(c)(3) in New York State and in good standing with the New York State Attorney General Charities Bureau*
  4. Designated charity staff member or volunteer to administer the charity program
  5. $3,000.00 fundraising minimum per fundraiser for Bronze Level; $3,500 fundraising minimum per fundraiser for Silver Level
  6. Fundraising agreement with runners/fundraisers *
  7. Recruitment plan to recruit runners/fundraisers
  8. Resources and support to help fundraisers to raise funds
  9. Resources and incentives, such as access to coaching, volunteer opportunities, experiences, events, community building, and recognition programs to connect fundraisers with your charity’s mission and the NYRR Marquee Event
  10. Access to a peer-to-peer fundraising platform for fundraisers to raise funds online and track their individual progress toward their fundraising pledge

NYRR also considers partnership history for those charities who have participated in the past.

As NYRR receives far more applications than the Official Charity Partner Program can accommodate, not all charities that apply will be selected. Applications will be evaluated first for meeting the minimum required criteria and then for substantive responses to the other evaluation criteria.