An Update to Winter Walk Registration Fees for the 2026–2027 Walk Season
There are a few things we’re very proud of at Winter Walk.
100% of the money raised at our fundraising walks is distributed directly to our Organizational Partners (OPs)—the local nonprofits working to support people experiencing homelessness and help move them into stable housing.
Since launching Winter Walk, we have distributed more than $6.5 million to 34 nonprofit organizations working on the frontlines to provide care, prevent homelessness, and help end homelessness in local communities.
Walkers at Winter Walk 2025 NYC in Central Park.
That commitment is at the heart of Winter Walk, and it is not changing.
As you may have read in our Executive Director’s Annual Letter, our goal is to make Winter Walk an elite fundraising event, but not an event exclusively for elite fundraisers. We want everyday people to be able to participate, set their own fundraising goals, and make a meaningful contribution to the organizations doing this work every day.
Every dollar raised by our walkers matters. And as the need for homelessness services continues to grow while government funding becomes increasingly uncertain, the need for private philanthropy has never been greater.
Our responsibility is to make sure Winter Walk is able to provide as much funding as possible to our nonprofit partners - not just this year, but for years to come.
That is why, for the 2026–2027 Walk Season, we are making an important change to our registration model by removing the option to fundraise the registration fee for Winter Walk.
Why is a registration fee now required?
The most important thing to understand is that your registration fee is the first donation to your Winter Walk fundraiser. Unlike many peer-to-peer events where registration fees help cover event costs, Winter Walk directs registration donations to the nonprofits our walkers fundraise for—so your registration gift is in addition to your fundraising dollars.
Making this change allows us to build a stronger fundraising culture around Winter Walk: everyone who registers makes an initial contribution, and everyone who is able is then encouraged to fundraise by asking their friends, family, colleagues and community to support their walk.
For example, if you register with the $25 Walk With Us option and then raise $500 from your network, you have raised $525 for our nonprofit partners. Your registration donation gets your fundraiser started; your peer-to-peer fundraising takes it further.
Walkers at Winter Walk 2026 Boston
And because 100% of the money raised through Winter Walk is distributed directly to our Organizational Partners, every registration donation and every dollar raised by our walkers contributes to the critical work of these organizations.
For the 2026–2027 Walk Season, our goal is to raise $2 million for our Organizational Partners. Reaching that goal means growing both participation and fundraising—and creating a community in which more people see themselves not just as participants, but as fundraisers who can rally the people around them to take action.
We believe this new model gives every walker a meaningful starting point while keeping the door open for everyone to become a fundraiser, regardless of how much they ultimately raise.
Registration options for the 2026–2027 Walk Season
We are introducing several registration options designed to allow everyone in our community to participate while encouraging those who are able to fundraise to do so.
Walk With Us — $25
Includes:
Winter Walk hat
Breakfast
Fundraise at least $100 to qualify for a swag bag.
Walk With Us — $100
Includes:
Winter Walk hat
Swag bag
Breakfast
Walk With My Pet — $125
Includes:
Winter Walk hat
Swag bag
Breakfast
Special pet swag bag
(If you have more than one pet walking with you, you’re able to add a donation for each one to your registration.)
Walk With My Child — $125
Includes:
Winter Walk hats for you and one child
Swag bags for you and one child
Breakfast for you and one child
(If you have more than one child walking with you, you’re able to add a donation for each one to your registration.)
Stride for Home - $1,000
Includes:
Winter Walk hat
Premium swag bag
Limited-edition Winter Walk sweatshirt
Stride for Home
Last year, we introduced Stride for Home, an opportunity for people who are able to give at a higher level to make a $1,000 donation at registration and get their fundraiser started before they ever take their first step.
We are incredibly grateful to the individuals who chose this option during our last campaign, all of whom asked to remain anonymous.
For the 2026–2027 Walk Season, participants who choose Stride for Home will receive a premium swag bag and a limited-edition Winter Walk sweatshirt in recognition of their extraordinary commitment.
To everyone who chooses to walk with us at this level: thank you. Your generosity helps us get closer to our goal of raising $2 million for our Organizational Partners.
Making sure Winter Walk remains accessible
While we are now requiring a registration fee, we do not want the cost of registration to prevent people from being part of the Winter Walk community.
Community members with lived experience of homelessness will never be asked to donate or fundraise in order to participate.
Employees of our Organizational Partners will never be asked to donate or fundraise in order to participate.
Students and youth groups will also have a new opportunity to participate through a program with special sponsored registration. (Interested in learning more? Reach out to us at info@winterwalk.org)
If you want to join us and the $25 donation is out of reach, please reach out to us at info@winterwalk.org.
Our goal is to build a Walk-With movement where everyone has a place: people who are able to make a large gift, people who raise hundreds or thousands of dollars from their friends and family, people who simply want to show up and walk, families, students, people with lived experience, and the nonprofit organizations working every day to end homelessness. Everyone starts by giving what they can, and then those who are able can take their fundraising further.
We are asking you to walk with us, and to fundraise.
Walkers at Winter Walk 2026 Chicago
The Winter Walk is a nationwide Walk-With movement powered by The MoreHomes Coalition, bringing everyday people together to raise critical funds for local nonprofits working to support people experiencing homelessness and help move people into stable housing.
Through peer-to-peer fundraising walks across the country, Winter Walk mobilizes thousands of people to take action, generating vital funding for frontline organizations and strengthening our partners’ ability to deliver services to people experiencing homelessness.
We believe there is something uniquely powerful about bringing housed and unhoused neighbors together to walk shoulder-to-shoulder. It creates the human connection that turns awareness and empathy into action.
We hope you’ll join us. Pay your registration fee. Set a fundraising goal. Ask your friends, family, colleagues and community to support you. And then walk with us.
Because when thousands of ordinary people come together and each do what they can, we can create extraordinary support for the organizations working to end homelessness.
Read more about Why Fundraising With Winter Walk Matters. And please stay tuned for updates on how to register for Winter Walk 2026 NYC, Winter Walk 2027 Boston and Winter Walk 2027 Chicago by signing up to receive emails from Winter Walk at https://winterwalk.org.
