Frequently Asked Questions

Need help? Contact us using our online form.

Getting Started

Find your local PanCAN PurpleStride and click Register. Log in or create an account, select whether you're participating on your own, with a team, or as a Team Captain and fill in your personal details. Registration is free, so kick start your fundraising today!

Registering will give you access to the PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard and create your personal fundraising page. Use your PurpleStride Dashboard to send emails and social media messages to your friends and family and track your progress toward your fundraising goal.

If you register as a Team Captain, you'll also have a team fundraising page and your PurpleStride Dashboard will include messages you can send to recruit people to your team and coach them once they've joined. Customize your personal fundraising page with your personal connection to pancreatic cancer and a photo or video – it will help motivate friends and family to support your fundraiser!

Fundraising is easy! Once you've found your event and registered, you will get access to your PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard. Your Dashboard is your one-stop-shop for all your PurpleStride fundraising needs. You can get started with these four easy steps:

  1. Customize your personal fundraising page with your photo and your personal story. When family and friends know why you're taking steps against pancreatic cancer at PanCAN PurpleStride, they'll be more motivated to support you.
  2. Connect your page to Facebook Fundraiser. Facebook Fundraiser creates a special page on Facebook where you can invite people to follow updates you post and to donate towards your goal. Striders who connect to Facebook Fundraiser raise 5 times more than those who don't!
  3. Download the PurpleStride app. The app is another great way to personalize and send pre-written messages through email, text, and social media. We have messages for you to ask for support, and to thank those who donated.
  4. Make a self-donation. If you haven't already done so, donate to your own fundraiser. Striders who make a self-donation raise twice as much as those who don't!

From there, you can use your PurpleStride Dashboard to send emails and social media messages to your family and friends and track your progress toward your fundraising goal. For more guidance, check out our Participant Fundraising Guide and other guidance on our Fundraising Tools & Resources page.

When you donate, you make a financial contribution to PanCAN PurpleStride through a registered Strider's personal fundraising page, a team's team fundraising page or to a local event. Donating doesn't register you for PurpleStride, or give you access to the PurpleStride Dashboard and a personal fundraising page. Though if you'd like to donate AND participate, we hope you'll find an event near you and register!

When you register, you sign up to participate in PanCAN PurpleStride, get access to the PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard and a public-facing personal fundraising page. Your PurpleStride Dashboard is where you can customize your personal fundraising page, connect to Facebook Fundraiser, send fundraising and thank you messages and more. Those who register and raise $50 or more will earn a PanCAN PurpleStride T-shirt!

Find your local event to register or donate today.

Yes, you can! Select the Log In tab when registering for your event and enter your prior username and password. If you don't remember your username or password, we've made it easy to recover it. Simply click the I've forgotten my username or password link at the bottom of that section and enter the email address you used to register in previous years.

Yes, please register each person planning to participate, including children. If possible, use a unique email address for each member of your family, as each person will receive individual log in information to the PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard and a public-facing personal fundraising page. Remember that each person you register must individually raise $50 as reflected on their personal fundraising page to receive an event T-shirt.

Yes, you can register using your mobile phone on event day, but we strongly encourage you to register online before the event.

If you'd like to change your registration type, please contact Customer Service at events@pancan.org or 877-272-6226. We can make these changes for you until 5 pm Pacific Time the Friday before event day (April 25, 2025).

This error usually happens because you are trying to register new participants while you're currently logged in to the PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard. If you see your name at the top of the website, click on your name and click Log Out. You should then be able to register your friends and family using their email address(es).

If you continue to get a message that you're already registered, your computer has likely saved your login information and is automatically logging you back in. Try deleting the history, cookies and offline content in your internet browser. Then close and re-open your browser.

You may also contact Customer Service using our online form, calling 877-2-PANCAN or emailing events@pancan.org.

If you forgot your username, go to https://secure.pancan.org/site/UserLogin?CMD=ForgotLogin and enter the email address you used to register. An email will be sent to that email address with your username.

If you forgot your password, go to https://secure.pancan.org/site/UserLogin?CMD=ForgotPassword and enter your username and the email address you used to register. If the username and email address are valid, an email will be sent with instructions to reset your password.

You may also contact Customer Service using our online form, calling 877-2-PANCAN or emailing events@pancan.org.

Starting/Joining a Team

Find your local PanCAN PurpleStride and click Register. Log in or create an account. If you're a new Team Captain, select Create a Team. If you participated as a Team Captain last year and want to bring your team back, select Join or Bring Back a Team. Follow the registration process to register yourself and create your team. Download our Team Captain Guide and check out our Team Tools & Resources webpage for more guidance!

Locate your local PurpleStride and click Register, then log in. Select Create or Bring Back a Team. Follow the registration process to register yourself and bring back your team.

Thank you for becoming a Team Captain! Please contact Customer Service using our online form, calling 877-2-PANCAN or emailing events@pancan.org to change your registration type.

Yes, you can. Please contact Customer Service using our online form, calling 877-2-PANCAN or emailing events@pancan.org and they can help add you to the team you want to be a member of. You can also change your registration details in your PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard.

Fundraising on the PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard

The PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard allows you to customize your personal fundraising page by uploading a photo and adding your personal story, telling friends and family why you are supporting the fight against pancreatic cancer. You can also connect to Facebook Fundraiser, edit your fundraising goal, customize and send pre-written messages asking for donations and thanking your donors, track your fundraising progress, unlock achievement badges, find our mobile app and more.

Team Captains also have access to pre-written recruiting and coaching messages.

Yes and yes! You can upload .gif, .jpg or .png images, and you can embed a YouTube video. Image files must be smaller than 6 megapixels or 150KB. Need help? Contact Customer Service using our online form, calling 877-2-PANCAN or emailing events@pancan.org.

Anyone can see who has donated publicly to you by visiting your personal fundraising page. Some donors may select to be anonymous, and their names will not be shown on your personal fundraising page. To see all your donors and thank them, log in to your PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard. and scroll to the Donations to Your Fundraiser section to view a list of all your donations to date. While you're there, make sure you send thank-you messages to your donors!

If donors choose to donate anonymously, their name and the amount of their contribution will remain anonymous to the public. However, you can view their information by logging into your PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard and reviewing your donors. If they make their donation anonymously, they will still be acknowledged for their donation via email, and you'll still get credit for their donation.

A donor can choose whether to make their donation toward a team or a specific person on a team. Donations made to an individual will automatically go toward the overall team goal, but donations made to the team will not reflect on any team members' personal pages.

If the donor intended for a donation to be attributed to a specific person but made a general team donation by mistake, please have them contact Customer Service using our online form, calling 877-2-PANCAN or emailing events@pancan.org to have the donation reattributed.

Sending messages from your PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard is quick and easy, and helps you raise about twice as much as people who don't send them! Once you log in to your PurpleStride Dashboard, select the Send Fundraising Messages button. There, you'll find pre-written messages for you to customize and send to your family and friends.

You can copy the URL of your personal fundraising page and paste it on social media. We encourage you to post often!

But the best way to take your PanCAN PurpleStride fundraising social is by connecting your personal fundraising page to a Facebook Fundraiser. A Facebook Fundraiser creates a special page on Facebook where you can invite people to donate and send fundraising messages. Those who connect to Facebook Fundraiser raise 5 times more than those who don't! Log in to your PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard, click Connect to Facebook Fundraiser and follow the prompts to get started.

The company that powers our fundraising platform added measures to prevent people from using the platform to send SPAM emails. If you've raised or self-donated $5 or more or been in our systems for more than a year, this will not apply to you. Otherwise, you'll need to raise or self-donate $5 or more to be able to send the pre-written fundraising and coaching email messages. You can use the other Dashboard features without raising or donating $5, like updating your personal fundraising page or connecting to Facebook Fundraiser. To make a self-donation, go to your Dashboard homepage and click "Make a self-donation" to get started.

FUNDRAISING ON FACEBOOK FUNDRAISER

A Facebook Fundraiser creates a special fundraising page on Facebook. You can post fundraising messages from that page and invite people to follow it. Donations show up in real-time and your fundraising total is reflected in the Facebook Fundraiser and on your PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard. And those who connect to Facebook Fundraiser raise 5 times more than those who don't!

Yes, Facebook Fundraiser is available for all PurpleStride events.

  • Fundraising on Facebook easily broadens your outreach, raising on average 5x as much than those who don't use Facebook fundraising.
  • You can easily invite your family and friends to follow the page and donate to your Facebook Fundraiser.
  • Find new supporters: Encourage your family and friends to share your Facebook Fundraiser page with their family and friends. You may receive gifts from people you don't even know who were moved by your story!
  • Collect donations easily: Your friends can donate without ever leaving Facebook. One hundred percent of all donations will go toward your PurpleStride fundraising goal.

No, other Facebook Fundraisers, including birthday fundraisers, cannot be linked to PanCAN PurpleStride. You must create your Facebook Fundraiser for PurpleStride through your PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard.

Donations made to a Facebook Fundraiser that was not created through your PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard will not go toward your PurpleStride fundraising goal. We recommend that you have one Facebook Fundraiser open at a time to avoid any confusion.

Unlike a basic link share, Facebook Fundraiser posts are rich and dynamic posts that motivate more friends to donate quickly. Posts through a Facebook Fundraiser include an image, story, thermometer, donate button and more. And by posting updates in your Facebook Fundraiser page, your Facebook Fundraiser will be more likely to show up in the feeds of your friends and family.

First, you need to be registered for PurpleStride. Then, log in to your PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard and click Connect to Facebook Fundraiser.

No. Facebook Fundraisers can only be created for individual participants. Teams cannot create a team-specific PurpleStride Facebook Fundraiser. But we encourage each teammate to have his/her own Facebook Fundraiser!

The following information from your personal page in your PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard will carry over to Facebook:

  • Your personal story (so customize your personal fundraising page with your story before connecting to Facebook Fundraiser)
  • Your fundraising goal (donations made through Facebook Fundraiser and through your personal fundraising page are updated in real-time)

Changes you make to your personal fundraising page will not sync to your Facebook Fundraiser once the Facebook Fundraiser has been created, and vice versa. That's why we encourage you to customize your personal fundraising page with your story before connecting to Facebook Fundraiser.

You can edit your personal story, image, and/or fundraising goal on your personal fundraising page through your PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard.

To edit your personal story, image, and/or fundraising goal on your Facebook Fundraiser, go to your Facebook Fundraiser, click ...More under the Invite button, then click Edit Fundraiser. Your personal fundraising page photo will not carry over into your Facebook Fundraiser automatically, but you can upload a photo on your Facebook Fundraiser.

Yes, anyone can see it. However, only people with Facebook accounts can donate to your Facebook Fundraiser.

Facebook provides tools to share your fundraiser with your friends right on your fundraising page. You can invite your friends to follow the page, post on your fundraiser page to give updates and show appreciation, share on your News Feed and share via Messenger. We encourage you to update the page frequently so it appears in your followers' News Feeds.

Yes, the minimum donation amount is $5. However, we encourage people to donate as much as they want!

While donations made to your Facebook Fundraiser will appear on Facebook in real time, they may take 72 hours or longer to appear on your PurpleStride Personal Fundraising page due to the way Facebook processes gifts.

If your donations are taking longer to appear, please contact Customer Service using our online form, calling 877-2-PANCAN or emailing events@pancan.org.

Because of privacy rules the donor could have on their Facebook account (e.g., friends only or friends of friends), all donors display on your personal fundraising page as "Facebook Fundraiser." If the donor would like to update their public display name on your personal fundraising page, ask them to contact Customer Service using our online form, calling 877-2-PANCAN or emailing events@pancan.org.

When someone donates through a Facebook Fundraiser, a payment receipt is sent to the primary email listed on the donor's Facebook account. This payment receipt includes the organization's tax ID number and confirms that the person has made a charitable donation and that they're not receiving any goods or services in return.

You can raise funds for PurpleStride 2025 via your Facebook Fundraiser until June 30, 2025.

From your Facebook Fundraiser, click the ...More icon, then select End Fundraiser.

DONATING VIA FACEBOOK FUNDRAISER

Thank you for your donation! All Facebook Fundraiser donors receive an email from Facebook on behalf of the organization. If you also elected to receive email from the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network at the time of your donation, you will receive an email receipt directly from us as well.

Thank you for your donation! Because of privacy rules set on Facebook (e.g., friends only or friends of friends), the recipient’s personal fundraising page will display all Facebook Fundraiser donors as "Facebook Fundraiser." If you would like the personal fundraising page to display your name, please contact Customer Service using our online form, calling 877-2-PANCAN or emailing events@pancan.org.

Thank you for your donation! You can find your donation and print a receipt on your Facebook account under Orders and Payments or by visiting https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=payments (make sure you are logged in to your Facebook account to view). You can also contact Customer Service using our online form, calling 877-2-PANCAN or emailing events@pancan.org to get a receipt of your donation.

Please contact Facebook by visiting https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/162031714239823. You may also contact Customer Service using our online form, calling 877-2-PANCAN or emailing events@pancan.org.

Yes, if you have questions about your donation or if it did not go through, you may contact Facebook directly by visiting https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/162031714239823.

Fundraising with the PurpleStride App

Search the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for “PurpleStride” then select GET (Apple) or Install (Google). Find the PurpleStride app icon on your device and tap to open. Log in using the username and password you set up when you registered for your PanCAN PurpleStride event. This app can be the #1 way you fundraise and thank your donors – download it today!

Yes, simply go to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, search for "PurpleStride" and re-install the app to your device.

Fundraise on the go with the PanCAN PurpleStride app! With the app, you can:

  • Update your personal page with your photo and story
  • Create and access your Facebook Fundraiser
  • Ask for donations and thank donors through Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat, WhatsApp, text and email
  • Access and share a QR code to your personal fundraising page
  • Earn badges to celebrate the steps you're taking
  • View your fundraising progress
  • Easily increase your fundraising goal

In addition, Team Captains can:

  • Send messages to recruit friends and family to join your team
  • View your team's fundraising goal and progress
  • Send coaching messages to individuals on your team

…all from the palm of your hand!

To learn more, please download the PanCAN PurpleStride Participant Fundraising Guide.

The app refreshes every few hours. Depending on when the donation came through, it may not be reflected yet.

Donating

Yes! If you are on the participant's personal fundraising page, click Make a Donation and complete the donation form.

To find the participant's personal fundraising page, click the Donate button on purplestride.org, then type in the first and last name of the participant exactly how it's spelled, or search by team name.

Once you submit your donation, you'll receive an email within 30 minutes confirming your transaction. Please allow 24 hours for online donations to be processed and reflected on the participant's personal fundraising page. Donations are tax-deductible. Our 501(c)(3) (tax ID) number is 33-0841281.

Sure! To donate by phone, call 877-272-6226. If you prefer to send a check by mail, please print the customized donation form found on the team or participant page that you are donating to and complete to the best of your ability and send to the address on that form.

If you'd like to make a general donation to PurpleStride (a donation not made to a specific team or participant) download, complete and mail this donation form. Please indicate the name of the event you're donating to.

When donating by mail, there may be a delay of a few weeks before the donation is reflected on the personal or team page to which you donated due to mailing and gift processing time.

Please contact Customer Service using our online form, calling 877-2-PANCAN or emailing events@pancan.org for more information.

Thousands of companies match donations made by their employees to organizations like PanCAN. They may also match gifts from retirees and their employees' spouses. You may be able to double — or even triple! — the impact of your gift just by completing a matching gift form. Go to our Matching Gifts page and use the search field to find out if your company has a matching gift program. If they do, you'll be able to access all the forms and instructions you need to complete your request to have your company match your donation to PanCAN.

If you don't find your employer listed, please check with your company's Human Resources department to see if your company offers a matching gift program. If your company doesn't currently offer a matching gift program, please consider asking them to create one! For additional information about matching gifts, please email matchinggifts@pancan.org.

PanCAN's Patient Services program provides local patients and families with free, personalized information about treatment options, clinical trials and more. In addition, we conduct outreach to inform local medical professionals and researchers about the latest pancreatic cancer breakthroughs and provide funding opportunities for pancreatic cancer research. We also work with local government representatives to ensure continued – and increased! – federal research funding for pancreatic cancer.

Volunteering

Volunteers are behind all the details of your local PanCAN PurpleStride, from planning through event day. We'd love your help! To volunteer on event day, find your local PanCAN PurpleStride and click Register. Log in or create an account, select whether you're participating on your own, with a team, or as a Team Captain, and once you get to the My Participation Details page, select "Volunteer" as your participation type.

If you would like to help plan PanCAN PurpleStride, or if you're interested in other ways to volunteer with PanCAN in your community any time of year, find your local PanCAN PurpleStride, and click the Event Info menu item then Volunteer for contacts in your community.

Find your local PanCAN PurpleStride and click Register. Log in or create an account, select whether you're participating on your own, with a team or as a Team Captain. Once you get to the My Participation Details page, select "Volunteer" as your participation type.

Thank you for your help! You will be contacted via email with instructions for event day.

T-shirts

Each Strider who registers and raises or self-donates $50 or more by event day will receive the official PanCAN PurpleStride 2025 T-shirt, available for pick up at your event. We’ll do our best to ensure supply and preferred sizes, but T-shirts are subject to availability. We are unable to ship T-shirts after the event.

All pancreatic cancer survivors who register for PurpleStride are eligible to receive a special survivor T-shirt with no fundraising minimum required.

Each Strider who registers and raises or self-donates $50 or more by event day as shown on their personal fundraising page will receive the official PanCAN PurpleStride 2025 T-shirt. If you would like a portion of your donation to go to other people you registered, please contact Customer Service using our online form, calling 877-2-PANCAN or emailing events@pancan.org.

No, we don't have a pre-event T-shirt pickup, so arrive early to secure your T-shirt! We'll do our best to ensure supply and preferred sizes, but T-shirts are subject to availability. We are unable to ship T-shirts after the event.

We are unable to ship T-shirts. All T-shirts will be distributed to participants on event day. Arrive early to secure your T-shirt! We'll do our best to ensure supply and preferred sizes, but T-shirts are subject to availability. Please find your local PanCAN PurpleStride and go to the Event Details page for more information.

PanCAN PurpleStride Grand Club

The Grand Club is a nationwide program recognizing participants who individually raise $1,000 or more for their PanCAN PurpleStride event.

As a participant, we know you give your time and energy to fight pancreatic cancer and the PurpleStride Grand Club gives us the opportunity to show our gratitude for your efforts. Grand Club members receive an exclusive gift as a token of our appreciation, and enjoy access to celebrations, exclusive webinars, etc. Grand Club members are among our most dedicated and loyal supporters and we are so grateful!

As a member of the PurpleStride Grand Club, you are eligible to receive an exclusive Grand Club gift. Wear this gift with pride in your community to engage others in our fight against pancreatic cancer.

grand club image

We're thankful for your fundraising efforts and the Grand Club gift is one way for us to show our appreciation. You will also enjoy access to celebrations, exclusive webinars, etc.

Thank you for raising $1,000 or more to fight the world's toughest cancer — we are grateful for your support! Once you raised $1,000, you should have received an email inviting you to claim your gift via a prompt when you next log into your PanCAN PurpleStride Dashboard. Select Claim My Gift and fill out your size and mailing address. Your PurpleStride Grand Club gift will be delivered right to your doorstep. Please allow 2-4 weeks for delivery. If you opted out by accident, please contact Customer Service at events@pancan.org or 877-272-6226 and they'll be happy to help you.

Grand Club item

And don't stop there! Keep your momentum going by setting the bar even higher and continuing to fundraise for those impacted by pancreatic cancer! You have up to 60 days after your event to raise $1,000 or more and earn your Grand Club gift.

You have until June 30, 2025 to raise $1,000 or more and earn your Grand Club gift.

Your fundraising means PanCAN can continue to provide life-changing programs and services for pancreatic cancer patients and families. Because of you, PanCAN can provide free, personalized information about treatment options, diet, and resources to patients and caregivers through PanCAN Patient Services; build volunteer relationships in local communities; and advocate for increased research funding. And $1,000 can give 50 newly diagnosed patients free, ongoing personalized support through PanCAN Patient Services.

To learn more, visit pancan.org.

Event Day

We want to make donating on event day as easy as possible! There will be signage with QR codes that link to your event’s donation form. There, you can donate via American Express, Discover, MasterCard, VISA, PayPal, ApplePay, and checking/savings account. We also gladly accept checks at the Registration/Donation area. We do not accept cash at this time.

If you have checks to turn in after event day, please indicate your event location and team name in the memo section of each check and mail them along with this form to the address listed at the bottom right of the form.

PanCAN PurpleStride is a rain-or-shine event. If severe weather is anticipated, please check the event website for last-minute updates. If the event is canceled due to dangerous weather, we'll send an email on the morning of the event to all registered participants.

Yes! Strollers are welcome at PurpleStride.

We love animals just as much as you do, but for safety and liability reasons, pets are not allowed at PanCAN PurpleStride events.

JOIN US AT PURPLESTRIDE!