To add pledges on your Fundhub page:
Adding pledges saves our team lots of time and money, so we really appreciate it.
Pets are not permitted at CNOY. We love pets, and believe you when you say your pet is super well-behaved! But we can’t (and won’t) run the risk of any walker being bit/nipped/tripped, or your pet being kicked/poked/provoked. So please, leave your pet at home. (However, we do allow those with approved and trained service animals to attend.)
A pledge form is sent to you via email automatically when you register for CNOY. But if you can't find that email, additional pledge forms may be downloaded from the Tools page.
Definitely! You can record and then pay your cash donations in Fundhub and avoid lugging an envelope of cash around.
If you'd like to pay with personal cheque, be sure to enter your cash pledges online and then write a cheque for the total value of your cash donations. Please make cheques payable to Coldest Night of the Year. Mail your cheque to the CNOY Head Office, and include a note indicating that it is meant to cover your pledges.
If you want to start or join a team (or walk by yourself), you can register online by clicking the Register button on the top menu, next to the logo. The registration process will take you about 5 minutes, so you can do it while the coffee's perking. Note: When setting up your username, please do not use spaces.
Click the login link at the top of the page - you'll find a Forgot Password? link at the bottom of the box that pops up. (Or hey, you can just click here.)
Yes! This is a change that we need to make at the CNOY Headquarters. Contact us and we'll either a) remove you from the team, so that you can start or join a new one, or b) move you to a different team (if you know which one you'd like to join).
All kids age 12 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who is walking with them and stays with them at all times (including helping them register/hand in their waiver form). The routes are family-friendly, but not intended for children walking alone.
All youth under 18 must have a waiver signed by their legal guardian.
Online donations of $20 or more with a valid email will receive a charitable receipt within minutes of your donation.
Note: If we don't have a valid physical address, we cannot issue a tax receipt, even if an email is provided.
Note that only the Team Captain (a.k.a. the participant who started the team):
In order to earn a CNOY Toque, participants need to meet their modest, age-specific minimum fundraising amount, listed below:
Once you hit your minimum, you'll pick up your toque on event day. If you aren't able to pick it up on event day, send us an email at info@cnoy.org, we'll figure it out.
Team Captains are the backbone of CNOY. Here's what they do:
On CNOY Day, Team Captains rally their team together, congratulate them on a job well done, and walk with those who need a pal to walk alongside.
Once you register online, you can use the online FundHub to email your friends and family a link to your personal fundraising page. There, they can give to you securely online by credit card or PayPal. Alternately, you can download a pledge form, print it out, and ask people face-to-face for support.
For more help, check out our fundraising tips.
Yes - if you get sick, do what's needed to get better! But remember, you can do your walk offsite at any time, and the money you raise for your charity is still valuable. So if you are able, reschedule instead of cancelling.
Please make cheques payable to Coldest Night of the Year and write the name of the walker or team you are supporting on the memo line.
No - there is no registration fee for the Coldest Night of the Year, anyone may participate for free. However, in order to earn a CNOY Toque, participants need to meet their age-specific minimum fundraising amount, listed below:
Yes! If you donate or pay by credit card/Paypal, our charity's legal name will appear on your statement - Blue Sea Philanthropy, a registered Canadian Foundation.
Occasionally, the name that appears on your statement may show 'Bambora' instead - this is the name of Blue Sea's credit card payment gateway supplier.
Choose the Location you'll be walking from the Locations page - if your location's route map has been finalized, it will be there, near the bottom. (If not, be patient, it'll be there soon.)
Email or call us and we'll take care of it for you. We'll need to know:
When a donor gives online, we provide them with an opportunity to cover the 4.25% processing fees we pay to process each credit card donation. It's totally voluntary and helps CNOY reduce its operating costs for the event.
You can change your walking distance by:
The waiver form means you understand the risk of walking in the event, that in the event of injury you release the event, the volunteers and the operators and charity partners of the event from any liability and, should your picture be taken on CNOY Day, you release CNOY to appropriately use your likeness in any future publications related to CNOY.
No - you can have as many people join your team as you'd like!
Check-in for all onsite walkers opens at 4pm and closes at 6pm. Walkers should have their pledge forms and any cash and cheques filled out and ready to go when they arrive.
To edit your personal goal:
To edit your team's goal (Team Captains only):
No - due to the risk of ice, snow, and wet weather, the number of walkers involved, and the participation of children, seniors, and service animals in our event, participants are not permitted to run our routes.
Absolutely! The purpose of the CNOY is to raise funds for charities. Walkers work hard to raise funds from friends, families and co-workers to support the charity they are walking for.
Everyone on your team must register online before CNOY Day.
You absolutely can! You'll need to a sign a physical waiver when you arrive, but you can definitely still participate.
The short answer is: yes. It helps us get a better handle on how many participants to expect on CNOY Day.
So please, create a separate registration profile for each family member. You could route them all to the same email address, or even post all donations under one family member's name for efficiency's sake, but each person should have their own profile.
To find your CNOY start location, choose the city you are walking in from the Locations menu - everything you need is there, including start/finish location, address, map, contact numbers, emails, route descriptions, and most other location-specific details.
Note: If you are an offsite participant, you get to pick your own starting location!
If you'd like to switch your team captain, talk to us! Tell us your team name and who you'd like your new captain to be and we'll fix it for you.
Online donors who give securely with their credit cards get e-receipts within 24 hours of their donations. Donors who give cheques or cash are receipted within 100 days of the event by email or post, provided their donation is $20 or over and we have received a full mailing address for their donation.
No - you can register online at any time leading up to CNOY Day. Of course, we recommend you register early so that you can use the weeks before CNOY Day to raise lots of funds for your charity!
Note: Those who register online on CNOY Day must sign a waiver form during check-in.
Yes! everyone who joins a team selects their own distance during registration. You may have people walking different distances on the same team.
Email us at info@cnoy.org and we'll take care of it for you.
Note: If you have collected cash or cheque pledges, please ensure that all donor names and addresses are carefully posted online in your FundHub. Don't send cash in the mail. Pay for cash with a personal cheque from you (or pay by credit online). Send all cheques with your pledge sheet (if applicable) to Blue Sea Foundation, 260-659 King St. East, Kitchener, ON, N2G 2M4, Canada, Attn: Coldest Night of the Year.
First of all, don't hit "reply" to that notification email - that just goes to us (and we might giggle at you).
To thank your donors, login to your Fundhub, click on Fundraising, then click on Thank Donors. Follow the instructions there to send them a quick thank you note.
Call or email us. We're happy to help!
All post-CNOY cheques can be mailed directly (with your completed pledge form) to the address on our Contact Page. We accept donations until March 31st, 2025.
If you donate by credit card/Paypal, our charity's legal name will appear on your statement - Blue Sea Philanthropy. Occasionally, some donations may be listed under the name 'Bambora' - this is the name of our payment gateway supplier.
We don't encourage door-to-door fundraising. Instead, login to Fundhub and send an email, or text a link to your page, or send a message through your favourite social network. They'll a) give more as a rule, and b) get their tax receipt immediately.
It can take until mid-April for all cash and cheque deposits on event day (and those that get sent in after the event) to be carefully processed and assigned to the correct walker or team.
Registration opens at 4pm, the CNOY walk routes open at 5pm, and all walkers must be out on the route by 6pm.
Note: If you are an offsite participant, you get to pick your own start time!
Yes, there will be one (outdoor) rest stop along your route - usually at the halfway point of the 5 km circuit.
Depending on your fitness, the weather, congestion, and ground cover, most walkers clip along at between 4-5 km/hour. That means...
We've got lots of answers for your business, church or organization - check out our About the Challenge page, and click FAQ.
You don't have to. Normally, you would at least begin walking together (if possible). After that, everyone is free to walk at their own pace.
Simply add in five zeroes (00000) as the postal code, and the donation page should allow you to continue - if you're still having trouble, please contact our offices and we would be more than happy to help!
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure, we have put in place physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online. For more info: click here.
Yes! If you have joined a team, your fundraising totals will be reflected in both your team total and the overall event total.
We expect cold temperatures and precipitation. Watch the weather online prior to the walk carefully. Layers of clothing are good since you will certainly warm up during a long walk. Gloves, a warm, ear-covering hat, sunglasses for wind protection and a water/snow repellent jacket (preferably with a hood) are all good choices.
Footwear is really important. If there is snow or rain, you need to have water-proof boots or shoes. After all, it is a February walk in Canada...
Great work! Here's the tricky part: CNOY can't assign cash/cheque pledges to a team, we can just assign them to a participant. So, you've got 2 options:
If you receive cash or cheques made payable to you, please login to Fundhub, click Fundraising, then Enter $$ or Cheques, and enter the donor information there. You'll then have one of two choices:
CNOY officials will monitor temperatures during the week leading up to event day. If the temperature becomes extremely cold, or if there is freezing rain - so much so that the safety of our walkers is in question - we may shorten or suspend the event to safeguard their well-being.
If you can't login or your username is not working, make sure you don't use any spaces in your name or password.
Thousands of Canadian employers have matching programs for employees who fundraise, volunteer, or donate. Each program is unique, but overall each program encourages staff to give, fundraise, or volunteer by providing some specific matching fund incentives. Examples:
As you'd expect, many of these programs are created by larger employers. To search for your company, visit the CNOY Matching Funds page.
Ask us! Visit the contact page to get in touch with our friendly customer-service team.