Charity-linked training: how apps that add your kilometers to a cause work.

• There are three common models: sponsors who donate per unit of activity, the company itself donating, and challenges where you fundraise.
• Transparency is judged by simple questions: who pays, how much per unit, to which organizations, with what verification and what report.
• Be wary of vague promises ("part of what you pay goes to causes") without a percentage, recipient or schedule.
• Zoku Athletics lets your workouts add to charity campaigns with verified beneficiaries.
• Taking part does not oblige you to anything: you can train the same and decide whether to add to the active campaign.

It is the idea that your training has an effect beyond you: every logged kilometer, rep or session becomes a contribution to a cause. It works because it gives an extra reason to go train, but it helps to understand where the money comes from, because movement on its own does not generate a donation.

That conversion of activity into help is what changes from app to app, and it is where transparency shows best.

Sponsors

Companies sponsor a pool and the app distributes the donation according to the activity recorded, for example an amount per kilometer; the exact split depends on each edition and each sponsor.

Company donation

The app or brand donates a percentage or a fixed amount, sometimes tied to how many people complete a challenge.

Fundraising challenges

You or your team ask friends or companies for support; the app only measures the challenge.

Collective campaigns

A community adds up together to a goal and the organization receives an amount committed in advance.

None is better in itself. What counts is that the model is explained clearly.

• Who pays? A sponsor, the company or you?
• How much is donated per unit (per kilometer, per rep, per completed challenge) and is there a cap?
• To which organizations? Are they identified and verified?
• When and how is the money delivered? Is there a receipt or certificate?
• Is there a report? Is it published how much was raised and delivered?
• What happens if the campaign goal is not reached?
• What data of yours is processed and who sees it?

If an app does not answer most of these, treat the promise as marketing, not as a verifiable donation.

• A clear, published percentage, amount or formula.
• Named beneficiary organizations with a described prior verification.
• Clear rules against cheating (fake sessions or ones imported from other platforms).
• Delivery dates and a public results report.
• Each campaign's goal and conditions, in plain sight.

Solidary Reps is Zoku Athletics' charity system: your workouts add to charity campaigns, and the Pro and Elite plans let you take part when a campaign is active. These are the rules already published in the Platform Rules:

• Every session that contributes to a campaign must be a real session, completed by you and recorded in the app.
• Sessions recorded on another platform are not accepted without prior validation.
• Zoku only works with beneficiaries (NGOs, foundations or initiatives) that have passed prior legal and financial verification; anonymous requests are not accepted.
• Once a session is associated with a campaign it cannot be withdrawn; if fraud is detected the session is invalidated but the actual donation to the beneficiary is not reversed.

Zoku Athletics integrates Solidary Reps alongside the multimodal timer, benchmarks, SafeTrack and the community. With Solidary Reps your workouts add to charity campaigns; the Pro and Elite plans let you take part when a campaign is active.

The app is not public on the stores yet. It is in testing and there is no launch date.

The Free plan is free, with no card and no expiry. Pro and Elite are paid; what each includes is shown in the plans section of the home page.

Who is behind the website and the app: About Zoku Athletics.

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