Matched funding challenge boosts Ken Burnett’s latest 500-mile quest
Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Chip Grizzard, the first £7,500 Ken raises will now be doubled! Could you help Ken reach his goal and raise even more for SOFII?
- Written by
- SOFII
- Added
- February 23, 2026
Ken Burnett, co-founder of SOFII.org and former trustee of The SOFII Foundation, has dedicated much of his life to fundraising. Even in his retirement, and at an impressive age of 75 (sorry Ken!), he continues to help fundraisers be their best – by championing the free resources available on the SOFII website.
This year, he’s showing his commitment to SOFII’s community by embarking on an another epic fundraising and physical challenge. Yes, on April 1st 2026, Ken and his partner Ginny will set off on a 500-mile journey to conquer Spain’s Camino de Santiago for the second time.
In 2021, they overcame many obstacles when attempting this epic hike. But Ken and Ginny persevered and completed the pilgrimage. Their six-week hike raised a tremendous amount for our small charity, The SOFII Foundation – thanks in large part to a generous match funding challenge from American fundraising veteran Chip Grizzard.
Today, SOFII is thrilled to share that as Ken and Ginny prepare to tackle to the Camino again, Chip has offered an incredible £7,500 of matched funding for this year’s trek!
To reflect the difficulty of this trek and all the training he has undertaken, Ken set himself an initial fundraising target of £10,000. And if he can raise £7,500 from kind donors like you, then Chip’s match funding will take him over and above his target!
Your support would mean so much to Ken as he takes on ‘Parte Dos’ and returns to the Camino in a couple of months. He’s doing all of this so more fundraisers can learn from the past and create effective, emotive campaigns for their donors today.
The Camino de Santiago is a difficult, well-trodden path. This challenge won’t be easy.
Throughout the Middle Ages, thousands walked from their homes to make their pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. This pilgrim’s path paved the way for different routes across Europe – all coming together to arrive in the city surrounding the cathedral.
Ken and Ginny know first-hand how difficult this trek is, having completed the trek together five years ago. The memories of those brutal blisters still haunt them. But your kind donation to SOFII will raise Ken’s spirits and help support the thousands of fundraisers around the world who rely on SOFII for inspiration.
Ken said: ‘I’ve conquered the Camino once. But it wasn’t easy. At times, I thought it had broken me. Fortunately, my supporters kept me motivated. Five years later, I’m embarking on the Camino challenge again because fundraisers are still facing incredibly hard times. Now, more than ever, I want to help others achieve greater success for the causes they care about.’
SOFII is so grateful to Chip Grizzard for his incredibly generous offer of matched funding.
This will be a transformative sum for our small charity. It will help us reach many more fundraisers, make the site even better for you, our users, and most importantly, help keep it free forever. It will also ensure we can offer more free or low-cost webinars and seminars for fundraisers who are limited by time, budget or location.
Chip said: ‘Five years ago, I was proud to help Ken raise a phenomenal sum for SOFII. He overcame huge obstacles to reach the finish line and achieve his goal. The SOFII Foundation, Ken’s brainchild, equips thousands of fundraising professionals with tools and ideas to make a greater impact for good in the world. If you care about fundraising, you need to support Ken’s walk and embrace his passion for helping fundraisers around the world.’
To make your donation, and see some of Ken’s training videos, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/ken-sofii
Your kind gift will benefit The SOFII Foundation, the charity that runs SOFII.org. The organisation and our team are dedicated to sharing innovative and inspiring ideas to spur more effective donor-focused fundraising initiatives around the world.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to Chip and all our supporters for your kindness – you are doing so much to support Ken and, in turn, your fellow fundraisers. We could not be more proud to have you on our side!
Chip Grizzard is CEO of Diende, a Global Consulting Agency. Grizzard has served hundreds of charities and focuses on helping organisations develop a new model of fundraising that holistically balances high-touch approaches for middle and major donors, planned giving, and stewardship along with direct marketing and annual giving. If you think Chip and his team can help you with your fundraising, you can reach him at Chip.Grizzard@outlook.com, he’d love to hear from you.
