Biggest fundraisers lose their shine - but Scottish events still sparkle

Charity income from the biggest mass participation events has fallen.

New figures show that there was a decline of £4 million for the top 25 fundraising drives in 2017 – down to £135.5m.

This is only the second time the total has fallen since event magagement firm Massive began collating the figures in 2013.

In total, eight events saw a drop in income last year. However, Scotland’s Kiltwalk bucked this trend – growing by a massive 200%.

The biggest drop was seen in cancer Research UK’s Race For Life, which fell by 20%, to £38m.

There was a £2m reduction for Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning to £27.5m and Walk the Walk’s Moonwalk saw its income fall by £500,000 to £7.5m.

The overall fall was driven by the relative decline of these massive fundraisers.

This suggests a sense of fatigue around long-standing fundraising events, as the remaining 22 events showed an overall increase.

Events that saw big increases included Kiltwalk, which grew 200% in 2017, and Cancer Research UK’s Walk All Over Cancer, which grew 150%.

Another Scottish success was Social Bite’s Sleep In The Park, which was a new entry in the top 25, straight in an number 10, with an income of £3.6m.

Massive director John Tasker said: “It appears that virtual events are struggling to maintain the audience needed to deliver the income and growth of their physical equivalents.

“The message we take from this is that above all else it is the quality of delivery that matters. Whether launching a new product or turning around a declining campaign, focusing on the core offer and clearly identifying and targeting the most relevant and valuable audiences is the key to delivering success.”