In memory event fundraising is worth £15m to charities, says JustGiving
Howard Lake | 4 July 2013 | News
People who take part in fundraising events in memory of a loved one are generating £15 million a year to charities, according to research from online fundraising platform JustGiving. However, the research found that many charities are not distinguishing this income stream from other types of event fundraising, even though it is growing at 25% year on year.
The research was presented by JustGiving’s Head of Charity Partnerships Gemma Randall this week at the Institute of Fundraising’s National Convention.
In memory events
JustGiving’s research, based on its own data, found that:
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- In memory event fundraising pages raise on average 54% more than typical event pages
- this is the equivalent of £3.8 million additional donations so far this year.
- 47% of charities say they do not treat their In Memory supporters any differently to other fundraisers.
Randall cited recent examples of successful pages including that of Katherine Jenkins who ran the London marathon in memory of her father, and the friends and family of Horatio Chapple raising over £40,000 through fundraising events in his memory.
Randall commented: “Traditionally many charities see in memory fundraising as giving that happens at a funeral or in the immediate aftermath of someone’s death. In fact, what we are seeing is that increasingly supporters are choosing to fundraise for a charity in a loved one’s memory sometimes years after they died.
“There’s a real shift towards creating an ongoing digital legacy for someone who has died – raising money not just for medical and research charities but for a huge range of causes that were important to the loved one. These are extremely passionate fundraisers making a very powerful ‘ask’ on behalf of a charity. There’s huge potential for charities here to make the experience of these supporters better and more tailored.”
She added that donors increasingly expect their charity to understand what they are doing, why they are doing it, and to tailor their communications with them accordingly.
Photo: Stewart Black on Flickr.com
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.