Over £260m raised in first five years of Virgin Money London Marathon
Howard Lake | 19 September 2014 | News
Over a quarter of a billion pounds has been raised for charity by London Marathon runners in the last five years since Virgin Money took over sponsorship of the event. The total raised is now £261.4 million.
The total was boosted by the record amount raised by runners in the 2014 Virgin Money London Marathon – £53.2 million. The average amount raised by every London Marathon Golden Bond charity runner was £2,407.
Record-breaking fundraising events
Indeed, 2014 was the eighth consecutive year that London Marathon entrants have broken the Guinness World Record for the largest annual single-day charity fundraising event worldwide.
On Sunday 13 April 2014 35,868 London Marathon runners completed the course. Of these, 77% were raising money for good causes, a 2% increase on the previous year.
Record breaking fundraising totals at London Marathons from 2010-2014. Totals are £m.
These figures bring the total raised for hundreds of charitable causes since the race began in 1981 to more than £716 million.
Virgin Money London Marathon race director Hugh Brasher said:
“We are extremely pleased to reach the quarter of a billion pound figure in only five years with our partnership with Virgin Money, and especially delighted that this year’s amazing London Marathon runners have, once again, raised a record-breaking amount of money for charity.
“Our official charity of the year, Anthony Nolan raised over £1.3 million, smashing their own target of £1.1 million. It was a pleasure to support this exciting and lifesaving charity in its fortieth anniversary year, and to welcome its biggest team of runners yet. Anthony Nolan’s passionate supporters who lined the streets of London carried people around the route, and summed up the uplifting spirit of marathon day”.Advertisement
Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson added: “Over £77 million has been raised to date by Marathon fundraisers using Virgin Money Giving, and long may they continue to do so.”
The 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon is on Sunday 26 April 2015, and the official charity will be Cancer Research UK.
Anthony Nolan London Marathon results 2014
Anthony Nolan has reported its results from this year’s London Marathon.
The charity had 467 runners, and the average amount they raised was £2,783. Twenty runners raised over £5,000 each.
80% of the runners had a personal connection to the cause, including 132 people running in memory of a loved one lost; 13 people who have donated stem cells to a patient, and 16 transplant survivors.
Virgin Money staff voted for the charity to benefit from its two major fundraising activities – the Virgin Money London Marathon 2014 Official Charity, and its Charity of the Year partnership for employees. The results beat Anthony Nolan’s target of £1.1 million.
Catherine Miles, Director of Fundraising at Anthony Nolan, said:
“We have had a fantastic year working with the London Marathon and Virgin Money, and the results will save lives. The partnership was embraced at every level of the charity from the Chief Executive and the Board, to the 800 volunteers who lined the route on marathon day to cheer on our 500 amazing runners”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiPJtc9A-Lk
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.