The 2.6 Challenge passes £10m mark
Melanie May | 12 May 2020 | News
The 2.6 Challenge has now raised over £10 million, with the funds going to 3,961 charities.
According to the organisers, this makes it the biggest collective fundraising effort ever in the UK, and has also seen the Queen send a message of congratulation to Sir John Spurling, Chairman of London Marathon Events.
The 2.6 Challenge officially started on 26 April, which would have been the date of the 40th London Marathon, with more than £10 million now been raised from a campaign that was created and delivered in three weeks.
Hugh Brasher, Co-Chair of the Mass Participation Sports Organisers (MSO) group and Event Director of London Marathon Events, said:
“This is an extraordinary success story. The first virtual meeting about The 2.6 Challenge took place on 3 April and just over five weeks later the campaign has enabled this record number of charities to work together to fundraise more than £10 million. This is an entirely new model for fundraising.
“We would like to thank everyone involved: the team that put the campaign together, the businesses and organisations that supported it and, most of all, every single person who came up with a 2.6 Challenge and raised money for their chosen charity.”
The mass-participation events organisers behind The 2.6 Challenge are: Human Race, parkrun, The Great Run Company, Run 4 Wales, Grounded Events, London Landmarks, Virgin Sport, Limelight Sports, Threshold Sports, Running High and London Marathon Events. The design and website were created by Studio Republic and the social media campaign by LiveWire Sport. Both agencies worked pro bono.
The campaign is supported by the Charities Aid Foundation, the Institute of Fundraising, the Small Charities Coalition, Sport England, Sport Wales, sportscotland, Let’s Do This, Virgin Money Giving and JustGiving.
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More on The 2.6 Challenge:
26 examples of 2.6 Challenge fundraising events 27 April 2020
The 2.6 Challenge raises over £5m on opening day 26 April 2020
Mass-participation event organisers unite for UK charities with The 2.6 Challenge 16 April 2020
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.