Fundraising event participants ignoring animal and children’s charities, research finds

Charities supporting animal welfare, children and measures to tackle poverty are being shunned by participants taking part in fundraising events despite being popular among donors generally, research has found.

Instead, those taking part in marathons and other sponsored events prefer to back good causes that fund medical research, mental health support hospices and hospitals.

The findings have emerged in fundraising platform Enthuse’s annual report into mass participation events.

It found that research into disease is the most supported charity type, accounting for three in ten fundraising event participants. This is an increase of five percentage points on last year’s figures and seven percentage points higher than the number of donors who usually give to them.

Almost one in six are backing charities supporting NHS, hospitals and hospices, against more than one in five generally donating to them.

Mental health good causes also account for one in six participants, more aligned to the proportion of those who donate to them generally.

But while more than one in five donors give to animal welfare charities, they account for just 4% of fundraising event participants.

Similarly, while more than one in five donors generally back children’s charities, just one in ten event participants are supporting them.

While more than one in six back anti-poverty charities, they are only represented by 4% of runners and other participants.

“Though there are obviously differences in how people donate generally versus undertaking an event for a charity - such as in-memory fundraising or celebrating causes personal to the individual - there may be opportunities for charities in these cause areas, particularly animal and poverty charities,” states Enthuse.

“With the public happy to donate, securing more charity participants could be an opportunity to expand fundraising.”

Overseas aid, older people, environment, armed forces, education and arts charities are other good causes with a low representation among participants.

Enthuse's report also found that one in four people are committed to participating in a charity event in the next 12 months. This is being fuelled by 18-34 year olds, with 14% already signed up and 19% planning to do so, the fundraising platform found.