2013 Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Top 30 Results
Top Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Efforts down 2.6%
Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum survey shows revenue for top 30 programs dropped $44.2 million to $1.67 billion in 2013
Infographic - 2013 Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Thirty Results
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Atlanta – February 26, 2014 – Eight-figure revenue contractions by three major programs led the country’s top thirty peer-to-peer fundraising programs to an overall 2.6% decline in 2014, according to the industry’s annual fundraising roundup.
Seventeen of the top thirty programs reported increased or unchanged revenue, but that could not overcome contractions of $27.5 million by the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, $20 million by Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s Race for the Cure Series and $15.5 million for the Komen 3-Day walks.
On the flip side, five programs reported revenue jumps of more than $5 million in 2013. The $5 million+ club included the Heart Walk, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, the Pan-Mass Challenge (cycling), Movember (mustache growing) and Cycle for Survival (indoor cycling).
The Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Thirty (previously called the Run Walk Ride Thirty) reflects the growing diversity among initiatives in which participants ask their contacts to donate to a cause, according to David Hessekiel, president of the Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum, which announced a name change from the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council at its annual conference on Tuesday.
“This year’s top thirty includes programs in which people shave their heads, grow mustaches, shoot hoops, jump rope and bowl in addition to running, walking or cycling,” said Hessekiel. (A detailed study summary is available at www.peertopeerforum.com)
The top ten programs by total gross revenue in 2013 were:
1. $380.0 million (-6.8%) Relay for Life, American Cancer Society
2. $106.8 million (-15.8%) Race for the Cure, Susan G Komen for the Cure
3. $105.6 million (+5.0%) Heart Walk, American Heart Association
4. $100.7 million (-5.9%) March for Babies, March of Dimes
5. $83.1 million (+1.0%) Bike MS, National MS Society
6. $78.0 million (-3.8%) Walk to Cure Diabetes, JDRF
7. $71.8 million (-7.2%) Team In Training, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
8. $66.2 million (-2.7%) Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, American Cancer Society
9. $58.5 million (+6.4%) Light The Night Walk, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
10. $57.3 million (+10.5%) Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Alzheimer’s Association
It took gross revenue of $12.1 million for the the National Down Syndrome Society’s Buddy Walk program to snag the 30th spot on the 2013 list. That represents a $2.2 million or 22 percent increase from the amount needed to make the list in 2012.
“Double-digit growth by programs in the middle and lower rungs of the Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Thirty show that there is still substantial room for growth in this field,” noted Hessekiel.
As examples, Hessekiel pointed to Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center’s Cycle for Survival Program, the #27 program up nearly 68.7% to $14 million, and Movember, which raises funds for men’s health, which was the #23 program up 39.4% to $21 million.
The Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Thirty is based on survey responses from the professionals who manage major athletic event fundraising programs, publicly available data and estimates when nonprofits decline to participate.
A study summary is available at www.peertopeerforum.com. A CD with extensive survey data is available for purchase on the group’s website and is provided at no cost to dues-paying Peer-to-Peer Profesional Forum members.