Early on Sunday morning approximately 10,000 people will set out to run 26 miles in a bid to complete the London Marathon. Since the first race was held in 1981, some 676,743 people have completed the course.
The marathon is not simply a feat of endurance, it is also said to be the biggest fundraising event in the world. In 2006 alone £4.5 million pounds was raised, with over 78% of those who participated doing so in support of a charity.
In an effort to increase the level of fundraising charities are allotted a certain number of guaranteed places, which they then offer to runners in return for raising an agreed amount of money. Usually somewhere between £1500 and £2000. Over the years a grand total of £315 million has been raised, providing essential assistance for numerous charities, both domestic and international, and across a whole array of causes.
The London Marathon reflects the way in which fundraising has become synonymous with personal sacrifice. It is almost unheard of for someone to individually raise money for a charity without undertaking a challenge of their own, whether that be running, skydiving, biking or canoeing the Amazon.
Perhaps it is to demonstrate that it is a worthy cause, or perhaps it is a way of “earning” donations. It certainly holds true that the bigger the challenge the larger the donations you can expect. A read-a-thon might gain you a few pounds, but a trek up Kilimanjaro or a sky-dive can prove very lucrative.
On the flip side, there is also an expectation among those doing the fundraising that they’ll "gain" something for themselves. There is no doubt, for instance, that a large number of those who run the marathon do so first and foremost for the challenge rather than the cause.
But does it really matter?
In some cases, some would argue that it does.
In her post Should I volunteer abroad Claire raised questions along this line in regards to people tramping over to developing countries for voluntourism. Wouldn't it be better to save the CO2 emissions and simply hand over the money you would have spent on your flight to the people who know what they're doing? It is certainly something worth thinking about.
On a domestic level however, the implications are different. Afterall, whether a person running for charity does so for the cause or for themselves, the net effect is the same. It is certainly the case that combining personal feats with making a difference has become a feature of fundraising, and it is an effective way to motivate people to get involved and to convince others to part with their hard earned money. For that reason I think it's set to continue.
Another plus point is the awareness and engagement participants create amongst their peer group,
@ Lara - That’s a good point. They kind of advertise the cause in some ways - running with their t.shirts, creating just giving pages. There is no doubt that the charities promote it.
Hi Jodi,
I agree with you that it most of the time doesn’t matter where the money is coming from. Although from an awareness point of view it does matter of course.
I had the same thoughts some time back when I briefly saw the show “Postcode loterij” in the Netherlands ( http://www.postcodeloterij.nl/GoedeDoelen.htm ). It is an almost evening filling lottery program whereby quite a few ‘good causes’ are financially supported. But also here one can ask the question whether people buy tickets in the hope of winning themselves or for support of the good causes. And it actually doesn’t matter, as long as the causes are sponsored.
@ Johan - yes, you’re right on the awareness point. Though I suppose you can look at things like the lottery you mentioned as a way of engaging those who otherwise wouldn’t get involved or who wouldn’t give their money. Those who are already dedicated will do so regardless of personal gain (so to speak) but plenty of people need to feel like their efforts are justified or their money comes with some kind of return (i.e I have a chance of winning something, or I will get to go on a trip to Africa). My friends just ran the marathon raising about £4000 between them - they ran for a charity because that was the only way they could get a place in the event. Their motivations don’t really matter in the end because they raised valuable money, for a valuable cause.
Here here! Running a marathon does wonders for your physical and mental health and donating the money to charity is certainly a worthwhile goal.
I love when people speak sensibly about aid!
Thanks for the mention.
It helps you mentally and physically as Clare said before, but I think even more in an emotional way: You feel you are DOING SOMETHING!
Here here Andrea.
Thanks Clare and Andrea… I’d agree that feeling like you’re doing something is one of the biggest motivations for people doing things for charity.