Virtual fundraising events have raised more on average than in 2020, according to the JustGiving platform and agency Massive.
The Virtual Fundraising Monitor looked at detailed data from 150 virtual fundraising events, which secured over £39m in 2021. It then compared this with results from the same number of events and campaigns from 2020.
Almost half of the events surveyed in the report raised over £100,000 in 2021, double the previous year, while the number of events raising more than £1m also doubled.
Focusing specifically on peer-to-peer fundraising activities, the data covers a range of campaigns by charities including Diabetes UK, Breast Cancer Now, Dementia UK and Alzheimer’s Society.
The report also highlights the increased success of charities in attracting participants to their digital events with the average number of registrants. more than tripling to almost 3,000 delegates per event.
John Tasker, partner at Massive said: “We’re seeing more people taking part in virtual events but not seeing overall significant growth in levels of fundraising, so the growth we are seeing appears to be driven by volume as opposed to value. We’ve seen a corresponding increase in marketing spend to drive that volume.”
Encouragingly, the report further found that the return of physical events hasn’t impacted on the success of virtual campaigns and suggests that there is room in the third-sector market for both physical and virtual fundraising events.
Sally Falvey, head of retention marketing at JustGiving, said: “The report echoes what we’ve seen on JustGiving this year – virtual events are no longer simply the understudy for physical events and have unique value in attracting new and diverse audiences to good causes.
“This time next year we expect to see a continued growth in charities blending event portfolios on JustGiving, with a balance of virtual and physical experiences developed to suit the needs of their supporters.”
