Are Marathon Events Worth the Effort for Charities?

As walkathons, bikeathons, and other events have become more popular with charities and participants, the stakes are getting higher to make events stand out—and that is leading to new questions about how cost-efficient and safe they are, reports Smart Money (July.)

Since 1995, revenue for the 10 biggest athletic fund-raising events has grown three times as fast as charitable giving overall, the magazine says. Still, many events involve so much overhead that only 50 cents or less of every dollar goes to the charitable cause, the magazine says.

Much of the money raised for athletic events goes to pay for logistics (security protection, toilets, signs), food, tents for overnight events, race gear, and other items.

But donors may be unhappy to learn that that is the case, say some critics of such events. Kim Irish, director of programming at Breast Cancer Action, an advocacy group, says she would rather see volunteers go out to raise direct contributions that would produce more money. “If walking could cure breast cancer,” she says, “it would be cured by now.”

As events have proliferated, many charities have tried to devise competitions that are more novel than walking or biking. For example, last winter six “polar plunge” charity events were held in Maine, luring participants to jump into chilly Atlantic Ocean waters. In another novel event, people raise money for British hospitals and other charities at “fire-walking” competitions that involve walking over a bed of burning coals.

Researchers say such events are lucrative because people give more money when they see their friends suffer—what scholars call “a martyrdom effect.”

But dangerous events can be problematic. One study found that British charity-related parachuting events cost the country’s National Health Service nearly $23 for every $1.60 raised because of the number of participants who ended up in the hospital.

The effort required for such events is producing a backlash, the magazine says. It notes that a holistic-medicine practitioner in New York held a Walk to Prevent Walking, which turned out to be an afternoon in a park listening to music and relaxing.

The article is available online at http://www.smartmoney.com.