May 31, 2001 | Read Time: 3 minutes
By NICOLE WALLACE
A charity in the United Kingdom founded by comedians combined star power, whimsy, and a good cause to raise £50-million, or more than $70-million — with £3.6-million, or more than $5-million, coming in online.
Every two years, as part of its Red Nose Day campaign, Comic Relief encourages individuals and businesses to sponsor silly events to raise money. Corporate sponsorships cover the cost of running the campaign, and the charity distributes all the money raised to projects that fight poverty and social injustice in the United Kingdom and Africa.
The organization is not associated with Comic Relief in the United States, a charity that raises money to help the homeless.
Among this year’s more outrageous fund-raising stunts: A man in Cardiff, Wales, lived in a cave for a week, and students in Belfast, Northern Ireland, paraded through town wearing nothing but molasses and corn flakes. Less flamboyant events included benefit parties, a two-mile “fun run,” and a series of celebrity soccer games.
Over the course of the six-week campaign, a variety of television shows aired to promote the appeal, including quiz shows, cooking programs, a celebrity version of the reality show Big Brother, and two documentaries about groups that receive support from Comic Relief.
On Red Nose Day itself — during which donors across the United Kingdom, to show their support for the cause, donned red noses that sound like a whoopee cushion when squeezed — the BBC aired seven and a half hours of programming related to the event. The marathon evening of television included special episodes of popular television programs, performances by leading U.K. comedians and singers, and reports about Comic Relief’s work.
About 85 percent of the £3.6-million that was donated online came in during the television program.
This year’s effort was the third in which donors could make gifts via the Internet. Comic Relief raised £30,000 online during the 1997 campaign, and £400,000 in 1999.
The organization attributes the jump to increased Internet usage in the United Kingdom and the fact that Comic Relief featured its Internet address much more prominently in its television programming this year than it had in past campaigns. Comic Relief also believes that the large number of Internet users checking its Web site for updates on celebrity Big Brother created a pool of people who were already familiar with the site when it came time to make their donations.
Amanda Horton-Mastin, Comic Relief’s marketing director, says that telephone and Internet donors tended to make their Red Nose Day gifts at very different times. Telephone giving spiked when the broadcast featured emotional footage about Comic Relief’s work, whereas Internet contributions rose dramatically when the programming moved from one BBC channel to another.
“It feels to us as though people left the comfort of their armchairs and walked over to the computer and made their donations when there was a natural break in the programming,” she explains.
Another trend perhaps reflects Red Nose Day’s spirit of fun. Adds Ms. Horton-Mastin, “We also saw a big increase in Internet donations when people got home from the pub in the evening.”
For more information: Go to http://www.comicrelief.com.
