The UK’s events fundraising market appears to have shifted back to in-person experiences, with physical events dominating the Massive Top 25 fundraising rankings, accounting for 88% of the collective £132 million raised in 2024.
The annual report reveals a decline in the number of virtual events making this year’s rankings, with only three making it into the report – the lowest number since 2019. In stark contrast, in-person events claimed all of the top nine fundraising positions, signalling a change in supporter preferences.
The report also highlighted positive signs for the events fundraising market with average fundraising rising and the majority of events based around walking, trekking or cycling seeing entry levels increase.
‘Things haven’t been easy for events fundraisers, but this year’s Top 25 feels like it reflects a real shift in people’s preferences for how they want to spend their time and how they want to support the charities they care about” said John Tasker, Partner at Massive.
“We know in person events tend to engage people better and have more longevity as fundraisers, so this goes some way to explain the changing balance and the increases we’ve seen in average fundraising levels“
Several established in-person events delivered impressive growth such as Kiltwalk which surged 36% to hit £7 million and Alzheimer’s Society’s Trek26 which grew by 27%. Even the well-established Race for Life proved there’s still room for expansion with 18.4% growth.
The sector welcomed new physical event formats, including Restless Development’s Knight Frank Schools Triathlon, which raised £1.4 million and marked triathlon’s first appearance in the Top 25.
The fastest growing events were:
Prostate Cancer UK – Run the Month +143% The Kiltwalk – 36%
Restless Development – The Knight Frank Schools Triathlon +41%
“It’s also interesting to see we had a record number of events raising over £1M and still not making the Top 25. Which shows not only how hard it is to make it on to the list, but also how well events fundraising is working for people beyond those we highlight” said Tasker.
You can download the Massive Top 25 Report here – https://wearemassive.co.uk/the-massive-top-25/
Author: Adam Parry
Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.
