Participants running on behalf of more than 200 non-profit organizations raised $28.3 million for charity this year in the 119th running of the Boston Marathon. The race raised 38.4 million for charity in 2014, the year following the Boston Marathon bombings, which had been a record amount and nearly double the $20 million raised in 2013.
The overall total for 2015 includes $15.6 million raised through the Boston Athletic Association's Official Charity Program, $10.6 million raised through John Hancock's Marathon Non-Profit Program, and $2.1 million raised by qualified and other invitational runners.
The majority of the fundraising runners gained entry through the B.A.A.'s Official Charity Program and John Hancock's Marathon Non-Profit Program, which provide non-profits with guaranteed entry numbers ("bibs") that enable runners to fundraise for their organizations. The average amount raised per runner in both programs remained on pace with last year's historic average, despite the field size dropping from 36,000 to 30,000.
Among the charitable organizations benefiting from the B.A.A's Official Charity Program in 2015 were Boston Children's Hospital, Dream Big! and The Michael Carter Lisnow Respite Center.
"In addition to serving as a source of hometown pride, the Boston Marathon is an eagerly-anticipated event for many charitable organizations and non-profits in the community," said Tom Grilk, B.A.A. Executive Director. "As host to one of the world's truly special athletic competitions, the B.A.A. and our principal sponsor John Hancock Financial acknowledge the tremendous cooperation that we receive in organizing the race each year by annually providing entries that allow participants in the field to raise important funds, most of which stay local."
John Hancock-sponsored runners ran to benefit organizations including: Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Medical Center, the Alzheimer's Association of MA/NH, and the Special Olympics Massachusetts.
Team John Hancock, consisting of 175 employee runners, raised record funds for the Boys & Girls Club of Boston and the Ron Burton Training Village, along with several other non-profits. In addition, 36 employee runners (included in that total) from parent company Manulife ran on behalf of Pathways to Education Canada. Overall, John Hancock and Manulife employee fundraising was up 17 percent from 2014.
"Our 2015 theme 'There is Only One Boston' celebrated the collective traditions, memories and experiences of the 119-year old legacy that is the Boston Marathon," said Craig Bromley, President of John Hancock. "In our 30th anniversary year as the principal sponsor of this iconic race, we are proud to continue to provide meaningful support to our community partners through our non-profit program."
Over the past 30 years, the official B.A.A. Charity Program and John Hancock's Non-Profit Program have combined to raise more than $234 million for community-based organizations.
For the fourth consecutive year, John Hancock utilized a centralized online platform to capture fundraising through a partnership with CrowdRise, the world's largest and fastest growing online platform dedicated exclusively to charitable fundraising.
