Boston Marathon Fundraising Remains Strong After Record Year, $28.3 Million Raised

BOSTON, July 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Participants running on behalf of more than 200 non-profit organizations raised $28.3 million for charity this year in the 119^th running of the Boston Marathon.  The overall total 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 (www.crowdrise.com/2015bostonmarathon), the world's largest and fastest growing online platform dedicated exclusively to charitable fundraising.  

About the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.)
Established in 1887, the Boston Athletic Association is a non-profit organization with a mission of promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The B.A.A.'s Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon, and the organization manages other local events and supports comprehensive charity, youth, and year-round running programs, including high performance athletes and running club. Since 1986, the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon has been John Hancock Financial. The Boston Marathon is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, along with the international marathons in Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City. More than 60,000 runners will participate in B.A.A. events in 2015. The 120th Boston Marathon will be held on Monday, April 18, 2016. For more information on the B.A.A., please visit www.baa.org.

About John Hancock Financial and Manulife
John Hancock Financial is a division of Manulife, a leading Canada-based financial services group with principal operations in Asia, Canada and the United States. Operating as Manulife in Canada and Asia, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States, our group of companies offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Assets under management by Manulife and its subsidiaries were C$821 billion (US$648 billion) as at March 31, 2015. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife can be found on the Internet at manulife.com.

The John Hancock unit, through its insurance companies, comprises one of the largest life insurers in the United States. John Hancock offers and administers a broad range of financial products, including life insurance, annuities, investments,  401(k) plans, long-term care insurance, college savings, and other forms of business insurance. Additional information about John Hancock may be found at johnhancock.com.

For more information about the Boston Marathon:            
www.johnhancock.com/bostonmarathon/index.html            Twitter @jhboston26
www.baa.org                                                                   Twitter @bostonmarathon

For more information about John Hancock Boston Marathon Non-Profit Fundraising:
www.johnhancock.com/bostonmarathon/bostonmarathon_nonprofit.html

SOURCE John Hancock Financial

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