Network Effect of Event Fundraising Revealed

LONDON, October 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

JustGiving  and ACTIVE Network share event fundraising insights at Making Every Step Count conference

Online fundraisers taking part in organised events use social media to reach close to 600 people and inspire others to take on challenges for charity, according to new data from JustGiving

Speaking at Making every step count: How to maximize participation and fundraising at your event, Howard Bell, Director of Partnerships at JustGiving, revealed new data showing that each individual fundraising campaign is seen by an average of 562 people on Facebook.^[1]

What's more, the event fundraising 'network effect' means fundraisers encourage others to follow their lead. One in four fundraisers will choose either to take part in the same event for charity the next year or will inspire a friend or family member to take part instead.^[2]

The Making every step count conference, which took place today at the Commonwealth Club in central London, brought together speakers from JustGiving & ACTIVE Network to showcase their integrated event registration and fundraising tool for UK charities and event partners, aimed at helping event managers sell out their events and maximise fundraising, with zero up-front costs.

The data, taken from the analysis of JustGiving fundraising pages and their sponsors at major fundraising events, shows the importance of fundraising to event organisers, suggesting that exposure from fundraisers actually helps fill places for future events, while helping charities to acquire new advocates. In a recent JustGiving survey, 99% of fundraisers said that they would recommend the event that they participated in to a friend or family member.^[3]

Howard Bell, Director of Partnerships at JustGiving commented, "We've been exploring the fundraising network effect - the idea that by participating in an event, fundraisers actually encourage their friends and families to do likewise. This data shows that not only do event fundraisers have a large online social reach, they act as inspiration for others, bringing in new advocates for their charity and new participants for their chosen event. By encouraging fundraising, event organisers give themselves a powerful word of mouth marketing tool."

Sejal Pietrzak, SVP of International at ACTIVE Network, commented, "We've found that friends and family are huge motivators in not only participating in an event, but also fundraising, and that social media's ability to foster participation is a critical component. Our partnership with JustGiving has created a streamlined process for charities to bring together event registration and fundraising, as well as leverage online communities to increase activity overall within their community."

To find out more about event registration and fundraising, go to just.ly/ACTIVEnetwork

The full series of insights from the event are available on request.  

About JustGiving

JustGiving (http://www.justgiving.com) is the UK's largest online fundraising platform and has helped 13 million people raise over £1 billion for more than 12,000 charities since 2001. In 2009, JustGiving's CEO Zarine Kharas was awarded the RSA's Albert Medal for "democratising fundraising and technology for charities" and JustGiving was awarded the "best use of technology award" at the 2009 Sunday Times Tech Track 100 Awards.

About ACTIVE Network

ACTIVE Network (NYSE: ACTV) is on a mission to make the world a more active place. With deep expertise in Activity and Participant Management™, our ACTIVE Works® cloud technology helps organizations transform and grow their businesses. We do this through technology solutions that power the world's activities and through online destinations such as ACTIVE.com® that connect people with the things they love to do. Serving over 50,000 global business customers and driving over 80 million transactions annually, we help organizations get participants, manage their events and build communities. ACTIVE Network is headquartered in San Diego, California and has over 30 offices worldwide. Learn more at ACTIVENetwork.com or ACTIVE.com and engage with us on Twitter @ACTIVEnetwork, @ACTIVE and on Facebook.

About Forward-Looking Statements

The Active Network, Inc. cautions you that the statements included in this press release that are not a description of historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Any such statements are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. More detailed information about The Active Network, Inc. and the risks and uncertainties that may affect the realization of these forward-looking statements is set forth in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These filings may be read free of charge on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement and The Active Network, Inc. undertakes no obligation to revise or update this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.

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^[1] JustGiving analysed internal data for over 300,000 fundraising pages, with additional data from Google Analytics and Facebook Insights. In total, each individual fundraising campaign has an average of 562 impressions on Facebook, through fundraisers and sponsors sharing information about the event.

^[2] Based on a study of four major fundraising events during 2010 and 2011, JustGiving analysed the fundraising activity of fundraisers and their sponsors in subsequent years. In total, 12% of fundraisers raise money for the same event in a subsequent year, while a further 11% of all sponsors of those fundraisers go on to fundraise for the same event in a subsequent year.

^[3] JustGiving survey to over 400 active fundraisers (Sept 2012), "Would you recommend the event your participated in to a friend or family member?"

SOURCE JustGiving