ComRes interviewed 2,039 British adults online between 21st and 23rd March 2014. Data were weighted to be representative of all British adults aged 18+. Data excludes respondents who say that they raised £10,000 or more running for charity in the past 12 months (n=2,036). ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.
Date Published: 12 Apr 2014
Categories: Public and communities | Social | Third Sector | UK
Description
Nearly seven million Britons have raised money for charity through running in the last 12 months, according to a survey released today. This is a 36% rise since the previous year, as two million more people join the continuing boom for running for charity. Each runner is also raising £78 more than in 2012/13, the average increasing to £358.
The figures, from a survey conducted for the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), which helps people and businesses support the causes they care about and provides financial services designed for the charitable sector, also found that men are moving ahead when it comes to running for charity, a trend which could account for the overall rise.
Whilst 52% of runners are men, just 48% of runners are women. This is a reversal of last year’s results, where 44% of runners were men and 56% were women.
There has been a surge in the number of men taking part in fun runs this year, with 16% saying they have taken part in one previously, compared to just 10% last year. This year, men raised on average £396 compared to women raising an average of £319.
The survey found:
· 4.9m people have raised money for charity through running in the year ending April 2013, growing to 6.8m in the year to April 2014
· The number of people claiming to have raised money through running for charity in their lifetime jumped up by five percentage points – from 14% to 19%
· The average age of a runner is 42
· Medical research is the most popular cause overall (48%), followed by Hospitals and hospices (20%) and then Children and Young people (16%).