Boston Marathon Races Money To Nonprofits

Financial services group John Hancock raised a record $6.8 million for nonprofits through its Boston Marathon program. The funds represented a 29 percent increase from the totals from the 2011 results.

As part of John Hancock’s sponsorship of the race, nonprofits are guaranteed entry numbers that enable funds to be raised for that organization. More than 1,000 runners helped raise money and awareness for 122 organizations in this year’s Marathon, which occurred on April 16. Approximately 114 of the racers were employees from John Hancock and its parent company, Manulife Financial. They raised $200,000 towards the following organizations: the Boys & Girls Club of Boston, the Center for Teen Empowerment, Ron Burton Training Village and Habitat for Humanity Canada.

"Our employees are a source of pride each year as they dedicate their running to benefit our community partners," said James R. Boyle, President of John Hancock, said in a statement. "We are especially proud our Boston Marathon principal sponsorship made it possible for so many individuals to raise money and awareness to support great causes throughout greater Boston."

Other organizations that benefited from the 2012 Boston Marathon were Mass General Hospital for Children, Boston Children's Hospital, Tufts University, Boston Medical Center, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, the Hoyt Foundation, Horizons for Homeless Children, and Perkins School for the Blind.

"Each year countless individuals in Boston and beyond are touched in many ways, large and small, by John Hancock's Boston Marathon Non-Profit program,” said Peter L. Slavin, MD, President, Massachusetts General Hospital, in a release. "At Mass General, this important funding has supported programs that enhance the quality of care for our youngest cancer patients and fuel innovative research focused on finding better cancer treatments and cures. We are grateful for John Hancock's generosity and the hope it offers to the children and families we serve."

This was the 15th year Mass General has partnered with John Hancock. The organization has raised $765,000 through the 2012 marathon to date, and $8 million since the year of their first involvement in the program.

In addition to money raised for participating organizations, John Hancock led an effort among its business partners to raise almost $150,000 for the Myra H. Kraft Giving Back Scholarship Fund at the Boys & Girls Club of Boston. The fund was established in 2003 to honor the 40th wedding anniversary of Robert Kraft, who is owner of the New England Patriots, and Myra, who passed away in July of last year.

The Boston Marathon has for years bought economic prosperity to the city. In 2012, the race bought an estimated $137.5 million in spending impact to the Greater Boston region, according to statistics from the Greater Boston Convention & Visitor Bureau.

Nonprofit And For-Profit Newsrooms Working Together

Nonprofit organizations partnering with for-profit corporations is nothing new but in recent years they've become more commonplace.  When there is a common goal, these partnerships can be very fruitful.  And now, for-profit and nonprofit newsrooms are discovering they need each other.

The PBS website MediaShift, in conjunction with the Investigative Reporting Program, conducted a roundtable discussion with local media experts on this subject.  With budgets tightening at newsrooms across the country, established media outlets are finding they don't have the resources for extensive investigative reports.  Spending six months on a story isn't exactly the best way to make money.  That's where nonprofit news organizations come in. 

Sites like the Voice of San Diego and the St. Louis Beacon have been popping up, filling the gap in investigative journalism.  Major news outlets, not wanting to lose this area of reporting entirely, have found that working with these nonprofit news sites makes for a partnership that benefits both sides.  This benefit can be seen in a recent project by Frontline, an investigation show hosted on PBS.  They worked with PBS, The Guardian, and CBC on a project, and found that they were able to accomplish a lot more by sharing resources.

It's not all roses and sunshine, though.  Mary Walter-Brown, who works at the Voice of San Diego, spoke to the roundtable discussion about her experience partnering with a local NBC affiliate.  They would often have people from the Voice as experts, but Brown says they still have trouble getting them to explain their mission to viewers. It seems some fledgling news organizations seeking nonprofit status also are having difficulty explaining their mission to the IRS.

We recommend that you read the rest of the roundtable discussion on PBS's website.  What do you think of the stories they shared there?  Has your organization had similar experiences in their partnerships with for-profits?

Management Tip: Cause Marketing And Individual Giving

At first glance, cause marketing and individual giving don't seem like they have anything in common.  How would it ever be possible to combine them?  In the latest management tip from The NonProfit Times, Lynn Croneberger (VP of development at Reading Is Fundamental) and Laura Goodman (director of partnership at Share Our Strength) explain how these seemingly polar opposite functions can work together:

*Ask for it. Consumer data is a leveraged asset that a corporate partner might be able to provide.


*Ask for it. Make sure to ask for email addresses when building consumer/participation forms. An e-appeal might not be as effective as direct mail, but it’s a lot cheaper.


*Try it, Test, segment and test again. Design appeals that can be tested – control group, call to action and links.


*Personalize. Tailor to the individual, recognize their support, cultivate and connect.

You can read the full piece over at The NonProfit Times.  If you liked this, you can read more cause marketing advice on our Management Tips page.