Massive has reflected on ten years of organising charity mass participation events and shared its learnings from a decade of data and insight.

According to the mass participation specialist, the sector is still seeing the knock-on effect from COVID and the cost-of-living-crisis, causing some uncertainty over the future of mass participation events.

The event specialist says that key learnings include:

• The sector has seen ups and downs like these in the past. It has always recovered after challenging times, and it will again.
• The event fundraising model isn’t broken – and in addition to in-year income, events engage new audiences, are a pipeline for individual giving conversions, increase brand awareness, and foster a deeper connection with supporters.
• Now is the time to invest in events. Charities need to take advantage of this time of uncertainty and invest. This will give them the upper hand for when the sector picks back up.

Massive also shared its predictions for the emerging future trends of mass participation and advised charities that to maintain a successful event, they need to:

• Focus on community building
• Embrace new technologies
• Deliver better digital experiences
• Shift the focus from in-year income to longer-term value

John Tasker, partner at Massive said: “During these challenging times, it’s easy to think the event fundraising model is broken, but the sector will recover – ten years of insight proves it does.

“Mass participation events remain one of the most effective ways for charities to recruit new supporters, build brand awareness, and deliver in-year income. That’s why we’re urging charities not to miss this golden opportunity to invest in events while times are tough, as they’ll be the ones coming out on top when the sector recovers.”