Events

Exercising for a good cause continued to grow in popularity and in the sums it raises for charity in 2011, according to figures revealed at the annual conference of the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council.     The top 30 “thon” fundraising programs generated $1.69 billion in gross revenue for charity last year, up $40.8 million or 2.46 percent from 2010 levels and the second straight year of fundraising growth, the council’s sixth annual “Run Walk Ride Thirty” study reports.

Blackbaud released two new reports focused on peer-to-peer event fundraising at the 2012 Run Walk Ride Fundraising Conference. The company also announced a limited release of next generation Friends Asking Friends.

At Pennsylvaniva State University's Bryce Jordan Center Sunday, the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) Overalls revealed this year's total fundraising effort — a record-breaking $10,686,924.83.

In its 40-year history and 35-year partnership with the Four Diamonds Fund, THON has now raised more than $88 million for the patients and research at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

The first-ever Music for Champions concert will take place on March 19 at Hard Rock Live Orlando. Proceeds from the concert will jointly benefit Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer and AIDS Research. The concert will kick off the 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard.

Performing at the benefit concert will be country music super group Rascal Flatts, and the night will also feature at least one additional major international music act. An announcement of additional acts is expected in the coming weeks.

To celebrate her six decades, veteran fundraiser Lyndall Stein shares six big mistakes during her career and what she learned from them.

Alabama's nonprofit groups have a new online outlet for accepting donations, and on Feb. 2, nearly 1,000 of them will work together to raise millions of dollars for their causes. The initiative is Alabama Gives Day, a “virtual fundraiser” in which those wishing to make charitable contributions visit a one-stop online database that offers pages on participating nonprofits and service projects.

More than 850 nonprofits have already registered at www.algives.org. Each will be verified through the IRS before its profile is made available for potential donors to see.

The Secret Policeman’s Ball is letting America in on the party: The British-based music and comedy festival is coming to New York in March. Coldplay, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Mumford & Sons and Russell Brand are among the acts who have signed on for the event at Radio City Music Hall on March 4. The concert will benefit Amnesty International, as it has since it started back in 1976 with celebrities like John Cleese.

IHOP is on a mission to raise $2.7 million for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and other local charities with its National Pancake Day celebration, set for Feb. 28, and it is making it easier than ever for guests to participate with an online giving option and a month-long bounce-back balloon sales offer.

National Pancake Day invites guests to enjoy a free short stack of pancakes from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. with the hope that they consider making a voluntary contribution to support the Children's Miracle Network Hospital in their area.

As peer-to-peer fundraising becomes easier to adopt, the methodology has been adapted for many different types of campaigns. Depending on your goals, you might consider one of the following types of peer-to-peer campaign strategies.

Hundreds of brave swimmers across the country plunged into the new year with an icy dip for charity Sunday.

From the Atlantic Ocean in Coney Island to Chicago's Lake Michigan, members of the Polar Bear Club stripped down to their bathing gear for a cool swim and some committed the event to raising money for a range of noteworthy cause, including Camp Sunshine and the Special Recreation Services of Northern Lake County.