More than 750 charities have won extra places for next year’s one-off two-day London Marathon, but some concerns have been raised about the conditions.
About a third of the organizations that took part in Saturday’s charity vote, launched after the two-day event was announced last month, were successful.
All applicants, including some first-time public interest companies, must be notified by the end of today.
London Marathon Events (LME) said the most successful organizations are awarded places for the first time and that the vast majority of applicants are vying for between one and eight places.
However, some charities have raised concerns about changes to the LME’s terms and conditions requiring them to promote the marathon’s official fundraising partner, Enthuse, to their runners.
“Heavy” requirement for promoting Enthuse
Enthuse has paid to become LME’s official fundraising partner from 2022 and has signed a 10-year extension in 2024, but many runners are still raising money through other platforms.
Runners at this year’s one-day London Marathon raised more than £90 million for charity, a record amount, with both Enthuse and rival platform JustGiving contributing more than £40 million in sponsorship contributions.
Under the new terms, charities with places to run on Saturday April 24 next year must register with Enthuse and keep their account as organizers hope £150 million will be raised over the two days.
Charities are forced to “make every reasonable effort” to promote Enthuse to all runners to whom they provide places, as well as to those who have self-secured places but have signed up to raise money for charity.
This means that they should encourage all their runners to use Enthuse instead of other platforms.
Some charities described the demands as “cruel”, with one telling civil society it was a “frustrating situation that can be thrown into without warning”.
One organization stated that they have a paid subscription to an alternative fundraising platform and are concerned that they will have to purchase a separate subscription to Enthuse to ensure their needs as a customer are met.
Another said they feared their runners might raise less money on Enthuse than on other platforms.
The charities that raised concerns wished to remain anonymous, with one saying smaller organizations in particular were “desperate for places” and were very cautious in what they said.
Nikki Bell, co-founder of Fundraising Everywhere, said: “It’s disappointing to hear from our community about the negative impact these requirements will have on their time, resources and ability to maximize fundraising.”
Bell said preparations for next year’s two-day event were already straining the resources of some charities and called on organizers to relax demands for promoting Enthuse.
Organizers: Be encouraged that ‘best opportunity’ supports charities
An LME spokesperson confirmed that charities with venues confirmed for Saturday 24 April 2027 must promote Enthuse to all their members as their primary fundraising platform.
They did not answer questions about how it would be monitored or what consequences charities that do not promote Enthuse would face.
The spokesperson said charities are required to create an Enthuse account, but do not have to use the platform exclusively.
They also said Enthuse is “in the best position to provide the support needed for charities and participants to maximize their fundraising potential at the 2027 event.”
Charities with concerns can contact the LME Charities team directly, they added.
Eddie Allenby, General Manager of Enthuse, said: “As the Official Fundraising Partner, Enthuse is the London Marathon Events recommended platform for the 2027 TCS London Marathon Double and the only platform capable of accurately tracking and reporting participants and fundraising across both days.
“This is important for charities as the two-day structure will create a unique reporting complexity, which Enthuse has addressed through our integration with the event registration process.
“It also means that charities can expect 100% fundraising pages to be created. All of these pages are dedicated to their cause and are connected to the official events app, so donations are easy and good causes are always front and center.
“As every year, charities can use the Enthuse platform for free to raise funds for the event.”