It was officially announced at 10 am on Tuesday that Boston Marathon participants who ran on behalf of more than 260 non-profit organizations raised 36.6 million for charity in 2018, the 122nd year of the historic race. Ashley Wheeler, program manager for the John Hancock Boston Marathon nonprofit program, joined Ryan Belmore to chat about the fundraising total, the impact it will have, and how it will help charities across Rhode Island.

Boston Marathon participants who ran on behalf of more than 260 non-profit organizations raised $36.6 million for charity in the 122nd year of the historic race. The fundraising total represents a 7 percent increase, or $2.4 million, over 2017’s results.

Total funds include $19.2 million raised through the Boston Athletic Association’s Official Charity Program, $13.1 million raised through John Hancock’s Non-Profit Program, and $4.3 million from other qualified and invitational runners.

Most of the fundraising runners gained entry through the B.A.A. and John Hancock programs, which provide non-profits with guaranteed entries (“bibs”) that enable runners to fundraise for their organizations.

John Hancock again partnered with CrowdRise to offer a centralized online platform to capture Boston Marathon fundraising. The site (www.crowdrise.com/ 2018bostonmarathon) showcases all the 2018 partner non-profit organizations and features the personal stories of the runners who supported them.

Over the past 33 years, the official B.A.A. Charity Program and John Hancock’s Non-Profit Program have combined to raise more than $333 million for community-based organizations. More information on the programs can be found on http://www.baa.org/utilities/charities  and  https://www.johnhancock.com/citizenship/boston-marathon.html.

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