$100.9 million – that’s the staggering amount in donations the ALS Association has received as of this morning due to the Ice Bucket Challenge. The number dwarfs the $2.8 million given during the same July 29-to-August 29 period last year. More than 3 million people have donated to the cause this summer.
The group announced the milestone in a press release Friday morning. The organization also noted that it will "continue to be transparent by communicating regularly with all audiences as to how the funds will impact the fight against ALS."
Thanks to the 3 million-plus donors who have supported us thru the #IceBucketChallenge. http://t.co/KkkpVrPyFW #StrikeOutALS
— The ALS Association (@alsassociation) August 29, 2014
The Ice Bucket Challenge has been insanely successful for the ALS Association, but it’s not a campaign for the group in a traditional sense. ALS patient Peter Frates, a former captain of Boston College’s baseball team, is widely credited with getting the ball rolling on the effort. Others have been praised for their roles popularizing the initiative on social media, as well.
For some perspective on how the Ice Bucket Challenge spread across the globe, check out this map of geotagged tweets mentioning #IceBucketChallenge from the beginning of this month through last Friday.
How the #icebucket challenge took over the world: #animation LINK: http://t.co/vAWGnldz1G pic.twitter.com/X2dQQTJXvw
— Twitter Data (@TwitterData) August 23, 2014
Hungry for more numbers about the challenge? According to Topsy, nearly 4.1 million tweets have used the hashtag #icebucketchallenge in the past month. Activity peaked on August 20 with nearly 661,000 mentions after the Foo Fighters made their Carrie-themed video live.
Change the search term from the hashtag to the words "Ice Bucket Challenge," and Topsy reports nearly 8.5 million tweets using the term, peaking on August 20 when former President George W. Bush got on board.
George W. Bush takes the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. You HAVE to see this! http://t.co/w0PpmUC6Gu pic.twitter.com/14RkOTGRzY
— AOL.com (@AOL) August 20, 2014
The hashtag #StrikeOutALS was also used nearly 90,000 times in the past month.
A number of PR agencies took the challenge themselves. For example, here’s the video submitted by the Boston office of Text100.
