--- title: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Raises $80 Million description: The ALS Association has raised $79.7 million to combat Lou Gehrig's Disease as people continue to take part in the Ice Bucket Challenge. canonical: https://time.com/3173833/als-ice-bucket-challenge-fundraising-total/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-25T15:02:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:50:11.328Z article:section: Health og:title: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Raises $80 Million og:description: The ALS Association has raised $79.7 million to combat Lou Gehrig's Disease as people continue to take part in the Ice Bucket Challenge. og:url: https://time.com/3173833/als-ice-bucket-challenge-fundraising-total/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6637ca30bf3b73fc/6986a0c5169ab03fe527adc8/ice-bucket-challenge2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2333 og:image:height: 1312 og:image:alt: Supporters of Michael Brown, Kalisha Gilmore (L) and Recorida Kennedy (R), pour ice water on Kevin Ephron as he takes the ice bucket challenge in remembrance of Brown along Canfield Drive, where he was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missou og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Raises $80 Million twitter:description: The ALS Association has raised $79.7 million to combat Lou Gehrig's Disease as people continue to take part in the Ice Bucket Challenge. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6637ca30bf3b73fc/6986a0c5169ab03fe527adc8/ice-bucket-challenge2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ice Bucket Challenge Nears $80-Million Mark > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: It’ll Be A Cold Day: The Ice Bucket Challenge [Watch (HLS stream): It’ll Be A Cold Day: The Ice Bucket Challenge](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GIHofBBD.m3u8) (1:33)  _Published 2014-08-11. If you’ve seen people all over your newsfeed dumping buckets of ice water on themselves, you’re not alone. The Ice Bucket Challenge is ironically one of the hottest things on social media as it tries to raise money for ALS charities._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Aug 25, 2014 3:02 PM UTC  Supporters of Michael Brown, Kalisha Gilmore (L) and Recorida Kennedy (R), pour ice water on Kevin Ephron as he takes the ice bucket challenge in remembrance of Brown along Canfield Drive, where he was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri August 24, 2014. Supporters of Michael Brown, Kalisha Gilmore (L) and Recorida Kennedy (R), pour ice water on Kevin Ephron as he takes the ice bucket challenge in remembrance of Brown along Canfield Drive, where he was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri August 24, 2014. Joshua Lott—Reuters  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Aug 25, 2014 3:02 PM UTC The ALS Association has raised $79.7 million to combat [Lou Gehrig’s Disease](http://time.com/3160305/living-with-als/) [since July 29](http://time.com/3136507/als-ice-bucket-challenge-started/), as the Ice Bucket Challenge continues to encourage people [around the world](http://time.com/3136487/als-ice-bucket-challenge-international/) to dump ice over their heads and send in money. The organization raised just $2.5 million during the same period last year. The Ice Bucket Challenge, which began last month and has become a viral Internet sensation, has attracted 1.7 million contributors. Political figures like [George W. Bush](http://time.com/3148301/george-w-bush-als-bucket-challenge/) and celebrities like [Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner](http://time.com/3144335/ben-affleck-jennifer-garner-ice-bucket-challenge-als/) have taken the challenge. The ALS Association, which raised $64 million in all of 2013, has described the influx in funds as “a game changer” for the organization’s efforts. Other groups outside the ALS Association have benefited from the challenge, too. The Project ALS, which also raises money for ALS research, said earlier this month that the challenge has attracted donations. ## Transcript If you've seen people all over your news feed dumping buckets of ice water on themselves, you're not alone. The ice bucket challenge is ironically one of the hottest things on social media as it tries to raise money for ALS foundations. The challenge went viral thanks to former Boston College pitcher Pete Frates, who was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease also known as Lou Gehrig's disease disease in 2012. So what does the challenge entail? A person dumps ice water on themselves and then challenges six other people to do the same in 24 hours or donate $ 100 to an ALS charity. Celebrities such as The Fault in Our Stars actor Ansel Elgort and Martha Stewart have joined in on the challenge. Boston. com and. Frank's parents organized a mass ice bucket challenge last Thursday, after which, the website challenged New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Some questioned the effect of the ice bucket challenge with the Boston Herald quoting a Twitter user as saying. I don't see how dumping a bucket of ice water over your head can cure a disease. Meanwhile Frates told the paper, via Facebook, that exposure like this is what the ALS community needs so we can even attempt to find a cure and reversal for people living with this insidious disease. The challenge has led to a spike in donations for the ALS Association. The foundation's president, Barbara Newhouse, told CBS's WBZ News Radio that the organization raised more than $ 168, 000 in online donations in the past week, compared to just $ 14, 000 over the same time frame last year. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3173833/als-ice-bucket-challenge-fundraising-total/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3173833/als-ice-bucket-challenge-fundraising-total/"},"headline":"Ice Bucket Challenge Nears $80-Million Mark","datePublished":"2014-08-25T15:02:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:50:11.328Z","description":"The funds have come from 1.7 million donors","url":"https://time.com/3173833/als-ice-bucket-challenge-fundraising-total/","keywords":["Research","Fundraising","health","philanthropy","ALS","Ice Bucket Challenge"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6637ca30bf3b73fc/6986a0c5169ab03fe527adc8/ice-bucket-challenge2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6637ca30bf3b73fc/6986a0c5169ab03fe527adc8/ice-bucket-challenge2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Supporters of Michael Brown, Kalisha Gilmore (L) and Recorida Kennedy (R), pour ice water on Kevin Ephron as he takes the ice bucket challenge in remembrance of Brown along Canfield Drive, where he was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missou","caption":"Supporters of Michael Brown, Kalisha Gilmore (L) and Recorida Kennedy (R), pour ice water on Kevin Ephron as he takes the ice bucket challenge in remembrance of Brown along Canfield Drive, where he was fatally shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missou","creditText":"Joshua Lott—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3173833/als-ice-bucket-challenge-fundraising-total/","name":"Ice Bucket Challenge Nears $80-Million Mark"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"It’ll Be A Cold Day: The Ice Bucket Challenge","description":"If you’ve seen people all over your newsfeed dumping buckets of ice water on themselves, you’re not alone. 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