Fundraiser challenges: what treks, skydives and runs really net a charity

Fundraiser challenges are physical or endurance events, such as a trek, a skydive or a marathon, where people take part and raise sponsorship from friends and colleagues for a charity. (The phrase also means the everyday problems of a fundraising job. This post is about the events.)

I am Kevin Durham, a professional charity auctioneer and event host with more than £10 million raised. Fundraiser challenges are not my day job. But they are a fundraising mechanism like any other, and the useful question is the one I ask about every auction lot: what does the charity actually keep? This is general information, not advice.

What do fundraiser challenges actually raise for a charity?

Fundraiser challenges raise the participants’ sponsorship minus the cost of the event, and that cost varies enormously. Costs for a skydive and an overseas trek are very different. Always compare the net per participant, not the headline target.

Here are published terms as at November 2026:

Only the last row tells you the net. That is the number to ask for.

How does the operator model work, and what does the charity keep?

In the operator model, a travel company runs the trip and the participant’s sponsorship pays for it, so the charity keeps only the surplus. CRY says it receives at least £1,975 from a £4,150 minimum, roughly 48p in each £1. Other charities do not publish their share.

The Fundraising Regulator, in guidance updated November 2025, describes two set-ups: a company offers an event and the public join it to fundraise, or a charity contracts a travel company and asks supporters to take part. In the second, it says there should be a written agreement setting out each side’s responsibilities and who is liable if something goes wrong.

Operators also protect themselves. Charity Challenge, in a blog dated June 2026, explains that a participant who has not reached 80% of their target can be moved to paying their own costs, because the charity could face financial detriment otherwise. The risk of a shortfall is the charity’s.

The Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s challenge events guide says to cost the returns first, and warns these events can be labour-intensive and costly.

A small committed group often beats a big casual one

A small group of fundraisers with a minimum pledge often beats a large group with no target, because a minimum makes each person do the asking. A pledge is a commitment. A hope to raise something is not.

Take an illustration, with invented numbers. Ten skydivers at the Christie’s £400 minimum are worth £4,000. Under those terms £2,400 of it should be in hand a month before the jump. Now imagine 150 people at a casual walk with no minimum, where the average comes in at £25. That is £3,750, and a lot more admin.

Your own numbers will differ. The decision rule does not: count the money committed before the day, then divide by the staff time it takes. My guide to a sponsored walk covers the casual end properly.

Should fundraiser challenges mobilise supporters or recruit new ones?

Most fundraiser challenges mobilise people already close to your charity and then reach new donors through those people’s own networks. Choose the format by the goal. A hike for existing supporters is cheap and loyal. A big public place recruits strangers but costs more to manage.

The CIoF lists the possible objectives as new donor relationships, publicity and fundraising, and says to be clear which one you want. In my view, if the goal is income this year, pick the committed group. If it is a donor list, choose a public event and plan the follow-up before anyone signs up.

What duty of care do you owe people doing a challenge?

You owe participants a documented risk assessment, adequate insurance and clear information. The Fundraising Regulator’s events guide, updated July 2025 and written for the 2025 Code of Fundraising Practice, says you must conduct a risk assessment before your event and act on it.

The same guide says:

• A charity with five or more employees must document it in writing; with fewer, it should anyway.
• If fitness or training is reasonably needed, only people who meet and agree to the criteria in writing should take part, but you must not refuse unreasonably.
• For events abroad, be clear who books travel, supplies equipment, insures the risk and meets the package travel rules.

The Code’s section 10 covers events and 7.4 covers permissions, as the Regulator’s challenge-events page notes. Take specialist advice on overseas trips.

Can you claim Gift Aid on fundraiser challenges?

Gift Aid can be claimed on fundraiser challenge sponsorship given by people not connected to the participant. HMRC’s Gift Aid guidance, chapter 3.38 on adventure events (read November 2026), says a participant’s deposit or registration fee cannot be Gift Aid, and sponsorship from a spouse, relative or controlled company usually fails the benefit rules.

The trap is the cost. When the charity pays a third party for the participant’s trip, the participant receives a benefit. HMRC’s worked example has a £200 deposit and £1,000 balance, so a £1,200 advertised cost. If the participant pays the charity the full £1,200 from their own resources, the benefit falls to nil and all sponsorship, family included, can be Gift Aided.

HMRC also says the event literature and sponsorship form must explain the connected-person limit and define the term. My sponsorship form guide has the wording.

One more figure. The Regulator’s events guide says a participant who uses more than £1,000 of the sponsorship to pay their own costs may be considered a professional fundraiser. That guide predates the Order in force from 30 September 2026, which raised the figure in section 58 of the Charities Act 1992 to £1,500. Check the Regulator’s current wording.

Bringing the challenge back into the room

A fundraiser challenge comes back into the room when you invite the people who did it to your next event and recognising them from the stage. It thanks them properly and shows the room what a challenge looks like, which is how next year’s group gets recruited.

The finishers are your best advertisement, and a dinner is where a warm room can act on it. Read the names, say what the group raised and, if you can, what it paid for. Add a beneficiary, which lands harder than anything I say. My guide to a live pledge shows why that moment matters, and the post on thanking donors covers the follow-up.

Be honest about the money. At MS UK, an outside auction company grossed around £13,000 the year before and the charity saw about £1,300. When I came in I told the room where every pound was going. The live pledge raised £8,300, all to the charity. Challenge figures deserve the same plain treatment, with the net stated.

If the finishers are recognised and the room is warm, a live pledge follows naturally. At Jigsaw Trust, a pledge the charity had not even planned brought in £30,600 on top of the auction. That is the room I would want finishers to walk into.

Weighing a challenge against a gala, a quiz or a match? My guide to big-money fundraising compares them. If you want a charity auctioneer to run the night, call me on 07596 851647 for a free fundraising consultation.