Charity events

Many charities raise money by running special events. The charity benefits from the difference between the cost of putting on the event and the ticket receipts plus any money gathered during the event itself.

The charity should be able to tell you what amount or percentage of the price of an individual ticket or table for an event is expected to be the amount left after all the costs are covered. This is the donation part of the ticket price. Some charities will give a 'suggested donation' as part of the ticket price.

The part of the event ticket that is a donation can be given tax-efficiently, whether by a Gift Aid donation or a cheque taken from your trust account. The larger the percentage of the ticket cost that is a donation, and the more efficient the charity is at making the most of the tax relief, the higher the proceeds for the charity. So if the charity manages to have all of the costs of putting on an event met directly or as gifts in kind, the entire ticket cost is a donation.

The type of event a charity may engage with has grown immensely in the past few years and now covers fundraising auctions and dinners, walks, runs, team activities, overseas volunteering and hikes, bike rides and even sky dives. The list is as vast as a charity fundraisers’ imagination.

Challenge events are a fun and interactive way of raising funds for your chosen cause and can bring you into contact with like-minded people. Jeremy Gane and Simon Albert, the founding directors of Charity Challenge, met during a charity trek up Kilimanjaro and have created a well established infrastructure for running numerous and varied group adventure travel expeditions. The charity has supported over 750 events, raising almost £15m since 1999.

Doitforcharity.com, set up by Skyline Events, the UK’s largest charity events organiser with over 1,500 charities, raises over £4m every year.  An online portal, Doitforcharity.com links potential participants to thousands of charity events every year including abseiling, zip sliding, knockout, trekking and dragon boat races.

Also, if you would like to host your own event to raise money for your chosen charity, you can create your own site on Justgiving.com.