2019

Bowel Cancer UK – Step Up for 30

Bowel cancer is the second biggest cancer killer in the UK and every 30 minutes someone will die from the disease. Step Up for 30 is a really simple fundraising event; we ask supporters to get sponsored to do 30 minutes of physical activity every day for 30 days during the month of June. Running, swimming, walking the dog, or even doing some gardening – whatever activities people choose we will support them every step of the way. 63% of the UK in 2018 were not aware that being physically active for 30 mins a day at least five times a week could help to reduce the risk of bowel cancer – this event aims to highlight that as well as raising vital funds for the charity. It is also an inclusive event with over 70% of participants in 2018 being patients.

Guide Dogs for the Blind – Use Your Senses 5K

Use Your Senses 5K is Guide Dogs bespoke fun run series.Unlike other 5K runs, around the course our participants will experience our 5 Sense Stations where they can:

– TASTE a delicious treat and tantalise your taste buds
– SEE an explosion of colour as you get covered in powder
– TOUCH the suds as you take on our foam pit
– SMELL the aroma of our scented bubbles
– LISTEN to live music, singing and dancing along your way

99% of participants who attended the event would like to come back again next year. Here’s some of the things they loved:

“My daughters face – she loved it from start to finish! Has not stopped talking about it! Thank you :-)”
• “It was fun, great atmosphere and was amazing meeting the dogs”
• “The feeling of inclusiveness and fun. Having all ages and abilities take part. Lots of lovely dogs to meet”

This event is run internally, by a small Events Team who have the passion and creativity to grow the product. We truly believe that we have created an innovative event, which can change lives.

my AFK – working with disability – AFK Beach

What happens when 200 tonnes of sand lands in Canary Wharf one summer night 10 years of AFK Beach London – the only pop-up charity beach volleyball event in the UK! Being a relatively small charity didn’t stop us having a big, bold idea for an event back in 2009! One of our long-standing corporate partners asked us to create an innovative fundraising event, promising to sponsor it if we impressed them and AFK Beach was born In summer 2009 we physically shovelled 60 tonnes of soft white sand into Broadgate Circle to build one court for 1 week for 10 company teams to play charity beach volleyball. The event has grown massively 2012 saw Olympians, Paralympians and the London 2012 mascots take to the sand and in 2018 we celebrated our 10th anniversary with 4 weeks at Canary Wharf with 200 tonnes of sand and two courts for companies, elite athletes, schools and the community to play and raise funds for our work. To date AFK Beach has raised over £650,000, improved our profile in a highly visible location and enabled us to develop new corporate partnerships AFK Beach 2019 takes place at Canary Wharf 8th July – 2nd August.

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) – Fashion Re-told™

Fashion Re-told™ was the first ever standalone pop-up store in aid of the NSPCC in collaboration with Harrods and Cadogan Estates, selling donated pre-loved and new womenswear, menswear and accessories from a prime location in Sloane Street.

Fashion Re-told™ was stocked with high-end fashion items donated by brands, as well as donations from members of the public and celebrity ambassadors. We were able to secure generous donations from high-end brands including Mulberry, Loewe, Stella McCartney, and Bella Freud. Proceeds from the sale of the items went directly towards helping to give every child in London a voice.

Harrods and NSPCC staff worked closely bringing together different expertise to develop and deliver a design concept for the store, created a marketing and communications strategy and using maintenance, IT and legal teams supported in all aspects of set up and the running of the store.

The store was open 7 days a week from 13th April to 13th May and was staffed by a combination of NSPCC employees and Harrods staff.

There was lots of press in the run up to the event but the launch party is designed to grab the attention of the media through celebrity and press attendance.

Parkinson’sUK – Lloyd Addison’s Moveable Feast

The Lloyd Addisson’s Moveable Feast stemmed from one man’s love of food and the city he lived in. Leading Norwich restaurateur and former County Councillor, Lloyd Addison, set out to combine his two passions. His aim was to raise the profile of the growing restaurant scene in Norwich by encouraging diners out into the City at a quieter time of year – and the Moveable Feast was born.

The concept was and still is simple – three courses eaten in one of nearly 30 different restaurants, with the selection being made for you. So diners could have an Indian starter, a French Main Course and an Italian Dessert. The idea caught the imagination of food enthusiasts across Norwich and 600 of them took part in the inaugural feast in 1999.

In 2018 over 20 Restaurants took part hosting over 1100 participants (Feasters) who took part in the event raising over £27,500. Since the event started it has raised over £150,000 for Parkinson’s UK research.

Shelter – Level Up For Shelter

Level Up For Shelter is an online video game streaming challenger where participants play for 135 minutes to represent the number of people made homeless in Britain every day. The event combines individual participants and large gaming influencers alike with a goal of raising money for Shelter and encouraging these communities to be open with experiences they may have of bad housing and homelessness. Combining awareness and support of a traditionally hard to reach audience with a fun and engaging way to raise money in a hugely growing market, Level Up for Shelter has successfully launched and proven itself as a valuable ongoing virtual event for Shelter’s audience regardless in an accessible and inclusive way.

Back Up – The Snowdon Push

The Snowdon Push is Back Up’s ultimate outdoor fundraising challenge. For the past eleven years, hundreds of supporters have come together to take on the highest mountain in England and Wales – Mount Snowdon – which stands at over 3,500 feet high. What makes this event particularly special however, is that one member of each team must be a wheelchair user. In teams of 10 to 16 people, you all work together to reach the top of Mount Snowdon – walking, climbing, pushing, pulling and wheeling to the summit before heading back down again, covering about 9 miles of mixed (wheelchair-unfriendly!) terrain all in aid of Back Up’s vital services. The original ambition of the challenge was not only to raise money to support the work Back Up does, but to challenge perceptions of what it means to be in a wheelchair – both for people coming to terms with spinal cord injury and the wider public.This event epitomises the ethos of Back Up, which is about showing people what is still possible after a life-changing injury.

Battersea (Dogs & Cats Home) – Muddy Dog Challenge

The creation and success of the Muddy Dog Challenge has been incredibly important to Battersea as an organisation. It has allowed the charity to diversify its fundraising portfolio, attract a new audience profile, in terms of age and location, and really engage the public with Battersea’s work.

The series has provided opportunities to explore new marketing channels as well as introduce new and innovative ways of working across fundraising and the wider organisation. Collaboration across the entire organisation has been key to the success of the events and the genuine eagerness to work as one-team will also enable Battersea to continue to grow the series.

Muddy Dog has highlighted the unique bond between human and dog, and has therefore brought the charity’s cause to life. Having now rolled out to eight locations across the UK (Nottingham, Windsor, Tunbridge Wells, Newcastle, Leeds, Exeter, Cheltenham and Manchester) over ten days, the Muddy Dog Challenge is continuing to grow at an impressive rate.

British Heart Foundation – London to Brighton Bike Ride

The London to Brighton Bike Ride is Europe’s longest running charity cycle and is the flagship event for the British Heart Foundation. Now in its 44th year, the event is the most successful to date, delivering a world class event experience to 17,600 participants whilst supporting the BHF’s life saving research. On Sunday 16 June, participants will cycle the 54 miles between Clapham Common and Brighton sea front, through London, Surrey and Sussex and past the 15 refreshments points supported by the local community. It really is the most iconic charity bike ride in the South East and one not to miss!

Macmillan Cancer Support – Mighty Hike Series

In 2016 we launched the Macmillan Mighty Hikes, a series of one-day fully-supported hiking marathons in several stunning locations across the UK. In 3 years we have gone from 6 events to 8 events; 2,400 hikers to 10,800 hikers; and we have grown fundraising from £1.4million to £5.75million to support people living with cancer.

When you sign up to a Mighty Hike, everything is taken care of. There’s complimentary shuttle buses to and from car parks; a Zumba warm-up to get people motivated; two pit-stops with fresh fruit and pastries from local suppliers; a lunch stop with a sit-down buffet, stretching area and live music; and as you cross the finish you’re handed a well-deserved medal and glass of fizz by our volunteers, before resting your feet with a plate of hot food.

And every route has been hand-picked to show hikers the most beautiful parts of the country, including iconic sights such as Durdle Door, Tintern Abbey and rare access to Alnwick Castle, the film set for Hogwarts in Harry Potter.

‘I can honestly say it was the most unreal and best experience of my life.’ – Lucy Holmes, who completed all 8 hikes in 2018

Porchlight – Kent Scouts Big Cardboard Sleep Out for Porchlight 2018

On 12 October 2018 over 2,000 Kent Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers aged 6-18 put themselves in the shoes of someone who is homeless by spending the night in a cardboard box, opening their eyes to the reality of the experience of hundreds of rough sleepers in Kent.

Through their participation and with the educational resources provided by the charity the event increased their understanding of a social problem, fired up their motivation to have an impact on their doorstep, and as a result they raised over £70,000 for Porchlight – Kent’s local homelessness charity which supports over 5,000 people in Kent per year.

The event was a true community and partnership effort with hundreds of Kent Scouts volunteers planning and supervising the event, thousands of children taking part and many local schools, churches and community groups contributing to the fundraising total.

The funds raised will have a huge impact on the doorstep of the young people who took part demonstrating that today’s young generation cares and that it can and will take a stand against social issues such as homelessness and poverty in their local community.

Sense – The RidgeWalk

The RidgeWalk, an event managed by Sense, challenges its participants to trek 52 miles along the picturesque Ridgeway over 24 hours. Taking in stunning scenery, it is often more challenging than anticipated. The RidgeWalk began as a mass participation event in 2010 and over the years has been diversified and developed. In 2018, however, the events team at Sense simplified the overall event concept and decided to focus on delivering an exceptional supporter journey to each of the participants who became a Ridgewalker. They became part of the Team Sense family, speaking directly to members of the team who knew why they were taking part, what training they were doing and what fundraising they had organised. By the day of the event, the participants felt part of something bigger and as a team took on the challenge together. This resulted in an average per head which was 138% of the minimum sponsorship commitment and a 100% remittance rate. More importantly, there are now over 110 committed, engaged and valued individuals who are connected with Sense and going on to take other actions on behalf of the people we support.

Alzheimer’s Society – Memory Walk

Memory Walk is the Alzheimer’s Society’s flagship event and was first launched in 2002. It is a traditional sponsored walk suitable for the whole family, providing an opportunity to remember and celebrate loved ones who have passed away or are living with dementia.

The goals from the start were to build Memory Walk into a well-known, well attended awareness and fundraising event. In 2003 over 5,000 participants signed up and raised £55,000 – fast forward to 2018 where over 102,000 participants signed up and went on to raise £8m.

This success is clearly demonstrated – as the 4th largest Mass Participation Event – climbing more than 11 spots in the last 5 years as well as increasing income over that time by 466% making it the fastest growing mass event in the sector.

The continued rise of Memory Walk demonstrates the success of a long term strategic approach, keeping the cause front and centre, activity relevant for the audience and delivering an experience that retains and attracts new participants to build income year on year for the Alzheimer’s Society.

Bloodwise – Calendar Girl’s The Musical – Collections

The fundraising phenomenon that is Calendar Girls is celebrating its 20th birthday this year. Angela Baker and her friends raised money for Bloodwise (then Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research) in memory of her husband John, who died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. And the ground-breaking calendar became an international sensation.

Over the last twenty years, the group has raised just under £5m to support vital blood cancer research and they continue their long association with the charity. But last August, the brand new musical comedy based on Angela’s story, Calendar Girls The Musical, written by Gary Barlow and Tim Firth, started its UK-wide tour.

From August to December 2018, to help raise funds and awareness at performances, hundreds of Bloodwise supporters came together to hold collections at over 124 shows across 10 cities in the UK. Over £51,000 was raised and thousands of theatre-goers were engaged in understanding the effects of cancer and its diagnosis, whilst showing the importance of fundraising in beating blood cancer and supporting other families through difficult times.

The collections were such a success that they are to continue for the rest of the UK tour, lasting until December 2019, strengthening the Calendar Girls legacy even further.

British Heart Foundation – London to Brighton Bike Ride

The London to Brighton Bike Ride is Europe’s longest running charity cycle and is the flagship event for the British Heart Foundation. Now in its 44th year, the event is the most successful to date, delivering a world class event experience to 17,600 participants whilst supporting the BHF’s life saving research. On Sunday 16 June, participants will cycle the 54 miles between Clapham Common and Brighton sea front, through London, Surrey and Sussex and past the 15 refreshments points supported by the local community. It really is the most iconic charity bike ride in the South East and one not to miss!

Chain of Hope – Chain of Hope Gala Ball

Children with Cancer UK – The Children with Cancer UK Ball

Children with Cancer UK is the UK’s leading children’s charity, dedicated to raising and investing funds for vital specialist research to fight the injustice of cancer in children. In 2018 we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the charity’s inauguration along with 30 years since our first landmark event, the Children with Cancer UK Ball. This special evening was originally established in memory of Paul O’Gorman, the son of Children with Cancer UK’s founders, and has grown to become a major fundraising event in the charity’s calendar. The Children with Cancer UK Ball features a champagne reception, gourmet meal, auction, a host of celebrity guests and incredible entertainment from magicians and comedians to electric live music performances. 2018 saw us set a new record with nearly £800k raised and a headline music performance secured from US disco legends, Sister Sledge, whose greatest hit ‘We are Family’ perfectly personifies Children with Cancer UK’s mission to save the life of every child with cancer and keep their family together.

National Autistic Society – All Aboard for Autism

All Aboard for Autism is the National Autistic Society’s autism friendly family fun day, with games, activities, a Thomas & Friends™ themed sponsored walk all hosted at Drayton Manor Theme Park, the home of Thomas Land™.

Established in 2014 and celebrating 5 years of continued success, All Aboard for Autism is an event favourite across the organisation and our autistic supporters and their families. Raising £135,000 in gross fundraising income and engaging over 2000 individuals it may not be the biggest event out there but it’s certainly mighty in terms of impact and enjoyment.

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) – The Childline Ball

The Childline Birthday Ball began in 1987 Since 2008 the event was hosted at The Savoy for 330 guests The 2008 Strictly Come Dancing Childline Ball raised £227,215 (net) In 2015 due to the high-demand of companies wanting to attend the ball we moved to Old Billingsgate allowing for 500+ guests to attend and creating a bigger production Following previous themed balls including Strictly Come Dancing, Great British Bake Off and Britain’s Got Talent in 2018 we worked with a committee of influential figures from the media industry to partner with ITV and SYCO Entertainment to bring The X Factor to life at Old Billingsgate Using The X Factor branding across all event design we were able to create a fully immersive experience for our guests We worked with the shows sponsor Just Eat to shape the guest journey by providing canapé stalls and donating the ‘judges’ desk’ as a photobooth and Lidl gifted all the champagne and wine Our headline act was X Factor winner James Arthur with other performances from Rak-Su and Grace Davies The evening was hosted by Stacey Solomon and many other well-known celebrities attended The 2018 X Factor Childline Ball raised a record-breaking £1,072,000 (net)

Stroke Association – Life After Stroke Awards

The Life After Stroke Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of people who have shown remarkable courage and determination in rebuilding their lives following a stroke. We celebrated nine inspirational winners at a glittering award ceremony at the Landmark London in November 2018.

Alzheimer’s Society – Insurance Day of Giving

On Thursday 8 November 2018, 35 insurance firms united against dementia in a cross-industry effort to bring hope closer for the 850,000 people in the UK affected by dementia. Up and down the country, bake sales, raffles, and dress down days took place in aid of Insurance United Against Dementia.

The brainchild of IUAD board member Andy Tedstone, the Day of Giving was designed to reach everybody in the insurance industry. ‘There are 300,000 people working in the UK insurance industry,’ said Andy. ‘If we each raised just £1, we could fund 10 PhD researchers for an entire year.’

The industry went above and beyond, nearly tripling the initial target and raising an incredible £70,000 to support critical work at the UK Dementia Research Institute.

Through one simple ask, we were enabled the industry to make an enormous impact through an accessible, flexible concept – one day, one industry, one cause.

The event was such a success, that we already have a number of firms signed up to the Insurance Day of Giving 2019, which will take place in November.

Blue Cross – Bark in the Dark

Bark in the Dark was inspired by our relationship with the Forestry Commission and, as an animal welfare charity, we were looking to develop an event which included a pet element and appealed to our audience of dog owners But we didn’t want to create just an ordinary walk. We wanted a walk that was a unique opportunity for people, primarily with dogs but not exclusively so, to be able to explore a venue at a time they wouldn’t normally have access. So we developed a 5 mile night time walk in the forest normally closed to the public. Adding to the excitement of walking in an eerie atmosphere of a dark wooded forest, the route was lit by the subtle lighting of fairy lights and glow sticks in the trees Dogs and their humans were encourage to don glow in dark the attire and brought torches to light the way. Bark in the Dark is a fresh look at a participation event which turns an everyday activity into something fun and unique due to the timing and venue. It offers people the opportunity to take part in a fun social activity, keep active and raise money for charity.

Cancer Research UK – Pretty Muddy Kids

Pretty Muddy Kids, is an exciting extension of one of the best known brands in the UK, Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life. Since launching Pretty Muddy Kids in 2017, to run alongside our popular obstacle mud run series, Pretty Muddy, we have been delighted with it’s success. Kids love the event series, as it is fun, muddy, but most importantly has fundraising at it’s core and is helping us to encourage our youngest supporters to help us raise fund to beat cancer sooner. Pretty Muddy Kids is a great way for us to involve the whole family in the Pretty Muddy series and we look forward to continuing to expand and innovate into 2019.

JDRF – Kapow! Superhero Challenge

Collaborating with other charities, a super hero themed triumph! This year for one of JDRF North’s events we created the charity package that we’d always dreamed of receiving and offered it to other charities. We said no to a three year contract, volunteer commitment and extra cost for marquee space. We said yes to pay as you go places, equal branding and press coverage and sharing marketing materials. Doubling its income on previous JDRF North events with £35,000 raised, the Kapow Superhero Challenge was the biggest charity event in Leeds for 2018 and a fantastic step forward for JDRF’s visibility in the region. Kapow proved a different model could work for charity events- one based on cooperation instead of competition, as ten partner charities raised over £30,000 in risk-free income and independent runners raised another £10,000 for causes all around the world. Whether you’re JDRF, another Leeds charity or just following the charity events industry, Kapow was the event that made people sit up, take notice and wait with bated breath for the sequel.

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) – Unforgettable

‘Unforgettable’ is an evening of fine food, drink and entertainment at prestigious members only club Annabel’s. The 2018 event was hosted by Dame Esther Rantzen DBE, Geri Horner, Richard Caring and long standing and significant supporters of the NSPCC.

An evening of friends and peers coming together to celebrate and launch Childline’s new campaign One Unforgettable Day. Asking supporters to pledge £30,000 to Childline, offering them in turn an exciting and unique opportunity to take ownership of Childline on a special day of their choice. We raised money from pledges alone through a unique and immersive 360-degree virtual reality film based on real stories giving you a powerful insight into what really goes on in the counselling room and what it’s like to be a Childline supervisor.

Guests enjoyed exclusive performances from Jools Holland and his band, Olly Murs and Melanie C who performed an off-the-cuff Spice Girls duet with Geri Horner.

We raised £424,250 from the pledge at this event receiving donations from over 50% of the guests and were able to re-engage lapsed donors which has subsequently led to further positive conversations and long-term gifts. This far surpassed our original target expectations.

Shelter – Sleep Walk for Shelter

Christmas is the most important fundraising period for Shelter, the UK’s leading housing and homelessness charity. Shelter used the occasion to get people involved with the cause beyond a financial donation. Shelter conceived, produced and delivered Sleep Walk for Shelter, a purpose-led mass participation, cause led 10k night time walk that not only generated funds for Shelter, and rallied a millennial audience around our mission to defend the right to a safe home.

The inaugural event smashed every participation, fundraising and publicity target as people united to walk to end homelessness. Raising over £255,000 in year one, securing over 40 pieces of national press coverage, thousands of shares on social media and is set to raise even more awareness and funds in future years as the event grows in income and size and becomes established in our successful event calendar.

Tayaba – Eid Extravaganza

Grand Sapphire hosted a charity event on 16th of June 2018 to raise funds for Tayaba org, a water charity, to raise funds for water crises hit areas in Pakistan Chaand Raat or ‘The night of the moon’ is a festival which marks the end of Ramadan or Ramzan One of the highlights of this celebration is a small scale fair that is set up either within the neighbourhood or fair grounds which offer clothing, jewelry, henna tattooing, fashion items, games for all as well as arts and crafts – that set grounds for a fundraiser on a festive night Chaand Raat Extravaganza in Croydon was celebrated as a multicultural and multifaith event that attracted more than 2000 people The charity event was novel in its layout, design and execution The guests were treated with freebies on their arrival Then they proceeded to stalls where lots of festive stuff was available on offers The mid of the cross section was converted into a colourful stage for performing artists Food stalls were placed in the periphery where the guests could nibble at the street food Glossier, expensive and haute couture stuff was exhibited in the end where fashion show catwalk was

Tommy’s – London Landmarks Half Marathon

The inaugural London Landmarks Half Marathon (LLHM), organised by Tommy’s took place on 25 March 2018, giving 10,000 people the chance to take part in a new, quirky, charity mass participation event.

The idea was born in 2014 when Tommy’s noticed a big gap in the market. A central London half marathon taking in the City and the capital’s landmarks did not exist. So Tommy’s decided to take on the challenge of launching a new half marathon to benefit both themselves, and 100+ other charities too.

For a first-time event there was huge interest in entering. 70,000 people applied for the 5000 public places which meant public entry instantly sold out and there was huge demand for charity places.

As well as an iconic, central London course, runners experienced ‘The Grand. The Quirky. The Hidden’ of the capital. The LLHM route unearthed hidden gems through route signage, historical activations and historically themed charity cheer stations making the event a real celebration of London’s rich history. Feedback from runners was exceptional, with huge praise for the event’s organisation and atmosphere.

The fundraising target of £4m across all charity partners was smashed and £4.99m has been raised to date.