faqs

how difficult are the charity challenges?

Each itinerary is labelled challenging, tough or extreme. Aside from physical exertion, other factors that may affect this difficulty level include altitude, climate, facilities available, and whether or not your supporter carries their own pack.  Each itinerary describes what the challenge will involve including distances, altitudes, and hours of physical activity expected.

• Challenging tours require you to have a reasonable level of fitness and an open mind to deal with new situations. They are not typically at high altitude, and are usually between 8 and 12 days long. A typical day would involve 5 to 7 hours of activity. The trails are less remote and although still basic, the facilities are slightly more comfortable.
• Tough itineraries are generally at high altitude, and may take place in more remote areas where there are limited facilities available. Due to the nature of high altitude challenges, the itineraries are normally longer (typically between 10 and 12 days), allowing you time to acclimatise. The terrain is likely to be hard going, and a good level of fitness is required. A typical day would involve 6 to 8 hours of activity in unpredictable weather conditions, and you will have to carry a daypack of about 7kgs.
• Extreme challenges normally last for between 12 and 17 days, and require a very good level of fitness and a more focussed training programme to enable you to undertake the challenge. All extreme challenges involve camping in a remote mountain environment, where facilities are very basic and the unpredictability of mountain weather can often provide numerous unexpected challenges of their own. The terrain will be hard going, with steep climbs and descents. A typical day would involve 6 to 8 hours of activity, but a summit day could involve up to 15 hours of activity. You will have to carry a daypack of about 7kgs.

who takes part in Charity Challenges?

The challenges are open to anyone over 18 but the majority by far are between the ages of 35 and 55. Our most mature client was a 78-year-old man who climbed Kilimanjaro, and we also had a 72 year old woman successfully reach Everest Base Camp! The vast majority of people who join these challenges, do so alone. Our groups consist of 15 - 25 participants on average, and usually comprise of people from a complete mix of professions, geographical location, and backgrounds. Everyone is united in the fact that they have raised a great deal of sponsorship for a charity they have personally chosen, and that everyone is about to embark upon the same challenge.

If you go to the “Statistics” section of your members area, you will see a breakdown of each challenge, by age, sex, and payment option. If your supporter database is heavily skewed towards women in their 40s, you will see that the Great Wall of China would be a good challenge to offer your supporters, and if its men in their 40s, Kilimanjaro would be a good choice.

how are participants’ details processed by Charity Challenge?

When a participant completes a booking form, they will provide us with a certain amount of personal data, which we will only process for the purpose of administering and marketing the challenge. Examples of this processing include (but are not limited to): their name, occupation, date of birth and passport number is required for us to process their group visa (if relevant), book flights and for hotel reservations overseas. Any dietary requirements, allergies, or medical conditions are used for informing the airline, ground handler and tour leader where necessary. Their name, age and address are needed by the insurance company to provide adequate cover. If you have a question about the use of this personal information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

how do participants convince sponsors that this is not a holiday?

None of the challenges could be considered to be a holiday. Participants will be training for many months to get fit, raising thousands of pounds for charity, and then undertaking a physically demanding challenge. All three of these elements of Charity Challenge take time effort and commitment. How difficult the challenge is, will ultimately be down to them to decide. They could find themselves trekking or cycling for 6-8 hours each day and for several days, with basic facilities and sometimes at high altitude. Temperatures could climb from -20oC celsius to +30oC celsius within 24 hours. Participating in a Charity Challenge starts long before it departs. It takes time, effort, dedication and commitment and is far from just a holiday. Finally, they have the option (self funder) to pay the full cost of the challenge themselves.

can participants organise their own flights and join the tour in-country?

The prices quoted for each challenge include return international flights from London to the challenge destination. If for any reason, your supporter would rather organise their own flights, we will discount the overall cost of the challenge by the budgeted cost of flights from London (including air taxes). We would ask that they let us know as soon as possible if they intend to organise their own flights so that we do not pay a deposit to hold a seat for them. If their request is received late, and deposits have been paid to the airline, they will be responsible to cover the loss of deposit (approximately £50). Once they have confirmed that they wish to organise their own flights, they should let us know their new flight schedule so we can organise for them to be met in-country, and for any other necessary services such as an additional night's accommodation. Please note that when organising their own flights, participant will only be covered under the insurance policy for the equivalent of economy class flights from London. Should they decide to fly business class for example, we will have to notify the insurers to make sure they are happy to accept the increased risk. They may in certain circumstances charge a premium. If this is the case, we will let them know. In all cases, the participant will have to pay the deposit at the time of booking, and as a self funder, we will invoice them for the balance of challenge costs less the cost of UK flights and air taxes. Under the minimum sponsorship option, the supporter will have to raise the same level of sponsorship and once we receive the balance of your costs from the charity, we will refund to the participant directly the cost of UK flights and air taxes. NB: Additional notes from the Booking Conditions: “If you are joining the challenge locally (i.e. the country the challenge takes place in) our responsibility does not commence until the appointed time at the designated meeting point.” If your supporter fails to arrive there at the appointed time, we shall not be responsible for any additional expenses incurred by them in order to meet up with the group.

can participants extend their flight and stay on longer?

On all Charity Challenges, we aim to secure the most cost effective package. The biggest single expense on these challenges are the international flights, and in order to keep these costs as low as possible, we have an exclusive arrangement with several airlines. The tickets we book however are non-transferrable, non-refundable, and non-changeable. In certain circumstances, the airline may permit a change to the return date, but this is at the discretion of the airline. Where we are able to change the return date, there will be a flat non-refundable fee of £60, and of course, if the change of date results in a more expensive ticket, the participant will also be required to pay the difference. They will not be able to amend the outward date, only the return date.

After contacting Charity Challenge by phone, their request to extend must be put in writing before it will be actioned. They should send their request to Charity Challenge with a cheque for £60 made payable to "Challenges Unlimited". They must give a preferred return date but also two other dates, just in case the first request is not available. If they choose to request a change which we make, and then do not wish to take the requested return flight, they WILL be charged the £60 admin fee. However, if we cannot confirm their requested change of return date, or if the resultant fare increases by £50 or more and they choose not to accept the flight, we will NOT charge the admin fee.

NB: Insurance: If they extend their flight, they will also need to make sure that their travel insurance is extended to cover them for the full duration. They should put in writing a request to Charity Challenge and we will make the necessary arrangements to do this on their behalf. If an additional premium is required, they will be notified.

is it safe to book or pay online at www.charitychallenge.com?

During all the confidential stages of booking and paying online, participants will see a padlock icon at the foot of the screen. Their personal information is kept secure by encrypted transmission. www.charitychallenge.com uses SSL ("Secure Socket Layer") encryption. If participants have any concerns about booking or paying online they should contact our office on +44 (0) 20 8557 0000.

how do I or my supporters find out more about a specific challenge?

Each challenge is listed on our website and has a full day-by-day Itinerary, a Q&A sheet, a Fact File about the country they will be travelling to and a Kit List. All are PDF files. If your computer cannot read PDF files, you can download Adobe Acrobat free of charge from the Links page of our site. If participants cannot access the information through our website, we can send it to them by post.

how are challenge places allocated?

Each itinerary has a maximum group size, so places are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.  Once a challenge becomes full, we endeavour to introduce additional departure dates and the latest dates are listed on the website. Please click here to view Departure Dates.

what should participants expect?

Many of Charity Challenge’s host countries are less developed than the UK and Ireland. Internal infrastructure is often limited; roads are rough and facilities basic. We maintain the highest standards of hygiene (that a wilderness environment permits), but if your supporters are after a five-star holiday, they should forget Charity Challenge. If, however, they are seeking an adrenaline-filled adventure, are over 18 and relatively active, then Charity Challenge has plenty to offer them.

where do the challenges take place?

There nearly forty different challenges to choose from including treks, mountain bike rides, mountain climbs, white water rafting, horse riding and community challenges. Our challenges take place in Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, Europe and the Americas. For a map of all our destinations please click here.

what is a typical day?

On trekking/cycling days participants rise early and pack up camp after breakfast. They trek or cycle for between six and eight hours a day. There will be a picnic lunch en route, with time to take in the views. Evenings are usually spent in camp, where the food and facilities are fairly simple. A more specific typical day is detailed in the Q&A sheet for each challenge.

what about spending money?

The only time participants are likely to need spending money is at the beginning and end of the challenge. We suggest they take about £200 in relevant currency and a credit card for emergency situations – also see the Q&A for their chosen challenge.

what is the accommodation like?

During the challenge sector of the challenge, participants are going to be off the beaten track and far from the home comforts of hotels – forget air conditioning, flushing toilets and a comfy bed! Two person tents are likely to be their home for a few days, and a foam mattress (or thermarest) might aid their chances of sleeping well.  More comfortable accommodation is usually available at the beginning and end of the trip. Specific details are provided in the Itinerary and Q&A sheet for their challenge.

what is the food and drink like?

We know that rising to the challenge will be hungry work, so participants need not worry about any shortage of food or drink. We provide ample clean drinking water and three meals a day (unless otherwise stated). We can cater for vegetarians and will try to accommodate other dietary requirements, provided the participant informs us well in advance. Please remember however, that supplies may be difficult to obtain in remote areas, and the variety of food may be limited.

why are Charity Challenge deposits higher than the average overseas challenge deposit?

The bottom line is that the challenges have a cost. The lower the deposit, the more the charity has to pay from the sponsorship money received. We have found that by charging a higher deposit, we achieve two things. Firstly, that the charity has higher income levels. Secondly, that people have to be appropriately committed before they book, whereas if the deposit were £50 or £100, they could easily drop out at the last moment without too much concern or repercussion. This then causes Charity Challenge difficulties with airline deposits etc, and also affects the charity's budgeted income. On challenges with very low deposits, the recruitment may appear to be easier, but the drop out rate is significantly higher.
 
The following questions have been covered in the finance section:

• how is the challenge funded?
• how much sponsorship do my supporters have to raise?
• what is included in the price?
• what is not included?
• can your charity claim back gift aid on donations made?
• How much can I expect to raise on average from these challenges?