Inspired by raising money for charity and embarking on a number of international challenges himself, Simon Albert decided to create Charity Challenge in 1999. Now a multi-award winning company, Charity Challenges sends over 3,500 people across the globe each year and employs 11 staff in UK offices, and many more from local communities in the countries we operate in.
Charity Challenge specialises in delivering exceptional adventure challenges, allowing participants to raise money for the charity of their choice. For over 24 years we have created and managed international expeditions which have enabled people to raise in excess of £70 million for thousands of charities. Charity Challenge operates challenges across 6 continents, in over 40 countries worldwide.
Whether it's trekking, cycling, rafting, and even dog sledding, there's a Charity Challenge for everyone. We are one of the only UK based companies who specialise in polar expeditions to the North and South Poles. We're also ATOL bonded, licensed and insured tour operator, with safety and participant welfare at the forefront of our business. We want you to experience the trip of a lifetime and have an authentic real-life experience whilst raising money for the charity of your choice through a responsible and ethically run challenge.
Take on an adventure with Charity Challenge and you can make a difference in so many ways. Believe, Achieve, Inspire!
Honesty and integrity - We are 100% transparent about our challenge costs, who pays what, how much is funded by you and the balance payable by the charity. This is made explicitly on our website, when you book and in fundraising materials. It's vital that everyone - especially donors - are fully aware of where the money goes.
We aim to provide transparent pricing and clear instructions as to what is and isn't included in our prices. Rest assured that Charity Challenge includes ALL known air taxes (including fuel) at the time of costing.
Charity Challenge leads the way in responsible operations, ensuring local communities in host countries benefit directly from our challenges. All our expeditions contribute to the local economy.
Our ethos - Our long-term strategies and short-term actions are moulded by our core values, shared by every member of the Charity Challenge team. These include:
PASSION AND INSPIRATION: We're passionate about adventure travel, and helping thousands of people to experience life-changing journeys while raising millions for charity. We are immensely proud of what we do and our achievements.
HONESTY AND INTEGRITY: We are always honest, truthful and transparent in the way we work.
EXCELLENCE: We strive to deliver challenges and customer service of an exceptional quality that add value to all involved. We never compromise on safety because without it, there is no quality. We always look to improve what we do and aim to exceed expectations.
RESPECT: We ensure that all stakeholders are treated with respect and that our challenges are respectful of local communities, wildlife and the environments in which we operate.
Experience - For more than 20 years, Charity Challenge has worked with tens of thousands of individuals, charities, corporate organisations and private groups. We have operated hundreds of treks, rides, mountain climbs, horse riding, skiing, dog sledding, snowshoeing and white water rafting expeditions, in every environment from mountains to deserts and including the North and South Poles. So we know what we're doing.
Safety - We consider the safety and welfare of our participants, staff and support crew to be our top priority. As such, we developed Challenge Safe, one of the most advanced and thorough safety management systems in the industry. Rest assured that we will always do everything we can to carefully assess the risks of a challenge and then introduce appropriate safety measures.
Support - Charity Challenge provide's you with a huge array of advice and guidance on everything from fitness training to fundraising, travel insurance to visas. You will get access to your own secure account zone, to help you prepare and make the most of your challenge. Most of our staff have undertaken challenges and raised money for good causes, so we can provide you with everything you need to succeed.
Recognition - In 2015, Charity Challenge's co-founder and director Simon Albert was honoured with a British Citizen Award for Business at Westminster Palace. The accolade was in recognition of having helped tens of thousands of individuals to achieve incredible personal goals while raising in excess of £47,000,000 for more than 1,700 worthwhile causes.
Awards - Charity Challenge was voted the Best Challenge Company by the charity membership of the Institute of Fundraising in both the 2013 and 2014 Partners in Fundraising Awards. In addition, we were highly commended by both the Queen's Award for Sustainable Development and the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards for our Community Challenge programme.
Comic relief - In 2009 we organised the very successful BT Red Nose Day Kilimanjaro Climb for a host of high-profile people, including: Gary Barlow, Cheryl Cole, Chris Moyles, Denise Van Outen and Fearne Cotton. The expedition raised a staggering £3.35million. In 2013, we organised the BT Hell and High Water challenge along the Zambezi for participants including Jack Dee, Mel C and Dara O'Briain.
At Charity Challenge we acknowledge that it is our responsibility to ensure that we do all we can to contribute to making better places for people to live in the countries that we operate, and better places for you to visit. We're proud to have donated over £500,000 to local community projects in the countries that we operate in.
Our aims are to:
To find out more about our policy and see how we are implementing this please click here
We also have the following policies: Child Protection; Animal Welfare; International Porters Guidelines.
A huge amount of research, planning and hard work goes into designing, organising and running every challenge we operate. This, along with an incredible amount of ideas, energy and enthusiasm makes Charity Challenge what it is - a world leader in the provision of fundraising challenge events. Our team is made up of the most diverse group of people from around the world including South Africa, Australia, Kenya, Malawi, Peru, Spain and Belarus! They cover roles in operations, flights, account management, marketing and sales, administration and finance.
If you feel that you have the motivation to inspire and encourage people to venture well out of their comfort zones and would like to join our team, please do get in touch. Any new opportunities to join Charity Challenge will all be advertised on social media first, so keep your eyes peeled. Thanks for your interest in Charity Challenge.
BELIEVE >> ACHIEVE >> INSPIRE