How to organise a charity abseil event. If you’re interested in running a charity abseil event then this article will give you the information you need to set one up.

A charity abseil event is a great way to raise money for charity, usually making on average between £4,000 and £40,000 a day depending on location and the number of participants abseiling. Not only is it a great way to raise money, a charity abseil event is also a fantastic way of marketing your company or charity and getting some media coverage – this is often forgotten about and over looked but adds massive value to the event.

If you’re an individual looking to organise a charity abseil event then the best place to start is by contacting the charity that you wish to fund raise for and asking them if they want to get involved. If the charity wants to get involved, then they can help advertise the event and find extra participants. If the charity doesn’t want to help or already has a full fundraising calendar then consider getting a group of you together as this will work out cheaper per person.

If you’re a company or a charity and want to organise a charity abseil event then it’s a very easy process for yourselves as you have access to many potential participants through the office you work in, social media or by advertising in the local area. Even on the day of the event, people watching the abseil take place will want to have a go and will often ask if they can. This is another great way of adding an extra few people and bringing in more money and awareness for the charity.

We provide everything that you need to be able to run a charity abseil event but the first thing you have to do is find a venue that is suitable to host a charity abseil event. Abseils can be run nearly anywhere that is steep enough to drop a rope down. However the most commonly used abseil locations are buildings as these are in urban areas and allow easy access for media, participants and allow simple access to the top and bottom of the abseil rope. Local cliffs also work well but if you live in London then these are not a common sight!! More and more abseil events are unusual or extremely high to set their event apart from others. Don’t be afraid to think about different ideas other than a building or cliff face – consider a dam, viaduct or bridge into free space, indoor abseils inside tall buildings, disused lift shaft or even down waterfalls!

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Initial indicators of a good abseil venue:

• Be appropriately high for your target audience – around 100ft (30 metres) is usual, 200ft or over is a bigger challenge. As a guide, one storey of a building is usually 15ft.
• If it is a building it needs a flat roof space. The line of the abseil should ideally be free of obstructions such as windows, balconies and lights. Newer buildings may be more appropriate to reduce the risk of older, deteriorating brickwork being further damaged.
• The edge of the roof/cliff etc needs to be fairly solid (we always protect these edges and may use scaffolding to make it easier to get over the edge/parapets of buildings).
• Easy access to the top of the abseil and a safe waiting area near the top. If possible it should be accessible for disabled abseilers. There should be a landing area that can be controlled/ cordoned off
• A higher abseil may attract fewer participants as it might be more daunting, but it may set your event apart from others.
• A venue in a public place will encourage on-lookers on the day.
• It should ideally have good access to public transport and/or parking.
• An unusual venue or well-known landmark would attract media coverage.
• It may help if you can find a company building where you can promote your event to employees – these are very popular if run during the working week and open only to their staff.

Once you’ve found a suitable venue for your charity abseil event, you then have to get in touch with the building owner / manager and ask if they are happy with the idea of a charity abseil event being run at that location. We spend time talking with building managers or Health and Safety staff to work through any issues in order to gain their agreement and get the go ahead for your event. Damage to a building can be a major worry to owners although this is very unlikely if precautions are taken. Our extremely thorough Risk Assessment usually irons out any worries they may have. You might have a few options for abseil locations within your area and it’s worth considering and speaking to a few different locations to give yourself options. When emailing or speaking with the building owner / manager it’s worth pointing out a few things:

• The good publicity and media PR that goes with these events.
• The edges of the buildings are protected from any ropes coming into contact with them.
• As a charity abseil company we have £10 million pound public liability insurance.
• As a charity abseil company all of our staff our very experienced and qualified through Mountain Training and have a valid first aid certificate.
• A site visit will be carried out by us prior to the event date so that any site specific modifications can be made and the site can be approved for use.
• Risk assessments and method statements will be issued for that site and will be followed on the event day.
• The area beneath the abseil will be cornered off and will be monitored at all times.

If the response from the building owner / manager is positive then it’s worth sending us a few photos so we can check the suitability of the venue before making a site visit. If possible the photos of the venue should include:

• The waiting area at the top of the abseil
• The abseil take off point
• The access to the top of the abseil
• The line of the abseil
• The area at the bottom of the abseil

Once we’ve had a look through the photos we will have a very good idea if the venue is suitable without the need for a site visit straight away. Once a venue has been selected we will talk with yourselves and the building owner / manager to fix a date for the site visit and a potential date for the charity abseil event.

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If the building is suitable and a date has been fixed for the charity abseil event then the next step is marketing the event and getting people booking on to do the abseil.

We make this process as easy as possible. We will give you hour time slots throughout the day to allocate to participants booking on. We will even give you a PDF information pack that can be sent out to the participants which gives them all the information that they need to know for the charity abseil event.

So all you have to do is find people who want to abseil. Consider asking people in your office, putting posts on social media, asking friends, local radio, the local paper, put up a poster, speak to a local college or university – the list goes on. We will also advertise the event through our social media pages for you to help bring in more participants, should you need them.

Once the event is full it’s time for the event day. All our events come with photos free on charge so you can send them to the participants and use them for marketing.

What follows is a step-by-step guide to the process that we go through for running an abseil event. Each event that we run is tailored to your needs and we are happy to discuss your ideas.

• Initial enquiry received from you
• We send out our Abseil Information Pack and discuss your ideas and needs
• The venue for the event is selected
• Depending on the venue chosen, a site visit is conducted by us in order to prepare Risk Assessments and to work out logistics for the abseil event. This is usually charged at between £100 and £250 and is agreed prior to the site visit.
• A comprehensive quote is prepared and submitted to you for acceptance
• Medical and Risk Declaration Forms, Risk Assessments, Participant Information Forms, Insurance Certificates, Qualification Certificates and First Aid Certificates are forwarded to yourselves
• A 20% deposit is requested to secure the date
• Promotion of the event to recruit participants (we can assist with this)
• Two weeks prior to the event date the remaining balance must be paid in full.
• It is important at this stage that you have sent all participants the ‘Participant Information Pack’ that we give to you, that gives participants more details for their day.
• Dave Talbot Ltd will be in contact during the week leading up to the event to finalise any last-minute plans.
• The event happens !
• Dave Talbot Ltd will be in touch for your feedback and will provide event photos

If you’re unsure on anything then please get in touch. Arranging a charity abseil event is as easy as finding a venue and getting people booked onto the event, we will run the rest. Everything is provided in the quote we give you and there are no hidden costs.

There is more information on abseiling on the Wikipedia Page Here.