A unique event for charities to raise money for thier own funds

The Great Escape -2002 Event Information



The Active Charitable Trust's - The Great Escape
Supported by Darlington Football Club.


The Great Escape will be the first of many fundraising events to be organised by The Active Charitable Trust, where all the Charities/Groups taking part are the only ones to benefit from the money that they have raised. (Apart from the £100 registration fee paid to the Active Charitable Trust, which will be used to cover costs of the event, with the surplus being added to a trust fund which will benefit needy causes).


The Event:
At a certain designated time during mid October, all competitors have to leave the Feethams Football Stadium, home of Darlington FC and try to get as far away as possible within the 24 hours allowed from the town of Darlington, County Durham (Distance to be calculated by "Autoroute 2002"). Sounds simple, but your escape and return expenses must not exceed £50 per Team member.

Competing Teams having completed their escape do not have to return to the starting venue (Darlington), having reached their escape destination and completed the required procedures they can head straight for their home locations. The Charities and Groups that entered the event will be contacted a few weeks later with the results and invited to a presentation night in mid November, where the category winners will receive their rewards.

The event will be open to Teams of two from any Charity/Group nationwide who can meet the required terms, conditions and sponsorship guidelines. There are no restrictions on the number of teams that an organisation may wish to enter.


Sponsorship Guidelines:
A team will need to acquire a minimum of £200 in sponsorship. Each team is allowed to spend a maximum of £50 per person from the £200 raised to fund their escape (Teams must not spend more than this £50 per person). The other £100 goes to the Active Charitable Trust to help fund the event and establish the ACT trust fund.

If your Group/Charity raise more then the required £200 in sponsorship money then you will keep the excess amount raised. For example - if the total sponsorship gained by your organisation amounts to £700, you keep the excess of £500 for your own cause.


Extra Income:
A substantial amount can also be raised in the lead up to the event by the individual Charities/Groups selling fundraising tickets at Fun-days/Galas or at their own fundraising sessions. These tickets will be similar to raffle tickets but as well as the usual prize draw, members of the general public will have the opportunity to guess the following.

The furthest distance travelled by the winning Team - Cash prize of £350.
Name the escape destination that was the furthest away from the start location - Cash prize of £350.
Plus many other chances for the general public to win a cash prize.
If the tickets sell for 20p each or £1.00 for a book of five, then a conservative estimate could be the following - If your Charity/Group sells 2000 books they now have a profit of around £2000, 3000 books will give a profit of about £3000, 4000 makes £4000 and so on. Whatever your organisation makes from the ticket sales you keep. (except for a minimum amount, first 500 books free, extra books approx £10 per 200 books, to cover printing costs.)

Cash prizes will also be awarded to the Teams who achieve the following:
Prize money of £2000 will be awarded to the Team that managed the furthest distance from the start location.
A runners-up prize of £500 will be awarded to the Team that gets the second furthest distance.
Prize money of £500 will go to the Team that collected the most sponsorship money.
Prize money of £500 will be awarded to the Team that has the most novel/interesting way of escape.
The Team that is prepared to escape wearing the most inappropriate/ridiculous costume will be awarded £1000. Teams in this category will have to be photographed at their final destination wearing the said costumes to qualify for this part of the competition.
To take part in this year's Great Escape:
Charities/Groups need to register their interest in taking part, this can be done either through this website or by telephone: 01914205990 or 01642 656144. Once registered, further details including the required paperwork will be sent to your home/works address, or you may if you wish download the relevant forms from the Great Escape Website, the choice is yours.
On receipt of the paperwork, complete and return the relevant registration and indemnity forms (forms can be photocopied) and enclose payment of £100 per Team, cheques to be made payable to the Active Charitable Trust.
On receipt of your forms you will receive full details of the start location, sponsor forms, fundraising tickets and further event details. Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate in contacting the event organisers on one of the telephone numbers below or via the website.

Please Note: The earlier you register your interest the earlier you will receive all the necessary entry documentation and the more time your Teams will have to raise sponsorship and the more time your Organisation has to sell the fundraising tickets.

Remember: Whatever your Charity/Group makes from sponsorship and ticket sales, your organisation keeps. Your only costs will be the £100 needed to run the event, a maximum of £50 per Team member to help fund your escape/return and a minimum amount towards printing costs - approx £10 per 200 books of fundraising tickets.


Income example: Amount raised from sponsorship - £800, deduct the £100 payable to ACT and the £100 allowed for your escape expenses. Total amount raised from the sponsorship - £600.
If you sell 2000 books of fundraising tickets at £1 per book, income will be £2000. Deduct £10 per 200 books from the 1500 purchased (we will give you the first 500 books free) this will be £2000 minus the £75 for printing costs and your total profit will be £600 plus £1925 making £2525 raised for your own cause.

It could of course be much more depending on how much sponsorship has been raised and how many tickets your Organisation sells.

You could also be eligible for one of the many cash prizes, which could boost your income by a few hundred pounds or by a few thousand pounds.

Final date for event registration is Saturday, 21st September 2002. Details of the exact start date amd time will be released soon.

We look forward to hearing from you within the very near future.


If you have any questions or for more details more details about the work of ACT, please call John Lucas on 0191 4205990 or Alan Swales on 01642 656144, or e-mail alan@the-greatescape.org.uk or visit the main website:

http://www.the-greatescape.org.uk