What makes a Charity Rally?

1. Not for profit rule
   
   Lots of events are called "charity events" that aren't properly charitable. In the last few years we've seen quite a few "charity car rallies" where the only charitable element seems to be that the teams who take part do all the hard work raising money for charity whilst the organisers are nothing more than a travel company using the good name of the charities to get publicity. Some events even have very high entry fees and corporate sponsorship, yet none of this goes to the charities.

    

   All of the rallies on this site are non-profit making events. Firstly, this means that all of the money teams raise for charity, goes to the chosen charities. Teams can use any commercial sponsorship they get to cover the expenses of their trip, but they have to be clear if they are doing this. Any money they get beyond their expenses either has to go to their chosen charity, or into the Go Help charity funds.

   Non-profit making also means that all of the entry fees for the rallies and any overall sponsorship goes into the Go Help charity (like the sponsorship of this website). For some of the events we are planning, Go Help or the teams will be getting commercial sponsorship to cover some of the costs of running the event (in addition to the entry fees). Where we do this, it will be very clear when the money is going to be used to help cover costs. Legally no money can be used beyond the expenses of the trip. Go Help are members of the Fundraising Standards Board and we follow closely the guidance given by the Institute of Fundraising. Teams should read the Team Fundraising page for tips on fundraising and what you can and can't do.

2. No support rule
   
   If you want a support crew you're in the wrong place. If nothing goes wrong, then everything has gone wrong. The fun starts when you break down in the Kazakh desert with only a pencil, a pack of boiled sweets and it happens to be a Kazakh national holiday. If things get worse and the sky falls on your head, use your co-driver to prop it up and carry on. Your mum might be worried, but she worries about a lot of things...

3. Fundraising Rule

   Each car must raise a minimum donation for charities selected for the rally by whatever way you can. This money goes directly to the chosen charities. See the page for each rally for full details. Charities should be selected that work in countries on the route or the destination country. Additional charities can be chosen, such as a charity local to a team's home town or a cause that is important to them.

Know about a charity rally not on this site?

If you've heard of a rally and it isn't on this site, let us know. We'd love to hear from people with a similar love of adventure and helping charities. Providing the event meets our rules above, we'll put a link on this site and maybe more. Use our contact form to get in touch.