For more than 100 years, RAGs have been a mainstay at UK and Commonwealth universities. The universities of Durham, Cambridge, Belfast, Pretoria, Witwatersrand, and many others, have all been “Raising and Giving”, “Remembering and Giving”, or “Reaching out and Giving” (depending on which backronym you choose to embrace) since at least the 1920s.
University RAG fundraising efforts, like many things student-related, often have fun and creative twists, avoiding simply appealing for funds from the public or organisations. Games and sports, pub crawls, bed runs, where teams race with hospital beds, world record attempts, float parades, and many other unique events that bring traffic to a standstill are yearly occurrences in university towns around the world. All this commotion can have a big impact: Carnival RAG, U.Birmingham’s RAG, averages over £200,000 in donations per year, while Exeter RAG’s annual World AIDS Day typically raises £20,000 for the Eddistone Trust.
Arguably, one of the more adventurous RAG fundraising activities is skydiving for charity, often referred to as sponsored skydives. In a nutshell, it works like this: you choose a charity (typically from a list of registered charities), choose your dropzone, raise the required amount, and… jump! It’s just about that simple. With the right planning, you can enjoy the adrenaline rush of freefall benefiting those in need, exemplifying the spirit of giving and adventure inherent in RAG activities.
RAG Skydiving opportunities in context
Charities need support, most often financially. People like to jump from aeroplanes with sheets attached to their backs. This costs money. Luckily for you, there are companies like Skyline Skydiving that, decades ago, identified the intersection of students trying to have fun and RAG efforts raising funds for charity.
Skyline Skydiving, and a handful of other companies, have partnered with thousands(!!!) of worthy causes across the UK to make fundraising a more fun and rewarding experience. They offer people who manage to raise, in all honesty, a very modest amount of money for charity the chance to experience the thrill of a lifetime, jumping from about 13,000 feet, for absolutely free.
That’s right: raise enough funds for charity, and skydive for free!
How do I get started?
Getting started with your RAG skydive couldn’t be easier. Simply follow these straightforward steps:
- Register for the jump: Using this link, you can register for your RAG skydive and select your charity of choice, dropzone, number of jumpers, and dates. Registration costs £70 per person; however, you can reclaim this from the funds you manage to raise should you surpass the minimum amount. Once booked, we’ll get back to you ASAP, confirming your details and green-lighting your jump.
- Raise funds for your chosen charity: Once your jump is booked, it’s time to raise a minimum of £395 (a handful of dropzones require a minimum of £450). While this article doesn’t go into detail about different ways of raising funds for charitable causes, check out other blog articles to maximise your efforts.
- Show up and jump. See, we told you that the process couldn’t be more straightforward. Once you’ve managed to raise £395 for the charity of your choice, it’s simply a matter of showing up for your booking and taking the leap. With the exception of optional videography and photos, there are absolutely zero additional or hidden costs.
Why skydive for charity with Skyline Skydiving?
Skydiving for charity is the perfect opportunity to combine raising funds for worthy causes and ticking an item off your bucket list. While many of us dream of the thrill of freefall but are unable to swing the required couple of hundred pounds, this dream can easily become a reality through a charity jump.
With all of your jumping expenses covered by the dropzone, you’ll find it much easier to convince donors to support your RAG fundraising skydive if they can be assured that their money is actually going to the cause. With decades of experience in facilitating charitable and RAG skydives, it won’t take more than a quick Google search to confirm that we are indeed associated with every single major (and many of the smaller) charities and NGOs operating in the UK. With backing from us, nearly everyone brave enough to make the booking manages to reach their fundraising goals.
Beyond just making charity skydiving possible, we’ve also partnered with some of the coolest dropzones across the UK. You simply won’t find a charity skydive operator with our reach, meaning you can choose the most beautiful dropzones and landscapes to admire on your way down.
For more information about our process, how to raise funds for charitible causes or RAG, or to find answers to common questions, please visit our FAQ page or contact us through our portal.