A new social enterprise plans to boost interest in sport, and raise £20m for charity, in the lead up to the 2012 Olympic Games.

‘Gold Challenge’ was launched this week with more than 100 charity partners, and aims to raise the sum by encouraging the public to commit to trying out five, ten, 20 or 30 Olympic and Paralympic sports and raising sponsorship for their efforts.

For the charities lined up to reap the £20m Gold Challenge estimates it will raise by the end of 2012, participation does not come cheap. Gold Challenge, which is a not-for-profit social enterprise, charges £25 for each fundraising participant, a percentage equivalent to gift aid on all donations made and then 20 per cent on any donations made by the charities’ corporate partners as part of matched fund incentives.

The company says that any profit it may make via the fee structure, or via other means such as sale of merchandise or sponsorship, it will plough back into its charity partners including the NSPCC, Scope, Oxfam, Cancer Research UK and Right to Play.

Team GB, the British Olympic Association, Sports England and the British Paralympic Association have all partnered with Gold Challenge which, alongside raising money for charity, aims to increase the participation of Brits in all manner of sports.