WaterAid did not breach the Outdoor UK Challenge Events Code when it held the Corbett Challenge, which raised more than £100,000 for the charity earlier this month, the FRSB has ruled.
Over 200 teams took part in the Corbett Challenge which saw sponsored walkers using 312 Corbetts - or hills between 2,500 and 3,000 feet - in Scotland on 11 June, despite a complaint that the charity had not contacted all relevant land managers.
A total of 11 complaints from the same complainant were made, accusing WaterAid of failing to adhere to the Outdoor UK Challenge Events Code which requires charities to minimise any impact on the environment in its fundraising activities. Measures required by the Code can include restricting numbers of participants, briefing participants on environmental protocol and working with local land managers to ensure the impact of the event is minimal.
The complainant believed that WaterAid should have contacted 936 land managers in advance of the challenge (three for every peak). But the FRSB concluded that there was no evidence to support these calculations and that WaterAid had "done everything possible to contact the necessary land managers" and "could not control who does and does not respond to notification letters". Therefore, the FRSB ruled, WaterAid was "both reasonable and code compliant" in holding the fundraising event.
Andrew Cook, director of communications and fundraising at WaterAid said: “We are very pleased to have received this judgement from the Fundraising Standards Board and are particularly delighted that our planning and processes were commended so highly by the Board. The event went ahead on June 11 and was a great success with nearly 200 teams climbing peaks across the UK. The funds raised from this event will help WaterAid transform even more lives in some of the world’s poorest communities.”
While WaterAid was cleared of any wrongdoing in the event, the FRSB added that the case raised logistical problems with organising such events:
"It was quite clear that it took a considerable amount of work for WaterAid to plan and co-ordinate its 2011 Corbett Challenge event.
"The Board felt that charities should consider the substantial amount of work that is needed to organise responsible and compliant challenge events and, in so doing, should manage their resources accordingly," the report said.
