Edinburgh fund manager on brink of £3m charity fundraising milestone

A 2005 staff satisfaction survey revealed to bosses the dissatisfaction of workers regarding the firm’s efforts to aid good causes, prompting the first Rob Roy Challenge the following year.

The event was launched as a gruelling 48-mile hike and bike ride in the Scottish Highlands, and a decade on has evolved into four new separate challenges aimed at various levels of ability ranging from a 16 mile ramble to a 72 mile test of foot and peddle stamina starting in Pitlochry.

The charitable Martin Currie Foundation, created on the back of the event which has so far welcomed 5,500 participants and 12,000 volunteers, has also provided staff with the ability to get involved through taking part in the main event or help with assisting in committee decisions to decide which charities should be supported.

The success of the past decade has seen the foundation partner with 12 charities and with funds raised already sitting at £2,700,000, the £3 million mark is set to be broken at this year’s event.

Speaking as the foundation reaches its milestone 10th year, current chairwoman Sheena Kelman said: “It still amazes me how many of the staff take part and go along and support it ten years on. Around 25 per cent of our staff take part, and every year it becomes quite competitive,”

Steven Oates, Martin Currie Foundation board member, said: “The foundation is set up to support an international, national and local charity, which reflects our client base.

“We work on a three-year rolling basis as it helps the charities to gain experience from the event, become familiar with how it works, so they can really get the most out of the experience. Then after three years they would be replaced with a new charity.

“Some of the initial charities stayed on a year longer, so we weren’t having to replace all of them at once.”

The event is run with the help and support of the charity partners, Ms Kelman said.

“We have six partners this year who all have their roles to play in the event. We encourage them all bring their own team along to complete the event. All of the charities are very involved – the money that is paid out at the end, to a certain extent, will be dependant on their input to the event.

“That’s where the sponsorship we get from Martin Currie, because without them, the event wouldn’t happen. We’ve seen a number of events fold because either the main sponsor has stepped away, or the realisation that these events are quite expensive to put on.”

Mr Oates said a rise in events like Tough Mudder has threatened the survival of charity events.

He said: “Those type of events charge a smaller fee and you don’t have to fundraise. So the market for a big event like this becomes much more challenging.”

Ms Kelman added: “That is why we’re making this year more of an event. It’s not like those other ones where you do it, tick the box and get a t-shirt. This is almost a full day event.”

The event has also grown to incorporate a social component with this year’s event set to have more of a festival feel.

“We’ve always had an after event feast and ceilidh, which has been a real selling point,” Steven said, “but we’ve decided to build upon that for this year.

“We’re looking to turn it into more of a festival – we’re hoping more people will camp and stay over the whole weekend and make much more of a party out of it.

“On the Saturday, from around 12pm, there will be a lot of kids entertainment – so while Mum or Dad is taking part, someone can stay back with the kids at the hub, where there will be entertainment for them, with inflatables and face painting – things like that.”

Monies raised by the Rob Roy Challenge are distributed by the Martin Currie Charitable Foundation (MCCF), with the majority of funds donated to the Rob Roy Challenge Annual Charity Partner and MCCF Charity Partners.

The 2016 Rob Roy Challenge Annual Charity Partner is Mercy Ships with the 2016 MCCF Charity Partners being the Breast Cancer Now, Cyrenians, Maggie’s, Marie Curie and Mercy Corps.

If you are interested in taking on the Rob Roy Challenge either as an individual, group or company to help raise money for any of these charities please click on the link below for more information and to take advantage of the early bird reduced entry fee: www.robroychallenge.com