Be in with a chance to win over €50,000 for your local organisation in the Great Community Challenge

Brought to you by The Great Community Challenge

A fantastic way for sports clubs, community organisations, schools and charities to raise money during times of social distancing.

The need for social distancing as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on Irish life in recent weeks and months. With people having to keep their distance from one another, the ability of sports clubs, community organisations, schools and charities throughout the country to conduct public fundraisers has been severely hampered as a result. Those public fundraisers are often the lifeblood of the existence of such organisations, but in the absence of traditional events to raise vital funds, there is a solution at hand through The Great Community Challenge, Ireland’s biggest online fundraiser. Organised by Empower Events, The Great Community Challenge allows organisations to engage with their members online in their own homes, sparing them the need to have to congregate out of doors. Plus, it introduces an element of a contest, both at a local and national level, which will no doubt appeal to the more competitive members of your organisation! As part of the challenge, 12 local community organisations from at least 20 counties in Ireland will take part in an online interactive game show, while also competing against members of other community organisations from within their county. By taking part and following the fundraising model, each organisation will be guaranteed to raise €5,000. Organisations in respective participating counties will take part in their very own ‘county final’ and after these take place, the winners will progress to a national grand final, where the victorious local community organisation will claim the title and the ultimate prize of over €50,000. Each county is limited to 12 participating community organisations so it’s not as if your organisation will be competing against a field of hundreds to take home the prize. The Great Community Challenge comprises an evening of engaging questions, puzzles, a talent competition and a variety of other entertaining challenges. There’s fancy dress, specific rounds for over 70s and even tasks which require participants to take photos of certain objects within their own homes in the fastest time. It’s not just a run-of-the-mill quiz, but instead a night of entertainment and engagement for young and old, family and friends and entire communities. To enter the challenge, each participating local community organisation must raise €6,000 from its members, €5,000 of which it will keep and €1,000 of which will go to an overall fund. Fundraising for each organisation is facilitated through the entry cost, which is €40 per household. The organisers also allow for the number of participants representing an organisation and the entry fee per household to be adjusted to suit an organisations’ size. The winners in the ‘county finals’ will claim €10,000 between the original fundraising required for entry and winnings, and will go on to be in contention to win over €50,000 in the national grand final. In each county final, there will also be a runner-up spot allowing another organisation to progress to the national final. While that organisation won’t receive winnings at county final level, they can still compete for the overall jackpot. Participating households, meanwhile (limited to 150 per organisation) can also share in €15,000 worth of prizes. As well as providing the opportunity to raise funds for your organisation, the Great Community Challenge has the potential to bring people together within their local community, within their own county and nationwide at a time when many feel apart and isolated due to the need for cocooning and social distancing. All in all, it is expected that some 42,000 households and 240 community organisations will get involved, while one club, school or charity will amass over €50,000 in just two nights. The novel endeavour will also see in the region of €1.5 million being generated for communities throughout Ireland, some achievement considering nobody involved will even have to leave their own homes. Speaking on behalf of Empower Events, Michaella McMahon explained the catalyst behind this timely fundraiser: “We were booked to produce many public fundraising events in hotels and event centres around Ireland when the virus hit our shores. "As a result of the pandemic and, more specifically, the related Government directives, restrictions on public events and the impact on ‘givers' finances, this landscape has changed indefinitely. What hasn’t changed, however, is the need for local community organisations to raise funds, and this demand is now greater than ever. "We want to assist local community organisations to alleviate their financial strain and help them raise funds in a unique way to suit the current restrictions. In an effort to adapt to the new norm and find solutions for these organisations, we have devised an online Game Show where every organisation that employs our model will raise money a minimum of €5,000 and every participating household will be in with a chance to win also!” More detailed instructions on how your local community organisation can enter the Great Community Challenge can be found right here, while the simple process to register your organisation can be accessed here. Ireland’s biggest online fundraiser, The Great Community Challenge helps sports clubs, school, charities and community organisations in Ireland raise over €50,000 in a virtual challenge that takes place over two nights without anyone having to leave their own home. Check out The Great Community Challenge on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  Brought to you by The Great Community Challenge