Fundraising Events
Corporate fun-raising event ideas
Fun-Raising Events: The Sharky & George Way
At Sharky & George, we believe that corporate fundraising events should be exciting, inclusive and genuinely fun - not just another tick-box exercise. Our approach is simple: inject energy, creativity, and a healthy dose of chaos into every event. Because when people are having fun, they engage more - and that means more money raised for brilliant causes!
Whether it’s a city-wide adventure, an after-dark treasure hunt, or a multi-location challenge, we design experiencial fundraising events that teams talk about long after the final total is revealed.
Why Play-Driven Fundraising Works
After a few years of helping companies organise their fundraising events, we've learned a lot along the way from both hands-on experience and listening to post-event feedback. Here's the main reasons - and probably the ones that you already know:
Boosts Morale & Engagement
Deloitte found that corporate volunteering and fundraising can increase employee satisfaction by up to 57%. A day away from the desk doing something unforgettable? Yes, please.
Enhances company culture
Teamwork, laughter, and shared wins bring people together—across departments, offices, and even continents.
Strengthens your brand
People want to see companies giving back. A brilliant fundraising event shows you care and makes your brand stand out for all the right reasons.
It’s fun!
And let’s be honest—what’s better than a guilt-free skive from work that the company actively encourages?
Real Events. Real Impact.
We’ve helped hundreds of teams raise thousands for incredible causes—with events that are anything but ordinary. Read on below for a quick overview of some of our favourites.
The Lost Keys
Corporate Heist Meets Codebreaking Mayhem
Picture this: 18 high-performing teams in London. A locked vault. A mystery to solve. No instructions. Only one team can crack the code and get the keys.
The Lost Keys was designed as a bespoke, one-night-only immersive experience for a finance firm’s charity fundraiser—and it had all the drama of a Hollywood heist, minus the criminal record.
The mission began with a suspiciously brief email and a hand-delivered case file. From there, teams had to chase hidden messages, solve riddles across the city, and outwit an in-character network of “informants” (read: our actors). Clues were embedded in books, graffiti, and even musical codes. Each task brought them closer to the vault.
Time pressure? Of course. Curveballs? Absolutely. Internal competition? Fierce. From dark alley puzzles to rooftop clues, no two routes were the same—and the final key was only accessible after solving a live escape-room-style finale in front of their peers.
The Outcome:
£189,000 raised for youth mental health charities
100+ players from across the business
Wild team feedback and multiple repeat bookings requested
A one-off, high-impact fundraising night that proved brainpower, storytelling, and a little bit of mischief can go a very long way.
Midnight Madness
The After-Hours Puzzle Race That’s Raised £1.8 Million (and Counting)
Back in 2018, Sharky & George launched something big. Really big.
Midnight Madness landed in London with a bang—a high-stakes, adrenaline-fuelled adventure that redefined what an immersive fundraising event could look like.
This wasn’t just a game. It was a city-wide, all-night test of strategy, wit, and teamwork.
Inspired by the likes of Crystal Maze and The Da Vinci Code, the event took 27 teams deep into a London they’d never seen before. From encrypted dossiers to burner phones, underground briefings to rooftop riddles, players cracked codes, unraveled mysteries, and tackled live challenges embedded in the very fabric of the city.
And the best bit? It made a massive difference.
The Impact So Far:
5 editions (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024—with 2025 in the works)
£1.8 million raised for charities supporting children and young people across the UK
120+ participants per event, including teams from JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, MAN Group, DE Shaw, and Bridgewater
12 hours of pure puzzle-fuelled chaos, competition, and collaboration
In 2023 alone, Midnight Madness raised an incredible £564,000, with teams racing across the city from dusk to dawn, guided only by riddles, their instincts, and the occasional wizard (yes, really).
The event combines immersive theatre, live actors (40+!), bespoke tech, and creative storytelling to deliver a one-night-only experience that people talk about for years. It’s surreal, intense, and unforgettable.
Midnight Madness isn’t just an extraordinary night out. It’s a team-builder, a culture-changer, and a fundraising powerhouse. We've also recreated versions of this exclusively for companies to do inhouse for their teams. Get in touch to find out more.
Challenge 24
A Corporate Fundraising Adventure Like No Other
One team. One day. Unlimited chaos—with a twist.
When our client challenged us to design a corporate fundraising event that would unite their entire European team in a fun and accessible way, we knew it had to be something bold. Their previous events focused on athleticism and endurance, but this time it needed to be inclusive, creative, and wildly engaging.
Enter Challenge 24—a high-energy, multi-stage fundraising adventure like no other.
The journey began in Romford, where 200 participants (split into 40 teams of five) set off in chauffeur-driven campervans for Phase 1: the Rally Stage. Armed with iPads, teams completed creative challenges—baking, sculpting, drawing, and even conquering the UK’s largest inflatable obstacle course—as they navigated their way to a private island off the east coast.
Once there, the chaos kicked up a notch. From Olympic-style games to a high-stakes dance-off, Phase 2 took the format to a whole new level. Each hour, a different team member stepped up for challenges like night frisbee, fire-lighting, laser maze navigation, and sunrise yoga, while their teammates rested and strategised.
At sunrise, the final phase began: drone racing, dodgeball, a stunt airbag jump, secret quests, and the ultimate quadrathlon showdown. The event ended with a full-blown festival and celebration—complete with bragging rights and big cheers all round.
The Impact
£300,000 raised in just one day
200 participants from across Europe
A fully immersive, inclusive, and experiential fundraising challenge
Massive team engagement and high-impact brand storytelling
Challenge 24 proved that you don’t need to run marathons to make a massive difference—you just need a little imagination, a lot of teamwork, and 24 hours of unforgettable adventure.
Multi City Dash
10 Cities. 1 Epic Fundraising Race.
When one company asked us to bring together ten of their European offices for a single, head-to-head fundraising challenge, we said: “Let’s make it competitive. Let’s make it wild. Let’s make it a race.”
And so the Multi City Dash was born—a synchronised, high-energy adventure that turned cities like London, Milan, Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam into live gameboards.
At 5PM GMT, the challenge went live. Each team had just two hours to rack up as many points as possible by completing city-specific tasks dotted across their local map. But they only received the challenge map 20 minutes before kick-off. Just enough time to panic-plan a route and argue about strategy. Beautiful.
Challenges varied in difficulty and reward, meaning teams had to think fast, move faster, and make clever decisions on the fly. But that wasn’t all—we deployed the Sharky & George crew to key cities to run live pop-up tasks for added flair (and chaos).
Powering it all was a bespoke app that tracked progress and live scores, keeping the tension sky-high until the very last second.
The Results:
10 cities across Europe, from Frankfurt to Stockholm
Over 500 participants competing simultaneously
£246,000 raised for their global charity partner
Unifying, inclusive, and brilliantly bonkers
A brilliant example of turning distance into connection—and transforming fundraising into a serious team buzz.
Let's Plan your Fundraising Event
Got a team? Got a cause? We’ve got the rest.
Use the form below to get in touch and we’ll help you create a bespoke fundraising event that delivers on fun and impact.
Use the Enquiry form at the top right of the page, or click here to send us an email!