Charity Team Building in Birmingham and the NEC: A Guide for Organisers

Birmingham does big events well. The NEC is on the doorstep, the city centre hotels are built for conferences, and the question every organiser eventually asks is what to do with 500 people in the middle of the agenda that does not feel like filler.

We have run charity builds since 2011, from eight person teams to conference halls, and Birmingham is where a lot of the big ones happen. More than 60,000 people have taken part, and the format is one of the few that gets better rather than thinner as the room fills.

This guide covers where in Birmingham it runs, how a build works at NEC scale, the events for large and small groups, what it costs, and what an organiser needs to have ready. The shortlist is on our Birmingham page.

Where in Birmingham does charity team building run?

Anywhere you already have a room. We run events across Birmingham, in the city centre, the Business District and the NEC. Your own office, a hotel function room in the city centre, or a hall at the NEC during a conference all work.

We deal with the venue directly on access, floor protection, timings and AV. You are not the go between, and the venue only needs to know we are coming. At scale, floor space is the one thing to check, so tell us the hall size and we will confirm the fit.

How does a charity build work at NEC scale?

Everyone has a job. Teams of about ten work at their own stations, each building their own bike or care package, and nobody stands at the back with a coffee, because the build does not get finished otherwise.

Our crew runs the room from the front with a microphone, and on the floor during the build. The challenges that earn the parts keep a big room moving, so 500 people do not drift, and safety checks happen at each station as bikes are finished.

The handover is the moment. At the end, a charity collects dozens of bikes or hundreds of care packages in front of the whole room. That is the photograph, and it is the thing delegates mention on the way out. Our guide to team building for large groups goes deeper on the mechanics.

Which events run for a whole Birmingham conference?

Charity Bike Build. Teams earn parts through challenges, then build a bike. Each one is safety checked by our mechanics and goes to someone leaving a hostel, a young carer or a family with no car, with helmets, locks, lights and pumps. More than 3,000 bikes have been built and donated since 2011. 8 to 2,000 people, about two and a half hours. See the Charity Bike Build.

The Great Philanthropic Challenge. Six Crystal Maze style challenges where every win adds an item to a care package. The receiving charity writes the list, so the packs go exactly where they are needed, whether that is a refuge, a shelter or a children's ward. So far, 631 packages have gone out. 8 to 2,000 people. See the Great Philanthropic Challenge.

Scooter Dash. Fifty minutes, a scooter to build, a safety check to pass. The scooters are fully recyclable and go to a local children's charity the same day. It fits a one hour slot for up to 500 people.

Which events suit a smaller Birmingham team?

Not everything is a conference, and the small formats are as good as the big ones.

OnBoard. Each team builds two skateboard decks for children and young carers living in poverty. Calm, creative, and it suits a Business District office. 6 to 500 people.

The Hand Project. Teams assemble prosthetic hands using their non dominant hand, and each one goes to an upper limb amputee in a country with no health service. It is quiet work, and people remember it. 8 to 200 people. See the Hand Project.

Small Group Challenges. Built for six to twenty people, for a team that fits round one table.

Why book a charity build rather than the usual conference activity?

It scales without thinning. Most large group activities get worse as the room fills, because fewer people are actually doing anything. A build gets better, because there are more stations, more bikes and a bigger handover.

It works for a mixed room. No fitness element and nothing that puts an individual on the spot, so a conference floor of every level and every department takes part on the same terms.

The write up has a number in it. Twenty five bikes, a named Birmingham charity, a date. At the scale of an NEC event, that is a line worth having in the annual report. There is a guide to putting a team day in an ESG report if that is where this is heading.

How much does charity team building cost in Birmingham?

The same as anywhere else in the UK. Location does not change the price.

The price is a total for the group, set by size band, and it includes the crew, the kit and the equipment that goes to the charity. As a guide, the Great Philanthropic Challenge is £2,199 excluding VAT for up to 16 people and £11,848 for up to 200. The Charity Bike Build is £4,703 for up to 40 people, five bikes donated, and £17,819 for up to 200, twenty five bikes. Over 200 people, we quote by hand.

Our guide to what charity team building costs has the full figures. Get a price in a minute by telling us the headcount and roughly where.

Which Birmingham charities receive what you build?

It depends on the event. Bikes go to people leaving hostels, young carers and families with no car. Scooters go to local children's charities. Care packages go wherever the charity that wrote the list needs them.

We match you to a charity that fits what your business cares about, and if you already have a Birmingham charity partner, the Great Philanthropic Challenge lets them write the list.

How to book charity team building in Birmingham

1. Count the room. Roughly how many, and roughly when. At scale, the headcount decides the size band and how many bikes get built. 2. Measure the hall. Floor space matters more than anything else with a big group. Send the dimensions and we will confirm it works, or suggest one that does. 3. Get the three that fit. The price tool turns a headcount into three priced options in about a minute. 4. Tell the venue and AV team we are coming. We handle the rest with them directly. 5. Turn up. We are set up before your delegates walk in. The how it works page walks through the day from first call to handover.

The bottom line

Birmingham does big events well, and a charity build is one of the few that gets bigger rather than thinner as the room fills. Two thousand people can build at once, and the charity collects in front of all of them.

It works for a team of eight in the Business District just as well, and it costs the same as it would anywhere else in the UK. The only question is how big your room is.