Climb for Change started as a community sharing tips, resources and stories of charity climbs and adventures world-wide. Now it’s begun a social enterprise and launched a free online fundraising tool to help charitably-minded climbers reach out to their networks for donations.

“People want to have their own story and brand represented on their campaign site,” says Chantal Schauch, VP and co-founder of Climb For Change. “They want more than the simple mass market fundraising pages and don’t have the time or money to spend on a custom fundraising website.”

“We developed the platform based on our own experience doing charity climbs up Mt. Kilimanjaro and Pico de Orizaba,” says co-founder and president Mike Schauch. “We realized a need – a story and fundraising hub for people climbing for a cause.”

It’s an ideal platform, the founders say, for charity climbs raising a minimum of $2,500. Among its early adopters is a Canadian fundraising climb supporting the education of Himalayan Children in Nepal.

Funds go directly into the charity’s bank account, and the platform serves registered charities in Canada, the US and the UK. The organization cautions high-altitude fundraisers to seek the agreement of the charity first.

The charity must set up an account with IATS, which authorizes and process the credit card donations and deposits the donations into the charity’s account. Though the platform is free to fundraisers, charities must pay credit card fees and monthly account fees.

The charity must also become PCI-compliant because it has access to transaction information. That involves a certification process and an annual fee. IATS offers tools to help charities with the certification process.

More information is available at Climb For Change.