It's Raining Bens 2026: 32 Skydivers, 17 Charities, One Very Loud Sky

In June 2026, The Council of Bens filled the sky over Nottinghamshire with skydivers, causes and a very confused DJ setup on the ground.

It's Raining Bens turned tandem jumps into £27,865 raised for 17 different charities and became the first official COBWOB CIC fundraising event.

"What if all the Bens jumped out of plane to raise money for Charities?!?"

Like most Council of Bens ideas, it all started with a message in our group chat with over 1800+ Bens in, a message that nobody expected to be taken seriously...

After Bens Up Nevis, we'd already learned that this community will actually turn up, actually raise money, and actually do the thing- even when the thing is slightly stupid!

So when someone floated the idea of a mass skydive, the group chat lit up. Bens signed up. Their friends signed up. Before we'd properly launched it, the event had sold out!

That's how It's Raining Bens ended up with 17 different charities in one campaign. We didn't pick the causes.

The jumpers did:

Ben, the automotive industry charity, Mind, Friends of Serenity, Diabetes UK, GOSH, Air Ambulances UK, Cancer Research, The Brain Tumour Charity, Alzheimer's Research, HOPE Not Hate, Sister Circle, Mbiame New Vision, Les Bourgs Hospice, Teesside Hospice, New Start Cat Rescue, Stroke Association, Devon Air Ambulance

All got there because a Ben or a friend of one said this one matters to me.

The Plan

Get everyone to Skydive Langar. Get them into the plane. Get them back down again. Ideally with a bit more money raised, a bit more awareness spread, and a lot more content than we started with.

We linked it to Ben, the automotive industry charity, as the anchor- they support the mental health and financial wellbeing of people working in one of the UK's biggest industries, and it fit the "It's Raining Bens" name perfectly. Everyone else got their own fundraising page for whatever cause they wanted to back.

The pre-event target was £18,000. The Bens hit it three weeks before jump day!

Jump Day

Saturday 20 June 2026. Skydive Langar, near Nottingham. Blue sky, high nerves, higher BENergy.

Ben, the automotive industry charity, rolled up with the Ben Mobile and parked it next to the DJ setup we'd rigged up on the drop zone. From that point onwards, the day had a heartbeat.

Jumpers cycled through kit-up, briefing, plane, sky, ground all day.

Between lifts, we filmed everyone we could get in front of the camera. Fear. Bravado. Fear pretending to be bravado. Genuine peace. A couple of "why did I sign up for this" moments that will absolutely be making it into next year's promo.

Then the landings started.

Some Bens hit the ground sighing relief. Some hit it screaming. Some got up, brushed themselves off, and quietly promised themselves they would never, under any circumstances, leave solid ground again. Some immediately asked when the next one was...

Ben Strachan, jumping for Friends of Serenity, the hospice that helped him and his wife say goodbye to their son Oliver in 2016, jumped in the year Oliver would have turned 10.

Ben Jenkins, who lives with a rare bleeding disorder, jumped for Air Ambulances UK because they're the ones who'd come for him if anything ever went wrong.

Steve Scott self-funded his own skydive so 100% of the £4,308 he raised went straight to Ben Automotive charity.

James Parsons jumped for Devon Air Ambulance — the service that saved his grandad when he was a kid.

Every one of those 32 people had a reason. That's what made the day.

Why We Did It

It's Raining Bens is never just a stunt.

The Council of Bens has always been about turning an internet joke into something that actually matters. Bens Up Nevis proved the community could take on a challenge and raise real money for mental health.

It's Raining Bens proved something else, that the same community can hold seventeen different causes at the same time without any of them getting lost. Multi-charity events usually water everyone down. This one didn't, because every jumper carried their own cause into the sky.

That's the model COBWOB (Our Charity Amplification Community Interest Company) is trying to build. Not a charity of our own. A platform that other charities plug into.

The Impact

Between fundraising pages and on-the-day donations, It's Raining Bens raised £27,865.

• Ben, the automotive industry charity: £14,804 across 10 jumpers

• 16 other charities: over £13,000 between them

• Original target: £18,000. Beaten by 55%.

But numbers only tell half the story. In the days after the jump, our WhatsApp group flooded with messages: family thanking us, jumpers asking about next year, three people saying it was the best day of their lives, and one person confirming they were, in fact, never doing it again.

And then this: 20+ people have already signed up for 2027. Some familiar faces from this year's plane. Some familiar names from the Bens Up Nevis crew, some new!

What's Next

It's Raining Bens 2027 registration is now live!

Same format, bigger scale, more charities.

If you want in, you can register your interest here.

If skydiving isn't your thing, don't worry! The Council of Bens has plenty more eBents coming this year (and next).

Mountains, marathons, meet-ups, and a few things we haven't quite figured out yet.

If you're a Ben, a friend of a Ben, or just someone who fancies throwing themselves out of a plane for a cause you care about, welcome. There's a seat on the plane with your name on it.

Massive thank you to every Ben who jumped, every donor who backed them, Ben the automotive industry charity for bringing the Ben Mobile, Skydive Langar for keeping everyone alive, and every camera in the vicinity for capturing what turned out to be an absolute one-off day.

Follow @TheCouncilOfBens and @COBWOB.CIC on Instagram to stay up to date.