Mission Possible: Jumping Off a Building for a Cause

Add this to the annals of extreme fund raising: jumping off a 41-story building to raise money for charity.

Endurance events, such as marathons and bike cross-country expeditions, have long held appeal for participants who ask their friends and relatives to “sponsor” them by making donations. But another type of event has entered the extreme fund-raising circuit—and is raising hundreds of thousands of dollars.

More than 100 rappelling events have occurred since 2008, when Over the Edge, a Canadian company, brought the concept to the United States.