Big Give Christmas Challenge to double donations in cost of giving crisis

PEOPLE are being urged to take advantage of a scheme to double the impact of their giving this Christmas amid growing evidence that charities are being hit with a ‘cost of giving’ crisis.

The UK’s biggest match funding platform, Big Give, which works with thousands of individual charities, said they were reporting a triple hit this winter due to the recessionary environment with increased demand for their services, rising costs and cuts to their income as fundraising from the public becomes harder.

Big Give said that with charitable giving being squeezed in the cost-of-living crisis, the concept of match funding – asking funders to match donations to charities made by members of the public – would become more important than ever. It means £50 from an individual becomes £100 for a good cause after being doubled by a Big Give match funding ‘champion’ – typically philanthropists, foundations or companies.

Big Give is about to launch the biggest event in its annual calendar, the annual Christmas Challenge, which is the UK’s largest match funding appeal. It kicks off on Giving Tuesday, November 29th, and is aiming to exceed the £24 million raised in last year’s campaign.

For seven days, until December 6th, it will offer supporters of participating charities the opportunity to double their donations. The match funding for the campaign is being provided by a number of philanthropic champions, which this year include The Reed Foundation, The Childhood Trust, Julia & Hans Rausing Trust and Candis. In 2021, the campaign raised over £24 million for 928 charities. The campaign is endorsed by Dame Judi Dench, Deborah Meaden, Chris Packham, Ruby Wax and other celebrity supporters.

With over 1,000 charities taking part, Big Give’s Christmas Challenge supports a vast range of causes, many of which are directly working on issues impacted by the cost of living crisis, including food poverty, homelessness and mental health.

James Reed, Trustee of the Big Give and chairman of Reed, Britain’s biggest and best-known recruitment brand, said:

“People who donate to their favourite charities via the Big Give platform this Christmas can do so knowing that their generosity will be multiplied. Our match funding champions will double the value of their donations, making a real, tangible difference to so many good causes. Big Give provides an efficient way to make your giving go further during difficult times. This will be especially important this year.”

Alex Day, Managing Director of Big Give, said:

“Our mission is simple, to multiply the impact of generous giving. Our Christmas Challenge is a campaign which really resonates with the public who consistently dig deep with their donations. Our philanthropic champions appreciate the tough times charities now face, so we’re hoping to deploy their funds to maximum effect combined with the generosity of the public. The charity sector in the UK is of national importance, contributing over £20 billion to the economy and employing 950,000 people, so it is vital that it gets the maximum support possible.”

Big Give has grown over the last 15 years to become the UK’s biggest match funding platform, working every day to multiply people’s generosity.

Since fundraising began in 2008, Big Give has raised over £200 million for more than 14,000 different charities, including £3.8 million for the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, £5.5 million for Covid-19 relief efforts and over £2 million for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Big Give’s track record demonstrates that more people give, and people give more when their donations are doubled by match funding. Charities taking part in the 2021 Christmas Challenge reported the following:

• 75% of charities received more donations and 66% bigger donations vs comparable fundraising
• 86% reported increased confidence in digital fundraising
• 94% reported donations from new supporters. On average, 33% of donations were estimated to be from new supporters

For more information, please visit: https://linktr.ee/TheBigGive.