# £50,000 in Darwinian matched giving on The Big Give on Monday

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2009/02/20/50000-darwinian-matched-giving-big-give-monday/
- Published: 2009-02-20T13:17:23+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Alec Reed CBE is paying tribute to Charles Darwin on 23 February by offering to
match up to £50,000 for donations made to five wildlife charities.**

How much each charity receives in matched giving will depend on how much others 
donate to them via The Big Give website. The charities with the keenest supporters
and fundraisers should receive the majority of the money.
Reed’s chosen charities
are Project African Wilderness (PAW), Orangutan Foundation, People’s Trust for Endangered
species, Wilderness Foundation UK and The Gorilla Organization. All money donated
will be targeted at specific projects by the charities.

Alec Reed CBE said: “I’m delighted to celebrate Darwin’s 200th birthday this way,
just as favourable traits became more common in natural selection, more popular 
charities will receive more money from my matched funding scheme.”

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![The Big Give](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2026/09/the-big-give-logo.gif)

The charities are now engaging their supporters to make their donations on Monday
morning to take advantage of the first-come-first-served matched giving.

The scheme will open at 10.00 on 23 February 2009 and will finish when the £50,000
has been donated.
Each charity is limited to a total of £20,000, and donors are 
only eligible to have a total of £1,000 matched.

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