Localgiving matched funding scheme aims to raise £4m
Howard Lake | 15 October 2014 | News
Online giving platform Localgiving.com has launched its annual Grow Your Tenner matched giving scheme with the aim of raising £4 million for small and local charities.
In doing so it also demonstrated the fundraising challenges faced by many local charities. New research by the not-for-profit social enterprise has found that:
- 40% of people in the UK have never donated to a local charity
- 20% of people are unaware that local charities are in need of support
- 27% could not name a local charity in their hometown
Yet 67% of respondents said that they felt it was important to support their local community.
Localgiving conceived this annual campaign to help support local organisations across the UK to raise much needed awareness and funding.
Government support for Grow Your Tenner
Grow Your Tenner was launched this week with the backing of the new Minister for Civil Society, Rob Wilson MP. Donations to local charities of up to £10 will be matched. Indeed, they will be more than doubled if the donor gives using Gift Aid: a £10 donation will generate £21.55 for the beneficiary charity.
The Cabinet Office has provided a grant of £250,000 for the national match fund of Grow Your Tenner.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign, the Minister said:
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“Local charities are the lifeblood of communities across the UK and are well placed to understand and react to the needs of local people.
“The Government’s matched fund grant for Localgiving’s Grow Your Tenner campaign will enable donations from the public to go even further and support these organisations in the fantastic work that they do.”
Challenges faced by local charities
Local and small charities account for over 50% of the UK’s voluntary sector, yet they receive only 0.6% of charitable funding.
Areas that face the greatest challenge, based on Localgiving’s research, are:
- East Anglia: 45% of people surveyed had never donated to a local charity
- Scotland: 44% of people survey had never donated to a local charity
- South West: 42% of people surveyed had never donated to a local charity
The most supportive region was the North East: nevertheless, 30% of people there had still never given to a local charity.
Marcelle Speller, chairman and founder of Localgiving, said:
“Our research highlights the fundamental problem that local charities are facing in the UK. Small charities play a vital role in our communities – from shelters and support groups providing front-line services, to social care networks, environmental organisations and arts societies – they make an incredible difference.
“Sadly, many are struggling and in great need of our support. To a small local charity, just £10 can have a genuine impact. Grow Your Tenner is a fantastic opportunity for supporters of local charities to maximise the effect of their giving and be part of something amazing that will help communities right across the country.”
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Research was conducted by One Poll online and on mobile amongst 2,000 UK adults in September 2014. Field research was carried out between 12th and 15th September 2014.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.