# Big Give Grenfell appeal raises £2.6 million: its biggest ever total for an individual cause

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/09/07/big-give-grenfell-appeal-raises-2-6m-biggest-ever-total-individual-cause/
- Published: 2017-09-07T10:02:59+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**The Big Give campaign to raise funds for those affected by the Grenfell Tower 
fire has closed after raising £2.6m.**

The total is the [Big Give](https://www.thebiggive.org.uk/)’s highest ever for an
individual cause. The [Grenfell Tower appeal](https://secure.thebiggive.org.uk/grenfell)
was set up in the hours following the fire with [The K&C Foundation](https://thekandcfoundation.com/),
and offered to double public donations through match funding commitments from local
companies and philanthropists. Significant match funders include The Cadogan Estate,
Julia and Hans Rausing, Monsoon Accessorize, DMGT Plc, Reed Recruitment and The 
Bjorgolfsson Family amongst others.

The appeal **raised £1m in the first 48 hours** and reached £2m a week after the
fire. **In total it raised £2,612,646**.  A total of £1,184,032 public donations
were matched with a further £244,582 being contributed in unmatched donations and
Gift Aid.

## Advertisement

The Big Give appeal contributed to a total of £5.75m raised by The K&C Foundation.
Over 50% of all of the funds raised have now been committed:

 * £120k within days of the tragedy to six local organisations working on the frontline.
   This money was given out to meet the immediate needs of people who had lost their
   homes or been displaced.
 * £1.2 million to a joint charity initiative (with the British Red Cross and and
   The London Community Foundation/Evening Standard, coordinated by the Charity 
   Commission) to pay grants of £40,000 to the next of kin of people who have lost
   their lives or are missing and up to £20,000 to support each seriously injured
   person.
 * £1.6 million for ‘Fresh Start’ grants of £10,000 for each household from Grenfell
   Tower and Grenfell Walk to help them rebuild their lives

The remaining £2.9m will focus on the medium to long-term response with The K&C 
Foundation talking to relevant groups to identify the evolving needs of the people
at the centre of the tragedy and acting on them.

Susan Dolton, Director of The K&C Foundation said:

> “The response to our appeal with the Big Give has been touching and inspiring 
> and we are extremely grateful to everyone who has given to help those affected
> by the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower. We are working to ensure that those whose
> lives have been so tragically altered by this unprecedented tragedy are helped
> at this most difficult time. As a local charity, we are also committed to standing
> by the community and helping with long term needs”.

James Reed, a Trustee of the Big Give, said:

> “We have been humbled by the incredible response of the public to our appeal, 
> and are grateful to our partners at The K&C Foundation for ensuring that the funds
> raised are being used to best effect. We’ve seen incredible acts of generosity
> throughout the past twelve weeks. The whole concept of match funding is that giving
> together is better, and there has certainly been a sense of ‘coming together’ 
> to support the North Kensington community.”

## WATCH: London Live interview with Alex Day 16/06/17

 * **[British Red Cross ‘shop for Grenfell’ to benefit victims of the fire](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/06/28/british-red-cross-shop-grenfell-benefit-victims-fire/)(
   28 June 2017)**
 * **[Crowdfunding appeals for Grenfell Tower fire victims raise £200k within hours](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/06/14/crowdfunding-appeals-grenfell-tower-fire-victims-raise-200k-hours/)(
   14 June 2017)**
 * **[National Emergencies Trust launches as a domestic version of the DEC](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/11/07/national-emergencies-trust-launches-as-domestic-version-of-dec/)(
   7 November 2019)**

 

## Comments

### By: HowardLake

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/09/07/big-give-grenfell-appeal-raises-2-6m-biggest-ever-total-individual-cause/#comment-3139
- Published: 2017-09-07T17:14:00+01:00

Here’s an interview with James Reed at the outset of the appeal on 22 June:
 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lT-xRVe\_lc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lT-xRVe_lc)
