Captain Tom breaks records & fundraisers raise millions on JustGiving for Covid-19 causes
Melanie May | 16 April 2020 | News
Captain Tom Moore has now completed his 100th lap of his back garden, raising over £12 million for NHS Charities Together.
It is the largest total raised on JustGiving to date, and also breaks the record for the fastest growing campaign on the platform. To celebrate reaching the £10 million milestone, and the completion of his 100 Laps Challenge, Blackbaud, JustGiving’s parent company, has also donated £100,000 to NHS Charities Together through Captain Tom’s campaign – the largest donation JustGiving has ever made.
Many other fundraisers have also helped to raise millions of pounds for COVID-19 causes on JustGiving so far.
Pascale Harvie, President & GM of Blackbaud’s operations in Europe including JustGiving, said:
“We have been overwhelmed by the response from the British public to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands of fundraisers have turned to JustGiving to raise millions of pounds for a number of good causes to help tackle this crisis. Whether they’ve run marathons in their gardens, cycled the distance of the Tour de France in their living rooms or donated their commute, we have been inspired by each and every one of those who have helped during this global emergency.”
Private individual appeals have included James Campbell and Keith Clarke who have both run marathons in their gardens, raising over £33,000 between them for NHS Charities Together and The Intensive Care Society in separate appeals,
Laura Jones’s challenge, which saw 114,000 people all over the world take part in a virtual F.R.I.E.N.D.S quiz followed by a Disney quiz the following week to raise over £118,000 for NHS Charities Together, and ‘Barrython’, who ran a 12-hour livestream of workouts, also to support NHS Charities Together, raising over £37,000.
A number of celebrities have also helped raise thousands of pounds by launching appeals with charities. Star of Homeland Damian Lewis, his wife actress Helen McRory and their friend, star of Little Britain Matt Lucas, teamed up with restaurant chain LEON to launch an appeal to help feed NHS staff, raising over £1m.
Others have included Gary Lineker, who has launched the British Red Cross Coronavirus Response appeal, kickstarting it with a £140,000 donation, while UK comedians have come together to raise £83,000 for the NextUp appeal. Lee Mack and Richard Herring both donated £10,000 each to the appeal, with £5,000 each from Sara Pascoe and Adam Kay and large donations both anonymously and from comedians including Dawn French, Tom Rosenthal, Al Murray, Angela Barnes, Susan Calman, Robert Webb and Geoff Norcott.
Lots of charities are also raising funds on JustGiving. The NHS Charities Together appeal on the platform has so far raised over £15m. The Children’s Society has also launched an Emergency Coronavirus Appeal to help thousands of vulnerable children. This has so far raised over £53,000 while Transforming Lives for Good’s Urgent Coronavirus Appeal to provide emergency care packages to children in desperate need whose families struggle financially to feed them has raised over £30,000.
A number of businesses have launched appeals. The PRS Foundation teamed up with the Spotify COVID-19 Music Relief Project to help alleviate hardship through grants for people working in the music industry. Spotify is matching donations pound-for-pound and with over £11,000 raised on their appeal, the total stands at more than £22,000. The Sunday Times has relaunched its 2019 Christmas Appeal to raise funds for the Education Endowment Fund (EEF).
Leyton Orient Football Club launched the Ultimate Quaran-Team FIFA Tournament, pitting football fans against each other on FIFA raising over £57,000 for English Football League clubs and mental health charity MIND. The National Videogame Museum have launched an emergency appeal to save the museum from closure during the lockdown as they struggle with a prolonged shutdown, so far raising over £33,000.
Advertisement
Related posts
99-year-old veteran passes £5m mark with laps of his garden
Boden use JustGiving Facebook app to raise funds for Kid's Company
Sector survey shows further funding challenges on horizon
VaccinAid fundraising campaign aims to protect 2 billion worldwide against Covid-19
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.