# Big Give Christmas Challenge open for applications

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2022/05/18/big-give-christmas-challenge-open-for-applications/
- Published: 2022-05-18T08:30:00+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2022 will launch on #GivingTuesday (29 November)
and run for one week, closing on 7 December. Applications are open until 5pm on 
1 July.**

Up to £25,000 worth of match funds is available from the Big Give’s Champions, who
are looking to support a range of different causes.

The 2021 Christmas Challenge campaign was a record-breaker in terms of number of
participating charities, donation volume, and amount raised.  928 charities took
part, receiving over 79,000 donations and raising over £24.1million – 20% up on 
Christmas Challenge 2020.

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94% of charities that participated in Christmas Challenge 2021 received donations
from new supporters, and 75% reported they received significantly more donations
than any comparable fundraising campaigns.

A broad mix of charities take part each year, from household names to smaller charities
with less than £100k income – the median income of last year’s applicants was £500k.

Alex Day, Director of the Big Give, commented:

> “With the challenging economic circumstances forecast for the year ahead, we know
> how important it is for charities to make compelling asks to their supporters.
> We know that more people give and people give more when their donations are matched.
> That’s why we are delighted to announce we’re expecting our biggest ever match
> funding commitment from our Champion funders. We are looking forward to continuing
> to support a wide range of charities and raising tens of millions of pounds for
> great causes again this year.”

Confirmed Champions so far for this year’s [Christmas Challenge](https://www.thebiggive.org.uk/s/christmas-challenge)
include:

 * DCMS, which is supporting charities working to improve the lives of vulnerable,
   disadvantaged and underrepresented women and girls in England and Scotland
 * The Reed Foundation – supporting a wide range of UK-registered charities
 * The Childhood Trust – supporting charities alleviating the impact of child poverty
   in London
 * Candis – supporting health and wellbeing charities in the UK
 * The EQ Foundation – supporting charities achieving positive outcomes and delivering
   long lasting benefits to people in the UK and overseas
 * Ethiopaid – supporting charities to make progressive change in Ethiopia
 * The Coles-Medlock Foundation – supporting international development charities,
   especially those working in the area of sustainable agriculture, education, infrastructure
   development, financial independence and healthcare

To apply for Christmas Challenge 2022, charities have to visit the [Big Give site](https://donate.thebiggive.org.uk/),
create an account, click on Big Give Campaigns, and then on ‘Apply Now for Christmas
Challenge 2022’.

A report commissioned by the Big Give shows that:

 * More people give when their donations are match-funded. 84% of respondents felt
   they were more likely to give if matching was offered.
 * Some donors give more when their donations are match-funded. The average matched
   gift made through the Big Give is £333, while the average unmatched gift is £
   132. One in three donors said they gave a larger gift because matching was applied
   to their donation.

The [Big Give’s recent Big Green Match Fund](https://fundraising.co.uk/2022/05/12/big-green-match-fund-raises-2-7mn/)
raised £2.7 million for 146 charities.

 * **[Big Give Christmas Challenge application deadline extended to 15 July](https://fundraising.co.uk/2022/07/05/big-give-christmas-challenge-application-deadline-extended-to-15-july/)**(
   5 July 2022)
 * **[Big Give sets sights on raising £1bn for good causes by 2023](https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/03/13/big-give-sets-sights-on-raising-1bn-for-good-causes-by-2023/)**(
   13 March 2023)
 * **[Green Match Fund returns, plus other funding news & opportunities](https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/04/20/green-match-fund-returns-plus-other-funding-news-opportunities/)**(
   20 April 2023)