2022 Big Give Christmas Challenge kicks off tomorrow

Melanie May | 28 November 2022 | News

• Tagged with:
• christmas
• matched giving
• The Big Give

The Big Give Christmas Challenge kicks off tomorrow, on Giving Tuesday, with the aim of exceeding the £24 million raised in last year’s campaign.

For seven days, until 6 December, the annual Christmas Challenge will offer supporters of participating charities the opportunity to double their donations – more important than ever in the current cost of living crisis, Big Give says. The match funding for the campaign is being provided by a number of philanthropic champions, which this year include The Reed Foundation, The Childhood Trust, Julia & Hans Rausing Trust and Candis.

In 2021, the campaign raised over £24 million for 928 charities.  The campaign is endorsed by Dame Judi Dench, Deborah Meaden, Chris Packham, Ruby Wax and other celebrity supporters.

With over 1,000 charities taking part, Big Give’s Christmas Challenge supports a range of causes, many of which are directly working on issues impacted by the cost of living crisis, including food poverty, homelessness and mental health.

James Reed, Trustee of the Big Give and chairman of Reed, said:

“People who donate to their favourite charities via the Big Give platform this Christmas can do so knowing that their generosity will be multiplied. Our match funding champions will double the value of their donations, making a real, tangible difference to so many good causes. Big Give provides an efficient way to make your giving go further during difficult times. This will be especially important this year.”

Alex Day, Managing Director of Big Give, added:

“Our mission is simple, to multiply the impact of generous giving. Our Christmas Challenge is a campaign which really resonates with the public who consistently dig deep with their donations. Our philanthropic champions appreciate the tough times’ charities now face, so we’re hoping to deploy their funds to maximum effect combined with the generosity of the public. The charity sector in the UK is of national importance, contributing over £20 billion to the economy and employing 950,000 people, so it is vital that it gets the maximum support possible.”

Since fundraising began in 2008, Big Give has raised over £200 million for more than 14,000 different charities, including £3.8 million for the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, £5.5 million for Covid-19 relief efforts and over £2 million for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.

Stats from the 2021 Christmas Challenge:

• 75% of charities received more donations and 66% bigger donations vs comparable fundraising
• 86% reported increased confidence in digital fundraising
• 94% reported donations from new supporters. On average, 33% of donations were estimated to be from new supporters

Commenting on their participation in the Big Give, Matt Powell, CEO & Founder, Breaking Barriers said:

“Big Give is our only online fundraiser, so it’s become a real calendar fixture for us, with many of our supporters telling us they mark it in their calendars each year.  We’ve now raised over £65,000 through three consecutive Big Gives, and it’s all gone directly to our 1:1 employment support for our refugee clients. We’ve supported over 500 people in this way, thanks to Big Give and to our amazing supporters who have found us through it. On top of the direct fundraising impact I’ve already mentioned, Big Give has also brought numerous new supporters to us – supporters who found us through the Big Give website and who have then given to us in subsequent Big Gives and made collective donations of over £25,000 outside of Big Give. It has been just amazing.

 

“There’s no doubt that if we’re successful in this year’s Big Give, the funds will make a huge difference to our clients. Everything we raise will go towards direct grants for our clients to pay for things like training courses and industry accreditation – removing important financial barriers to the next step on their employment journeys. These are barriers that have only increased with the cost-of-living crisis, so our grants have never been needed more.”

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.