Big Give Christmas Challenge raises record £33mn in a week
Melanie May | 6 December 2023 | News
2023’s Big Give’s Christmas Challenge match fund campaign has raised a record £33 million in a week.
Members of the public made over 94,000 donations to the 1,077 charities taking part. The total raised is a 15% increase on last year’s total of £28.6mn.
The campaign finished at midday yesterday (5 December) and saw 74% of the charities participating meet or exceed their fundraising target, which is an increase of 4% compared to the previous year.
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The Christmas Challenge doubles the difference of the public’s donations, which are matched by Big Give’s ‘Champion’ partners, who are philanthropists, foundations and companies. This year, there were 31 Champions for the campaign, including, The Reed Foundation, Julia & Hans Rausing Trust, The Childhood Trust, Candis, EQ Foundation, The Hospital Saturday Fund, Coles-Medlock Foundation, Monday Charitable Trust and many more.
The campaign trended on X on the opening day and was backed by celebrities including Dame Judi Dench, Jenny Agutter, Alan Carr, Dame Joanna Lumley, Jason Watkins, Megan McCubbin, Jeremy Irons, Kate Humble, Larry Lamb and Emilia Fox.
The Christmas Challenge is Big Give’s annual flagship campaign and accounts for around three-quarters of the £280 million raised by Big Give since 2008. Almost half of the money raised by the Christmas Challenge was for small charities with an annual income of less than £1 million.
Alex Day, Managing Director of Big Give, said:
“We have been blown away by people’s generosity this year, smashing last year’s record by £4.5 million. It is quite extraordinary. Behind every £1 raised and every target hit are stories of incredible, life-changing, heart-warming impact delivered by our 1,077 charity partners. The donations they’ve received will make such a massive difference, especially as they are facing the hardships of the cost of living crisis.”
Netty Doyle, Trusts & Grants Fundraiser, at participating charity Stick ‘n’ Step commented:
“This was cerebral palsy charity, Stick ‘n’ Step’s first year participating in the Big Give Campaign, and we managed to exceed our target! It costs in the region of £7,000 per year for a child to receive free weekly sessions at Stick ‘n’ Step. We raised over £21,000, a fine number to celebrate our 21st birthday year, and this also equates to supporting 3 children for an entire year.”
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.