Big Give Christmas Challenge 2025 is open for applications
Howard Lake | 29 May 2025 | News
The UK’s largest collaborative fundraising campaign, the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2025, is now inviting applications from charities of all sizes and sectors to take part.
Last year the matched giving campaign raised a remarkable £44.7 million for 1,267 charities from the public and the Big Give’s “Champion funders’.
This year’s campaign runs from 2nd to 9th December 2025, in line with Giving Tuesday. It offers an opportunity for charities to double donations and “supercharge their end-of-year fundraising”.
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Over 1,000 charities are expected to take part, and Big Give is committed to surpassing last year’s total.
Why join the Big Give Christmas Challenge?
Big Give highlights both direct and indirect benefits for taking part in the established annual campaign.
- Access up to £25,000 in match funding: Eligible charities can unlock matched donations from Big Give’s Champions – leading philanthropists, foundations, and companies. Last year, 98% of eligible charities received a match funding offer, up from 83% in 2023.
- Vital support for smaller charities: The campaign is open to organisations of any charity with an income of over £25,000.
The median annual income of charities in 2024 was £611,353.
Of those awarded Champion funding, 68% had incomes under £1 million. - Support in making the most of the campaign: To help charities maximise the fundraising opportunity, Big Give provides expert-led training, marketing resources, and fundraising tools.
91% of charities shared that they gained confidence in online fundraising, thanks to the free marketing resources provided by Big Give, making them better equipped for long-term success. - Trusted by leading funders: The Christmas Challenge magnifies the impact of every public donation through match funding from a range of Big Give’s Champion partners.
Champions that are returning to take part in 2025 include The Reed Foundation, Julia Rausing Trust, The Childhood Trust, Candis, EQ Foundation, The Hospital Saturday Fund, The Waterloo Foundation, Monday Charitable Trust, and The Together Fund (an initiative of Christian Funders Forum).
- 77% saw an increase in donations vs regular fundraising
- 68% saw larger individual donations, driven by the match funding incentive
- 94% said the campaign offered excellent value for the time and effort
- 94% gained new donors, and 98% deepened ties with existing supporters
A spokesperson at Doncaster Performance Venue Limited said:
“This was our new Development Officer’s first-ever fundraising campaign. Despite entering the industry with limited experience, they delivered an exceptional campaign. We believe the success of this effort was largely due to the in-depth knowledge available on your platform, which helped them build their confidence and skills.”
Street Vet added:
“It was fantastic to receive support from Big Give’s PR Team to secure some national media coverage for our campaign with an interview with one of our Ambassadors in the Daily Express. Without your support, we would not have secured this coverage.”
WATCH: Big Give #ChristmasChallenge 2024 campaign video
Alex Day, Managing Director, Big Give, said: “After last year’s record result, which saw the Christmas Challenge become the UK’s biggest collaborative fundraising campaign, we’re excited to invite both returning and new charities to take part in what promises to be another extraordinary campaign. This is one of the best opportunities for charities to double their impact at Christmas thanks to the generosity of Champion funders and the public who consistently support the many wonderful causes that benefit from the campaign.”
Applications for the Christmas Challenge are open until Friday 4th July 2025.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.