Record amount raised
Big Give's Christmas Challenge match fund campaign, which ended on 5 December, has raised a record £33 million in only 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 £28.6m. 74% of the charities participating met or exceeded their fundraising target, an increase of 4% compared to the previous year.
This amount raised is particularly notable given the expected impact the cost of living crisis is having on people’s ability to make charitable donations.
Big Give was aiming to raise more than last year’s campaign. The funds raised this year via Big Give will make a huge difference to charities facing challenges over the winter period due to increased costs and increased demand for their services.
The Christmas Challenge doubles the difference of the public’s donations, which are matched by Big Give’s ‘Champion’ partners, i.e. 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 was trending on the X platform (formerly Twitter) on the opening day and was backed by a number of 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.”
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