Applications are now open

Big Give, a match funding platform which multiplies donations made to other charities, has launched a new Green Match Fund.

The week-long campaign, timed to coincide with World Earth Day on 22 April, will see donations to over 150 participating charities taking part doubled by Big Give’s match funding ‘champions’, including companies, philanthropists and foundations.

Applications for the fund are open now until 17 February, and it seeks to raise more than £4m for the charities taking part. 

The new fund also hopes to draw attention to environmental issues and the importance of taking action to save the planet through a coordinated campaign.

With the cost of living crisis and covid legacy impacting charity funding, this year’s campaign is more important than ever. The Green Match Fund will support a broad range of environmental charities.

Alex Day, managing director of Big Give, said: “The world is facing a climate crisis, and now more than ever, the charities trying to do something about it are facing serious funding constraints. Our Green Match Fund helps to address this, and we hope it will shine a spotlight on this critical area that is often unnoticed by philanthropists.”

Big Give is the UK’s most successful match funding platform, raising more than £233 million for over 14,000 different charities in the last 15 years. Its biggest annual appeal, the Christmas Challenge, raised nearly £29 million in one week in 2022, the highest amount raised since the initiative began.

It has pioneered the concept of match funding – asking funders to match donations to charities made by members of the public. So £50 from an individual becomes £100 for a good cause after being doubled by a Big Give match funding ‘champion’ – typically philanthropists, foundations or companies.

Big Give’s campaigns have been supported by a host of celebrities, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Dame Judi Dench, David Walliams, Stephen Fry, Emilia Fox, Graham Norton, Ruby Wax, Heather Small and Darcey Bussell.

The vision is to raise £1 billion for good causes by 2030 and establish itself as one of the UK’s best-known charities. It will continue to promote the match funding model as a unique way to multiply generosity and tackle the world’s big challenges.