The Big Give: Christmas Challenge


Photo courtesy of Pratham UK

The Big Give Christmas Challenge: What is it?

The Christmas Challenge is an annual match funding campaign which has raised millions of pounds for thousands of good causes since it was launched in 2008 by entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Alec Reed. It also provides a platform for charities to run their own fundraising campaigns.

Running for seven days during the festive period, it offers supporters of participating charities the chance to have their donation doubled. The match funds come from two sources – charities secure some as pledges in the preceding months and these funds are then boosted by contributions from a Big Give Champion. This collective pot is used to double donations from online supporters when the campaign is live for a week.

Impact of The Big Give

– 94% of participating charities attracted new donors
– 63% of charities said that current supporters gave more
– 73% of charities reporting an increase in profile having taken part in the campaign
– 50% of charities said they received a pledge promise from a new supporter

Charity: The Big Give

Project: The Big Give Christmas Challenge in 2018

Grants: £164,333, including £102,351 match funded across 32 charities and funds of £17,650 to £1000 pledged to individual charities

Key achievements:

A total of £757,155 raised for 32 charities

A 4.61 multiplier achieved on £164,333 champion funding

97% of charities receiving donations from new supporters

Overview

As a Big Give Champion, the Coles-Medlock Foundation provided match funding for 32 charities working in international development as well as pledging funds of between £1000 and £17,650 to individual charities. This money after being matched by the charities, the public and adding Gift Aid where applicable leveraged our funding 4.61 times meaning a total of £757,155 was raised.

This meant an average of £23,661 was raised for each of the 32 participating charities which were selected earlier in the year based on their work being in line with our funding focuses.

The biggest match funding donations were:

£25,000 to Excellent Development for their project building food and water security in Kenya – the money supported six communities in the Ukambani region of southeast Kenya in their work towards becoming food and water secure through sand dams and improved farming skills.

£18,750 to Five Talents for a project empowering 1,500 families in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by training them in basic literacy and business skills and providing a safe place to save and borrow small loans to support economic freedom.

£12,545 to Build It International for its project aimed at building brighter futures in Zambia by training unemployed young men and women in construction skills such as painting, bricklaying or carpentry skills.

£10,000 to African Promise for its project to rebuild dilapidated Mkamenyi Primary School in rural Kenya transforming it into a school with the teachers, classrooms, materials, water and sanitation needed to deliver a worthwhile education.

£10,000 to Pratham UK for its project running Learning Camps in India aimed at improving reading skills of children between six and 14-years-old, leading to a reduction in the school drop-out rate and increased awareness of the importance of education.