The Big Give has given out nearly £100m in match funding to charitable organisations since 2007, its latest report reveals.
It has raised a total of £233m for charitable causes since it began 15 years ago, according to its impact report.
This includes donations of £113m, match funding of £97.4m and Gift Aid of £20.1m. Match funding accounts for two-fifths of the total raised.
Christmas Challenge raised 74% of total funds
Big Give’s annual Christmas Challenge, which has received celebrity support from the likes of Stephen Fry, Jo Brand and Leonardo DiCaprio, is the campaign that raised the most for its charitable causes.
It accounts for £173.8m of all monies raised, which is 74% of the total raised for good causes overall.
The flagship event has raised £8.6m in 2010 which has increased to £28.6m in 2022.
Over 5,500 charities have benefited from money raised through the platform.
640,000 public donations have been made via the platform, with an average donation of £179.
Alex Day, managing director of Big Give, said match funding is the way forward for charities.
“Match funding is the way forward for charities and philanthropists and with the cost of living crisis putting stress on the charities it is more important than ever.”
London benefited most from Christmas Challenge funds
An analysis of the funds raised through the Christmas Challenge between 2010 and 2022 by region shows impact was largely skewed towards London.
The Big Give believes this is likely due to charity’s head office or registered address being based in London regardless of geographical coverage.
Some £93.6m was spent in London, compared to £2.5m in Scotland, £4.3m in Wales and £2.4m in the East Midlands.
In terms of charitable causes, funds were spent on health, wellbeing, education, poverty, human rights, homelessness and much more.
Data is not available for the Big Give 2008-2009 Christmas Challenge.
Fundraising target of £1bn by 2030
The Big Give has set a fundraising target of £1bn to be raised by 2030.
It aims to grow its existing campaigns like its Christmas Challenge and Green Match Fund and scaling the Big Give internationally to achieve this.
Big Give is also exploring how match funding can help address regional inequality in the UK and improve funding flows towards the arts sector, a spokesperson for the charity told Civil Society News.
‘The most successful charity you have never heard of’
Chair of the charity, James Reed, said: “The Big Give is probably the most successful charity you have never heard of. We are aiming to change all that. We are very proud of what has been achieved in the first 15 years, but now we want to raise the profile of Big Give and accelerate its work so that we raise £1bn by 2030.
“This is an ambitious target, but deliberately so. There are so many important causes that need support. We want to find more match funding champions – companies, individuals and foundations – to match what the public donate. We want to build the match funding footprint to the benefit of more causes and people.
“We have pioneered the concept of match funding and have shown that it works brilliantly. People give more when they know their generosity will be multiplied in this way. Now we want to take Big Give to the next level.”
The Big Give’s match funding champions include Julia & Hans Rausing Trust, the Childhood Trust and the Reed Foundation.
