Founded by entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Alec Reed CBE, the Big Give's Christmas Challenge has raised millions of pounds for thousands of charity projects since it first launched on the Big Give in 2008.
Entries are now open to the Christmas Challenge 2022, a match funding campaign in which donations to participating charities are doubled. The match funds come from two sources:
1. Charities secure some donations ("Pledges") over the summer.
2. For 7 days from the end of November to early December, the Christmas Challenge offers supporters of participating charities the opportunity to have their donation doubled.
The aims of the Christmas Challenge are to:
1. Raise vital funds - bringing together multiple fundraising streams & unlock funding from new sources.
2. Boost skills - benefit from free training, resources & support to build your digital fundraising skills, and
3. Raise profile - be part of something bigger by joining hundreds of charities in the UK's biggest online match funding campaign.
Applicants must be a UK-registered charity with a Charity Commission number (or with the relevant regulatory body in Scotland or Northern Ireland) or tax-exempt status and annual income of at least £25,000.
The Christmas Challenge 2022 will take place from midday (12 noon) on Tuesday 29th November until midday on Tuesday 6th December when donations to participating charities are doubled.
Last year's participants reported the following from their Christmas Challenge 2021 campaign:
o 75% of charities received more donations and 66% bigger donations vs comparable fundraising.
o 86% of charities reported increased confidence in digital fundraising.
o 94% of charities reported donations from new supporters. On average, 33% of donations were estimated to be from new supporters, and
o 90% of charities said that they would recommend the campaign to another charity
Stage 1 applications opened on Monday 16th May with a deadline of Friday 1st July 2022.
The Stage 2 application process ("Collect your Pledges") should be completed by Friday 2nd September 2022.
Further information, guidance, a YouTube video about the Christmas Challenge and registration details are available on the Christmas Challenge website.
Contact details for The Big Give are:
The Big Give
Dragon Court
25-29 Macklin Street
London
WC2B 5LX
Tel: 020 7201 9987
Email: hello@thebiggive.org.uk