The Big Give is a not-for-profit, charitable website which helps charities to use the internet to fundraise in innovative ways. Every year, the Big Give runs an online matched funding campaign called the Christmas Challenge – and in just three days over Christmas 2012 the Challenge raised over £10m for 350 charities!
This success was built upon in 2013, when the Challenge raised over £11 million online for 387 charities in December. During the Challenge, 11,000 online donations were processed with a peak rate of 360 transactions/minute.
Champion Funds
The planning for the Big Give Christmas Challenge begins in the summer when charities collect pledges of donations from their major supporters. Charities then promote the online phase of the Challenge over three busy days in December and during this time online donations are matched.
The matching comes partly from the summer pledges which each charity has raised and partly from a ‘Big Give Charity Champion’. 2013 Champions included the Reed Foundation, the Childhood Trust, ICAP and the UK Cabinet Office, amongst others.
Champion funds are limited and donations are doubled on a first-come, first-served basis which brings a competitive element to the campaign which engages the public, companies, trusts and philanthropists. As such, as well as raising additional funds, the Challenge is also a great way for charities to recruit new supporters, re-engage with lapsed donors, increase donations and Gift Aid claims and encourage donors to try online giving.
Emergency Appeals
The Big Give has also used a simply matched funding model to raise funds for emergency appeals. 2013 saw the Big Give run matched funding campaigns for the Syria Crisis and the Philippines Typhoon Emergency Appeals which raised £140,000 and £320,000 respectively.
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