Hello! is partnering with Big Give as it launches what it hopes will be its biggest-ever Christmas fundraising week from 28th November to 5th December.
Big Give is a match funding platform dedicated to making it easy for the public and funders to give to impactful charities. Founded in 2007 by philanthropist Sir Alec Reed, they double donations to good causes — from ending poverty and hunger to climate action and gender equality. From good health and mental wellbeing to safe housing and strong communities.
Since then, they have raised more than £247 million for charities all around the world.
Their motivation was sparked by the need to accelerate philanthropy and raise funds to tackle the world’s most challenging problems.
Alex Day from the charity explained the charity was originally conceived as an "online marketplace for charities where they could showcase their good work and those who wanted to give money to charity could come and know that due diligence had been done for them, find out about different projects going on and make a commitment that would be matched by others.
"Essentially, Sir Alec envisaged a sort of shop window for charities. And so it was launched in 2007."
Since its launch, the charity has accumulated a slew of celebrity backing. High-profile supporters back their own charities’ involvement and will be taking part in Big Give’s Christmas fundraiser. Big Give works by doubling the amount donated to each of their partnered charities – more important than ever at a time when charitable giving is being squeezed by the cost of living crisis.
This year the celebrity lineup includes Larry Lamb who is supporting the charity Magic Breakfast, which currently feeds around 200,000 children each school morning. Kate Humble has teamed up with Bees for Development. Sarah, Duchess of York is supporting Ruddi's retreat, a charity that is very close to her heart and offers families dealing with cancer or other life-limiting illnesses respite stays.
Springwatch's Meg McCubbin is joining Big Give this year supporting The Beaver Trust, where, as a patron, she is helping to restore Britain’s beaver population, which was hunted to extinction 400 years ago. Jason Watkins, who suffered the heartbreaking loss of his daughter Maude aged just two from Sepsis, is on board this year with Child Bereavement UKa charity that helps families rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a child dies. Read all their impactful stories here.
Alex added: "Despite the challenging economic circumstances, we expect this year’s Christmas Challenge to raise a record £30 million.
"I think the beauty of this campaign is that it raises money for a massive range of good causes from household names like the Prince's Trust and Friends of the Earth down to small local charities that are doing amazing work in communities across the UK. They're all represented.
"The fact that we're bringing all of these charities together in one week of combined fundraising means collectively they benefit from all of the noise that the campaign creates.
"As a result, people who want to give to charity can discover new charities, and those charities pick up new supporters. So there's an amazing benefit for them as well.
“Big Give runs match funding campaigns for charities and special causes all across the year, but the Christmas Challenge is our biggest appeal by some distance. Our desire to connect charities, champions and the public inspires all of our activities. We know that great things can happen when we all come together.
“Through the power of collaboration, every generous donation given on our platform can be doubled to make an even greater impact.”