The Big Give

This article is about the British organisation. For the American television show produced by Oprah Winfrey, see Oprah's Big Give.

Big Give
Founded2007
FounderSir Alec Reed
TypeCharity
Registration no.1136547
Location
  • Dragon Court 27-29 Macklin Street, Strand, London WC2B 5LX
MethodOnline match funding; showcasing charities; connecting charities with supporters
Members
9,987 registered charities
chair
James Reed
Key people
Trustees: James Reed (Chair), Richard Reed, Isabel Kelly, Nicola Reed, Nigel Marsh, Lisa Reed[1]
Employees
Five
Websitethebiggive.org.uk

Big Give is a non-profit, charitable website that enables donors to find and support charity projects in their field of interest. It was founded in October 2007 by Sir Alec Reed CBE. His son James Reed CBE became Chair of Trustees in 2019.

Big Give has raised over £284 million for thousands of charity projects since fundraising began in 2008,[2][3] including £3.67 million for the Disasters Emergency Committee's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, £5.5 million for COVID-19 relief efforts and over £2 million for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.[4][5][6] Its Christmas Challenge 2023 raised £33 million, the highest amount to date, representing a 15% increase over the previous year's total.[2]

Big Give's main activity is online match funding campaigns, where donations made by members of the public are matched by larger donations from notable philanthropists. These philanthropists, also known as "Champions," typically make six-figure donations and include entities such as The Reed Foundation, The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust, and The Waterloo Foundation.[7]

Big Give's campaigns have been promoted by celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Stephen Fry, Dame Judi Dench, Emilia Fox and David Walliams among others.[8]

The organisation is one of the UK's largest philanthropic endeavours. It has set a target of raising £1bn by 2030.[9] Sponsorship and managerial support is provided by the Reed family's Reed Foundation, which is funded by an 18% stake in Reed Group, leading The Guardian to write that Reed Group employees "...effectively work one day a week to fund good causes".[10] James Reed was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2023 New Year Honours for services to business and charity.[11]

  1. ^ "Contact and trustees". The Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  2. ^ a b Ricketts, Andy. "Big Give Christmas Challenge raises record £33m in a week". www.thirdsector.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  3. ^ Reed, James (22 April 2024). "How to make an effective change this World Earth Day". CityAM. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  4. ^ "DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal". donate.thebiggive.org.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Improvements announced for The Big Give's Christmas Challenge match-funding campaign | UK Fundraising". UK Fundraising. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Home". thebiggive.org.uk. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  7. ^ "James Reed: I don't understand why people donate directly to charity". spearswms.com. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Lepper, Joe. "Match funding charity sets £1bn fundraising target by 2030". Charity Times. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  10. ^ "James Reed: the recruitment boss cleaning up in the 'great resignation'". the Guardian. 11 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Page N10 | Supplement 63918, 31 December 2022 | London Gazette | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 31 December 2022.