The Childhood Trust aims to alleviate the impact of poverty on children in London. Through our annual Champions for Children campaign, we support charities working to ensure that every child can experience a healthy, happy, and safe childhood that prepares them well for life.
How does it work?
Champions for Children utilises our Pledge Model of match funding. The Pledge Model offers supporters of participating charities the opportunity to double their donations with match funding provided by a charities’ pledgers and The Childhood Trust.
Our 2024 results
Charity Eligibility Criteria
- Be a UK-registered charity with a Charity Commission number or tax-exempt status and an annual income of at least £25,000 (as per last filed accounts on the Charity Commission).
- Aiming for a campaign target of at least £8000
- Executing a project/initiative which measurably alleviates the impact of poverty on children in London, and which aligns with The Childhood Trust’s grant-making policy. Funding is offered for both core and project costs.
- Working with children and young people living in poverty in London (18 and under).
- The Childhood Trust funds projects which fall under one of our four impact areas – Physical Health, Mental Wellbeing, Safe Home & Community Environment, and Learning & Work Readiness.
Charity Application Process
- Log in or sign up
- Once you have access to our charity portal, head to ‘Big Give Campaigns’
- Click on Apply now for Champions for Children by The Childhood Trust
2025 Campaign Timeline
- January 3rd 2025: Applications open
- February 7th 2025: Applications close (5pm)
- March 14th 2025: Pledge deadline
- April 9th 2025: Offer deadline
- June 3rd- June 17th (midday) 2025: Campaign
Campaign Stage Breakdown
Stage 0: The Raise
The Childhood Trust confirm their match-funding commitment with Big Give.
Stage 1: Initial application
Charities apply to participate in the campaign via the Big Give portal, sharing information on their proposed use of funds. Applying charities must have an active trustee board, and major donors who are prepared to make pledges to kickstart the fundraising for the project.
Stage 2: Pledge Collection
Charities that complete the application are automatically enrolled on to the next stage, which involves securing the Pledgers for their campaign. Pledges make up part of the match funding pot. Charities must secure a minimum of £2k in pledges to be eligible for match funding from the Childhood Trust.
Stage 3: Vetting and Notification
After the application deadline, The Childhood Trust will contact applicants to complete a due diligence process. Applying charities will be considered on the basis of how well their application aligns with The Childhood Trust’s impact strategy, robustness of organisational practices, as well as pledges being successfully secured. Successful applicants will be made an offer of funding by The Childhood Trust. The combined amount of pledges and Champion funds make up the charities’ match-funding pot.
Stage 4: Marketing
The Childhood Trust provides a suite of resources and an in-person workshop to support charities with maximising the opportunity.
Stage 5: Campaign
All donations to participating charities are doubled. Pledge funds are used to match online donations first. When these are exhausted, funds from The Childhood Trust are then used to match online donations. Charities that don’t reach their target still receive any match funds up to the value of online donations received.
Stage 6: Post – Campaign
Funds are disbursed to participating charities. All funds from the campaign must be spent within 12 months of the campaign and in accordance with the plan outlined in the charity’s application. Charities are required to report on the impact of these funds after the 12 month delivery period. Guidance on reporting requirements will be shared with charities after the campaign ends.
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The Childhood Trust is London’s child poverty charity, dedicated to alleviating the impact of poverty on children and young people living in the capital. Find out more about their work.
For interested funders
Champion Sign-up Process
- Get in touch with Big Give. We’ll send you a Champion commitment form, and once completed, we’ll help you curate your portfolio of charities.
The Childhood Trust is one of Big Give’s Champions and matches all donations for this campaign.
We know that you understand the needs of the children and young people in your community and what is needed to combat the longer-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the funds raised throughout this campaign can be allocated to core or project costs and must be spent within 12 months of receiving them. See The Childhood Trust’s Grant-Making Policy for more information about some exceptions. Charities participating in the Champions for Children campaign are required to complete our reporting at 12 months post-campaign.
Funding is for costs that will be incurred within 12 months of the campaign. With this in mind, The Childhood Trust expects its funds to be spent by June 2025.
Match funding incentivises donors to support your charity, and having strong relationships with your donor base will help you to be successful throughout the campaign.
- Step 1: Identify overall campaign target: this will be broken down into 3 parts; Pledgers (25%), The Childhood Trust matched donations (25%), and own fundraising contribution (50%)
- Step 2: Contact your trusted supporters to be your Pledgers. Any amount they pledge towards your total target will be matched by The Childhood Trust following a successful campaign.
- Step 3: Receive ongoing support from The Childhood Trust to maximise your campaign. Every penny you raise during campaign week will be matched by your Pledgers and The Childhood Trust.
Example: If a charity is seeking to raise a total of £8,000 towards their project and raises £4,000 (in online donations via Big Give), these donations will be doubled by the match funding pot made up of pledge funds (£2,000) and The Childhood Trust’s champion funds (£2,000).
Funds received during the campaign are restricted to the information outlined in the application until the charity has hit their target. If a charity receives additional online donations after hitting its target, these funds may be unrestricted. Charities improving mental health as part of their core mission may use the campaign to raise unrestricted funds as long as it meets the eligibility requirements.
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