Every year, our Christmas Challenge draws interest from charities all across the UK. Whether it’s for homelessness or health and wellbeing, the campaign aims to double the difference for a range of important causes over the Christmas period.

This year, we received a staggering 1388 applications, and with more Champion funding available, we’re delighted to share the latest insights from our 2023 applications.

1. There was an 8.5% increase in charity applications compared to last year, with 30% of charities having not applied for a Big Give campaign before.
2. 1,081 charities (78%) raised over £1,000 in pledges and were eligible to receive additional match funding from one of our Champion partners.
3. The median annual income for charities that completed an application was £577,904
4. Of the charities eligible to receive Champion funding, 1,002 charities (93%) received an offer of Champion funding, either full or partial, compared to 84% in the 2022 Christmas Challenge.
5. There was a 4% increase in the amount of pledges raised by charities compared to the 2022 Christmas campaign. The average pledge amount being £7,470
6. There was a 12% increase in the amount of Champion funding available for the 2023 Christmas Challenge compared to 2022. The average amount of Champion funding offered to charities was £6,210
7. Of the charities offered Champion funding, 56% included ‘Health and Wellbeing’ as a category for their application, and 37% included ‘Education/training and employment’.
8. Of the charities offered Champion funding, 55% included ‘children (3-18)’ as a beneficiary of their campaign, and ‘general public and humankind’ coming second with 37%.
9. Of the charities offered Champion funding, 61% had an annual income under £1m, and 45% had an annual income under £500k.

Every year, we are so thankful to the Champions, who have generously provided funding to help such a large amount of charities raise money this Christmas. We continue to strive towards our goal of ensuring that 100% of charities that apply can receive the full amount of funding they need to make their projects a reality. If you’re interested in becoming a Champion, you can find out more on our website.

We’re also extremely grateful to our charity partners who take the time each year to apply. We’re delighted to be able to share our Facebook Group aimed at encouraging more peer-to-peer learning between charities to maximise fundraising efforts. If you’re a charity new to Big Give, find out how you could be involved in 2024.

Best,

Sahil

Big Give is the UK’s #1 match funding platform. We match donations to multiply generosity and create a lasting impact in the world. Big Give has raised over £200m for thousands of great causes through the power of match funding. Find out more.