Our biggest individual campaign to date
Today, Wednesday 6th September, marks twelve weeks since the Grenfell Tower tragedy. In the hours after the fire, the Big Give chose to work with local charity The K&C Foundation to set up an online match funding campaign to raise funds for those affected by the fire.This has been the biggest response to one individual cause that the Big Give has ever had, raising over £2.6m to support all those affected.
The appeal offered to double public donations thanks to match funding commitments from a number of local companies and philanthropists. Significant match funding support came from the Reed Foundation, The Cadogan Estate, Julia and Hans Rausing, Monsoon Accessorize, DMGT Plc and The Bjorgolfsson Family amongst others.
The appeal was featured across TV, radio and print media including ITV, Sky News, Classic FM, The Telegraph, Guardian and Metro, as well as in key outdoor advertising spaces across London.
The Grenfell Tower Appeal raised £1m in the first 48 hours and hit £2m a week after the fire, a testament to the generosity of the UK public. Over 12,000 people donated to the campaign. A total of £1,184,032 public donations were matched with a further £244,582 being contributed in unmatched donations and Gift Aid, raising a total of £2,612,646.
How the appeal has helped
The Big Give appeal contributed to a total of £5.75m raised by The K&C Foundation. Over 50% of all of the funds raised have now been committed:
- £120k within days of the tragedy to six local organisations working on the frontline. This money was given out to meet the immediate needs of people who had lost their homes or been displaced.
- £1.2 million to a joint charity initiative (with the British Red Cross and and The London Community Foundation/Evening Standard, coordinated by the Charity Commission) to pay grants of £40,000 to the next of kin of people who have lost their lives or are missing and up to £20,000 to support each seriously injured person.
- £1.6 million for ‘Fresh Start’ grants of £10,000 for each household from Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk to help them rebuild their lives.
The remaining £2.9m will focus on the medium to long term response. The K&C Foundation is committed to talking to the relevant groups to identify the evolving needs of the people at the centre of this tragedy and acting on them. They are using their local knowledge, networks and expertise to ensure the funds are used for the best possible effect to help the people who lived in Grenfell Tower and the shattered local community. Please do follow https://thekandcfoundation.com/ for future updates on the response.
We want to thank everyone involved for their incredible generosity in helping us to support individuals and a community at a time of such need. Entrepreneur James Reed, a trustee of the Big Give, said:
“We have been humbled by the incredible response of the public to our appeal, and are grateful to our partners at The K&C Foundation for ensuring that the funds raised are being used to best effect. We’ve seen incredible acts of generosity throughout the past twelve weeks. The whole concept of match funding is that giving together is better, and there has certainly been a sense of ‘coming together’ to support the North Kensington community.”