Match funding platform Big Give’s annual Christmas Challenge campaign has raised a record £44.7m this year.

This is a 35% increase on last year’s total of £33m, with three quarters of charities taking part meeting or exceeding their fundraising target.

Money raised this year makes the Christmas Challenge the UK’s largest fundraising event of 2024, exceeding Comic Relief and Children in Need.

The week long event ended on December 10 and attracted 119,000 donations from the public which were bolstered by match funding from Big Give’s funding partners.

This year saw £20m in match funding given to good causes, another record for the event.

Funding partners include The Reed Foundation, Julia Rausing Trust, The Childhood Trust, The Hospital Saturday Fund, ShareGift, Steve Morgan Foundation, Candis Magazine, Hampshire Cricket Foundation, Aesseal and The Coles-Medlock Foundation.

More than 1,250 charities took part in this year’s Christmas Challenge. Just under three in five are charities with an income below £1m a year.

“We had hoped to beat last year’s record total but to do so by such a margin is extraordinary,” said Big Give chair James Reed.

“I want to thank everyone who chose one of over 1,250 charities to support and our generous funding champions who put up match funding to double those donations.”

He added: “Behind every £1 raised and every target hit are stories of incredible, life-changing, heart-warming impact delivered by our charity partners. These funds will make a vital difference to the lives of so many.”

Over the last 16 years of match funding campaigning the Christmas Challenge represents around three quarters of the £346m raised by Big Give.



Among charities supported is Turquoise Mountain, which supports people in Afghanistan, Myanmar and the Middle East.

“The power of individual generosity and matching funds is immense - but the need for support is also immense - and we are so grateful to everyone who makes this work possible,” said its president Shoshana Stewart.

Another is Tree Aid, which exceeded its £100,000 target by almost £14,000.

“Thanks to the generosity of our wonderful supporters, we are able to scale up our work with families across the drylands of Africa, enabling them to grow trees and restore land,” said Tree Aid director of communications and fundraising Sally Airey.

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