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thebiggive.org.uk Christmas Challenge 2015

Guidebook for Charities

CONTENTS

0. Glossary of terms .......................................................................................................................................................... 2

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................. 3

2. The APPLICATION phase (6th

July – 17th

July) ................................................................................................................ 6

3. The NOTIFICATION phase (early September) ............................................................................................................... 7

4. The PLEDGE phase (early September – 16th

October) .................................................................................................. 8

5. The MARKETING phase (16th

October – 3rd

December) ................................................................................................ 9

6. The CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE phase (midday on 4th

& 5th

December) ........................................................................ 10

7. An example of a charity who hits and doesn’t hit their target ................................................................................... 14

8. Further help ................................................................................................................................................................ 15

9. Terms & Conditions .................................................................................................................................................... 16

About the Big Give Christmas Challenge

The Christmas Challenge is the UK’s biggest online match-funding campaign which helps UK-registered charities

raise funds for their cause. The Christmas Challenge takes place every December.

The Big Give offers supporters of participating charities the chance to have their donation doubled on

thebiggive.org.uk when the Christmas Challenge goes live in December. For example, a £100 online donation

made to a participating charity during the Christmas Challenge can be doubled to become £200.

The match funding to double donations comes from a combination of philanthropists brought by the Big Give,

called ‘Champions’ and charities own major donors called ‘Pledges’. Champions have included The Reed

Foundation, the Cabinet Office, the Garfield Weston Foundation, ICAP, Candis magazine and The Childhood Trust

among many others. These Champions’ funds are joined with Pledges from the charities’ major donors to double

online donations during the Christmas Challenge on a first-come, first-served basis.

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0. GLOSSARY OF TERMS

This glossary of terms can be referred to as you read through the Guidebook.

Application Phase: From 6th

to 17th

July, the window available where charities apply to take part in the Christmas

Challenge on thebiggive.org.uk

Champions: Champions are trusts, foundations, corporations and philanthropists who support charities through the Big

Give Christmas Challenge. They provide the funds to match donations during the Christmas Challenge Phase, alongside

pledge funds. Champion funds are used to support a group of charities called a Sector.

Charities Trust: Charities Trust (Charity no: 327489) is the organisation that processes donations and collects Gift Aid on

behalf of charities on the Big Give. Charities Trust deducts a 4% admin fee from each online donation and Gift Aid claim.

Christmas Challenge: The Christmas Challenge is the UK’s biggest, online, matched funding event. The term is used to

describe the process in its entirety.

Christmas Challenge Phase: The exciting period of the whole process when the campaign goes live, match funding is

released and online donations are doubled. During the Christmas Challenge phase (matching funds released on midday

on 4th

and 5th

December), online donations to participating charities will be matched by a combination of Pledges and

Champion Funds. The release of the Champion funding will be in two tranches on 4th

and 5th

December and the phase

will close on 14th

December

Marketing Phase: From 16th

October – 3rd

December, the period before the Christmas Challenge phase where charities

market the Christmas Challenge to their online donors

Matching Reservations System: This system ensures that, if there are matching funds available when a donor begins

making a donation, then these funds will be reserved for them for 10 minutes to allow them time to complete their

donation.

Notification Phase: By early September, charities informed if they have been accepted into the Christmas Challenge.

Online Donors/Donations: Donations made by supporters of the participating charities via theBigGive.org.uk. All

donations made to participating charities during the December Challenge Phase (midday on 4th

/5th

December up until

the campaign finally closes on 14th

December) must be made online via the Big Give at the appropriate times to be

eligible for matching.

Pledges/Pledgers: A Pledge is a promise of funding from a supporter of a charity which is used to match donations

during the Christmas Challenge Phase, alongside Champion funds. A pledge is conditional upon you receiving these

online donations. Pledgers can be any supporter of your charity but often they are major donors and trustees of the

charity. A pledge must be a minimum of £100 and charities can have multiple Pledgers. The Pledges you raise are ring-

fenced for your charity only.

Pledge Phase: Early September – 16th

October where charities confirm promises of pledges from their Pledgers (e.g.

major donors and trustees). All pledges must be made using the Big Give online pledge form.

Sector: A group of charities chosen by a particular Champion to be supported during the Christmas Challenge. Charities

in each sector will compete for Champion funding during the December Challenge Phase as there isn’t enough

Champion funds in each sector for all charities to hit 100% of their target.

Tranches: The Champion match-funding will be released in two tranches. Tranche 1 of the Champion funds are released

at midday on 4th

December and tranche 2 of match funding is released at midday on 5th

December.

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1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. About this guide

This is intended to be a comprehensive guide for charities regarding the Christmas Challenge 2015. We aim to give a

full explanation of how it works as well as some helpful tips and hints. This guide is intended to be referred to by

charities throughout the whole process. The guide is split into the different phases involved in the Christmas Challenge

accompanied by a helpful checklist at the beginning of each section for charities to complete.

1.2. About the Christmas Challenge

The Christmas Challenge is an online match-funding campaign which helps UK-registered charities raise funds for their

cause. The Christmas Challenge takes place every December.

The Big Give offers supporters of participating charities the chance to have their donation doubled on thebiggive.org.uk

when the Christmas Challenge goes live in December. For example, a £100 online donation made to a participating

charity during the Christmas Challenge can be doubled to become £200.

1.3. Objectives of the Christmas Challenge

The Christmas Challenge was launched in 2008 by Sir Alec Reed, founder of Reed Recruitment. Since 2008, the

Christmas Challenge has raised over £64 million for 2,271 charity projects.

Its two primary objectives are:

1) To help charities raise even more funds online at Christmas time when donors tend to be at their most

generous

2) To give philanthropists the opportunity of increasing the impact of their philanthropy through match-funding.

1.4. How the Christmas Challenge works

There are three ingredients to the Christmas Challenge: the ‘Champions’, the ‘Pledgers’ and the ‘Online Donors’. These

will be referred to throughout this guide and more detailed explanation is contained about their role at each phase.

Before the campaign begins in December, match-funding for each charity taking part in the Christmas Challenge is

secured and is made up of equal contributions from:

1) The ‘Champions’ - foundations, corporates, high-net worth individuals sourced by the Big Give

2) The ‘Pledgers’ - major donors, trustees sourced by the Charities who take part

The Champion and Pledge funds combine to form the ‘matching pot’ which is used to double donations from:

3) The ‘Online Donors’ - supporters of the charities who are taking part in the Christmas Challenge

Online donations are doubled when the Christmas Challenge campaign launches on 4/5th

December.

£

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For example, if CHARITY X hopes to raise £20,000 in total in the Christmas Challenge, if they are successful, it will be

broken down as follows (please note the figures used are purely for illustrative purposes):

MATCHING POT

MATCHED

BY

ONLINE DONATIONS

£5,000

‘Champions’

(philanthropists sourced by the Big Give) £10,000

Online Donors of the Charity during the Christmas

Challenge

£5,000

‘Pledgers’

(major donors sourced by the Charity)

The Christmas Challenge is competitive because there is not quite enough of the Champion funds available for all of the

charities who take part to hit 100% of their target. There is further explanation of this in section 3.2.

1.5. Benefits to charities who take part in the Challenge

Charities who take part in the Christmas Challenge report a number of benefits from taking part:

Secure Champion funds from organisations such as The Reed Foundation, The Garfield Weston Foundation, The

Childhood Trust, ICAP, Candis, amongst others. During the 2014 Christmas Challenge, each charity received an

average of £5,672 of Champion funds.

Research shows the match funding campaigns increase response rate (37% increase), average donation size (63%

increase) and overall revenue (54% more) from your supporters. (Brooks, 2015)

A chance to ask prospective donors for a first time gift or re-engage your lapsed donors; match funding offers a

compelling ask. Half of all charities reported they attracted new individual donors through taking part in 2014

Christmas Challenge.

A fantastic proposition for major donors to become ‘Pledgers’ where their commitment of funding can be

leveraged up to 4 times by Champions and Online Donors.

High number of donors who Gift Aid. 86% of donations made in the Christmas Challenge are Gift Aided

The Big Give team offers support throughout the whole campaign.

1.6. Costs of taking part in the Challenge

All online donations are processed by Charities Trust who deduct a fee of 4% on online donations and Gift Aid.

The Big Give also charges a small amount to charities for participating in the Christmas Challenge. This participation cost

is taken to ensure the long term sustainability of the Big Give Christmas Challenge. The participation cost is calculated

as 4% of your Pledge funds. Therefore, in the example in section 1.4. if you raise £20,000 you will have £5,000 of Pledge

funds, the Big Give will collect 4% of the Pledge funds, i.e. a £200 participation cost.

1.7. The Phases

There are five phases involved in the Christmas Challenge:

1) The Application Phase – where charities apply to take part in the Christmas Challenge

2) The Notification Phase – where charities are notified if they have been successful in their application

3) The Pledge Phase – where charities secure their own pledges of match-funding

4) The Marketing Phase – where charities market the Christmas Challenge to their online donors

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5) The ‘Christmas Challenge’ Phase – when the campaign goes live, match funding is released and online

donations are doubled

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HINTS & TIPS

Charities sometimes

upload projects but

forget to apply to the

Christmas Challenge.

Once you have uploaded

your projects into your

account area, ensure you

click ‘Apply to the

Christmas Challenge’ to

complete the application.

HINTS & TIPS

We know setting the pledge target might be difficult. So, two important questions to ask yourself are:

1) Do I have the major donors in place to be able to provide the pledges? Think of who you will approach to be a

Pledger if your charity is accepted to the Christmas Challenge. See section 4 for more details.

2) Am I confident that I will be able to raise twice the amount pledges during the Christmas Challenge in

December? For example, if you set a pledge target of £5,000, you can receive a maximum of £5,000 from the

Champions. Therefore, you will need to be confident that you have supporters who can go online during the

Christmas Challenge and donate a total of £10,000 to your charity to be able to hit your £20,000 target.

2. THE APPLICATION PHASE (6T H JULY – 17TH JULY)

CHECKLIST

Ensure your charity is registered on thebiggive.org.uk

Ensure the projects you want to apply to the Christmas Challenge are uploaded and up-to-date in your Big Give

charity account area

Read this document fully and ensure you understand the Christmas Challenge

Complete the Christmas Challenge application form in your charity account area

2.1. Guidelines for applications

The Christmas Challenge is open to any UK-registered charity. Each charity can submit up to two projects for

consideration for the Christmas Challenge but only one can be accepted. The projects can be any self-contained aspect

of work carried out by your charity which you are fundraising for. Funds raised on thebigigve.org.uk are restricted to

these projects.

2.2. How to apply

Your charity will need to be registered on the thebiggive.org.uk. Registering is free and easy – simply follow the links on

the “For Charities” section of the website.

You will need to ensure that the project(s) you want to apply for in the Christmas

Challenge are uploaded on to your charity account. To upload a project, click ‘Upload a

new project’ on the Getting Started menu in your charity account.

If you want to apply to the Christmas Challenge with a project you have already

uploaded, ensure all of the details of the project are up to date. To update the details of

a project click on the ‘Your Projects’ tab in the charity account area.

Ensure you read this guidebook fully and click on the ‘Apply to the Christmas Challenge’

button in your charity account to complete your application. You will be shown a video

explaining how the Christmas Challenge works and then asked to complete a short quiz

to ensure you understand what is involved in the Christmas Challenge.

2.3. Your pledge target

When completing your application, you will be asked what your Pledge target is. This is the amount that you hope to

raise from your own charities major donors/trustees which will form half of the matching pot available to your charity –

see section 1.4 for further explanation. The minimum pledge target to take part in the Christmas Challenge is £1,000.

You will need to make sure your pledge target is realistic

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3. THE NOTIFICATION PHASE (EARLY SEPTEMBER)

CHECKLIST

Ensure info@thebiggive.org.uk is saved in your email contacts to ensure any communication doesn’t go in to your

junk mail

3.1. What happens after I apply

The Big Give take all of the applications and present these to the various Champions who select charities they wish to

support in the Christmas Challenge. Charities will be notified by email by early September if they have been selected to

take part in the Christmas Challenge.

3.2. The sectors

Each Champion will select a group of charities they wish to support through the Christmas Challenge. This group of

charities will form their ‘Sector’ and will compete for that Champions’ funding during the Christmas Challenge Phase.

This is illustrated below in an example of how a Sector might be structured. In this example, a Champion has selected

25 charities to support in the Christmas Challenge (please note the figures used are purely for illustrative purposes):

TOTAL MATCHING POT IN SECTOR

MATCHED

BY

ONLINE DONATIONS TO CHARITIES IN SECTOR

£200,000

Total Champions fund £500,000

Online Donations can be doubled during the

Christmas Challenge

£300,000

Total amount of pledges of all of the 25 charities

who are taking part in this sector

In this example, the Champion is investing £200,000 into the matching pot but accepting a total of £300,000 worth of

pledges from the 25 charities they are supporting. Therefore, the total target for online donations for all of the charities

involved in this sector would be £600,000. However, a maximum of £500,000 of online donations in total can be

doubled because there is only £500,000 in the matching pot. This is the competitive element of the Christmas Challenge

as there is not enough of the Champion funds for all charities to hit 100% of their target.

Please note the pledges that are raised by your charity are ring-fenced for your charity. Due to the degree of flexibility

each charity is afforded in hitting their pledge target (i.e. still being able to take part if the full target is not hit) the final

proportion of Champion Funding available may be slightly above or below the figure illustrated.

3.2. If you are not selected

If your charity has not been selected by a Champion you will also be notified in early September. If you have not been

selected by a Champion, you can still participate in the Christmas Challenge without a Champion through a straight £

for £ matching campaign where online donations are doubled by your own charities Pledgers. There will be a lower

participation cost for charities who take part in this way.

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HINTS & TIPS

Pledges are fulfilled (i.e.

paid) to your charity

AFTER the Christmas

Challenge has been

completed - after 14th

December 2015 and

before 15th

January 2016.

Pledgers to your charity

CANNOT donate to your

charity during the

Christmas Challenge.

4. THE PLEDGE PHASE (EARLY SEPTEMBER – 16TH OCTOBER)

CHECKLIST

Ensure all of your Pledgers have completed the online form by 16th

October

Ensure all of your Pledgers understand payment of pledges must be made after the Christmas Challenge has been

completed (not before or during the Christmas Challenge) and they are able to fulfill the pledge by 15th

January 2016

4.1. What is a pledge?

A Pledge is a promise of funding from a supporter of a charity which is used to match donations during the Christmas

Challenge Phase, alongside Champion funds. A pledge is conditional upon you receiving these online donations.

Pledgers can be any supporter of your charity but often they are major donors and trustees of the charity. A pledge

must be a minimum of £100 and charities can have multiple Pledgers. The Pledges you raise are ring-fenced for your

charity only. Pledges cannot be funds that you have already received and must be collected after the Christmas

Challenge (after 14th

December and before the deadline of 15th

January 2016).

The amount you raise in pledges will be the same amount you can access from the Champion Fund. For example, if you

raise £5,000 in pledges you will be eligible to receive a maximum of £5,000 from the Champion Fund, if you secure the

necessary online donations during the Christmas Challenge Phase. The Pledges you raised are ring-fenced for your

charity only.

4.2. Hitting your pledge target

You have until 16th

October to hit your pledge target (this target will be confirmed upon

acceptance into the Challenge). Extensions may be granted in special circumstances. The

minimum pledge target to take part in the Christmas Challenge is £1,000.

Pledgers must complete the online pledge form that will be provided to your charity on

acceptance into the Christmas Challenge. This form does not ask for payment details, as

pledges are paid following the Christmas Challenge phase and can be paid directly to the

charity. If you have supporters that cannot donate online (trusts, foundations etc.) this is

the time to get them involved.

4.3. Pledge due diligence

The Big Give may conduct due diligence after the Christmas Challenge has been completed

to ensure pledges have been collected. Charities have until 15th

January 2016 to collect

their pledges. Payment of Champion funds is conditional on receiving proof that pledges

have been collected. Please note that if pledges are paid online through the Big Give, these

will be subject to the 4% fee charged by our payments processor Charities Trust. Most charities collect their pledges

directly and can be collected offline.

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HINTS & TIPS

In the 2014 Christmas

Challenge the most

commonly used

marketing methods by

charities participating

were:

1) Emails to warm

supporters

2) Individual approaches

to major donors

3) Direct mail to warm

supporters

5. THE MARKETING PHASE (16TH OCTOBER – 3RD DECEMBER)

CHECKLIST

Tell all of your supporters about the Christmas Challenge highlighting they need to be online and ready to donate

at midday on either Friday 4th

December or Saturday 5th

December

Make sure your public facing members of your charity are aware of your participation in the Christmas Challenge

incase your supporters have any questions

5.1. Marketing your involvement in the Christmas Challenge

The marketing phase is the opportunity to inform all of your supporters about the

Christmas Challenge. Charities who have taken part in the Christmas Challenge in

previous years have used a variety of methods to inform their supporters including

individual approaches to supporters, emails to cold and warm supporters, direct mail,

social media and events (amongst others). The most important thing to inform your

supporters is the time they need to be online to donate when the match funding is

released (midday on Friday 4th

and Saturday 5th

December).

5.2. Marketing support from the Big Give

The Big Give team will be on hand to advise you how to market the Christmas Challenge

and will provide free resources as well as online seminars to give you help and support

as well as share best practice from previous participants in the Christmas Challenge. We

will notify participants in the Christmas Challenge about these resources and events in

due course.

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HINTS & TIPS

Remember that there isn’t quite

enough of the Champion funds for

all charities to hit 100% of their

target – it is a competition – so

ensure your donors are online on

midday on 4th

or 5th

December as

the match funding does tend to

run out quite quickly.

It is impossible for us to guarantee

how long the Champion Funds will

last each day, as this is dependent

on how quickly your donors make

their donations. Our advice is to

ensure your donors donate as soon

after midday on 4th

or 5th

December as possible.

HINTS & TIPS

The information in this section might seem complicated at first glance. However, it is important that you

understand how donations are matched so you can make the most the Christmas Challenge. The information

contained in this section is for your information and your online donors won’t know the details of how their

donation is matched - our experience is that online donors just care about supporting your charity and having

their donation doubled and not necessarily the mechanics of how the matching works.

6. THE CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE PHASE (MIDDAY ON 4TH & 5T H DECEMBER)

CHECKLIST

Ensure your supporters are online at midday on 4th

or 5th

December to donate

Ensure you understand how donations will be matched by pledge and Champion funds

Ensure you understand the reservation system and you don’t ‘test’ it during the Challenge

Collect your pledges once the Christmas Challenge has been completed

6.1. The release of the match funding

The Christmas Challenge phase will begin at midday (12pm) on Friday 4th

December. During this phase, online donations will be doubled by the

‘matching pot’ - a combination of Champion funds and your pledges.

The Champion funds will be released in two tranches during Christmas

Challenge Phase.

Tranche 1 Release = Midday (12pm) on Friday 4th

December

From midday Friday 4th

December, donations will be matched until:

o Your charity reaches its overall target, or;

o Tranche 1 of the Champion Fund has been exhausted at which point

matching for your charity is paused, or;

o Matching is paused at 11.59pm on 4th

December

Tranche 2 Release = Midday (12pm) on Saturday 5th

December

From midday Saturday 5th December onward, donations will continue to be

matched with no further pauses until:

o Your charity reaches its overall target, or;

o Tranche 2 of the Champion Fund has been exhausted and your charity has matched all of its pledges, or;

o At 5pm on Monday 14th

December when the Christmas Challenge will officially close

6.2. How online donors should donate during the Christmas Challenge

All donations made during the Christmas Challenge phase must be made online (on the biggive.org.uk) by the individual

donor, without exception (i.e. not on someone else’s behalf). Donors are eligible to have up to £5,000 matched per

charity. Your Pledgers cannot donate online to your charity during the Christmas Challenge.

Online donors are given the option to gift aid their donation during the Christmas Challenge. However, gift aid will not

be matched.

6.3. How donations are matched

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Champion funds are allocated on a first come – first served basis. There isn’t quite enough of the Champion funds for all

charities to hit 100% of their target – see section 3.2 for further explanation.

To ensure all charities have a chance of securing some Champion funds, online donations are initially matched 25%

from the Champion funds and 75% from the charities own pledges until all of the pledge funds are exhausted. After the

pledge funds are exhausted, donations will be matched 100% from the Champion funds (if there are still Champion

funds remaining).

Therefore, you will want to ensure you get as many online donors giving after the Christmas Challenge goes live at

midday on 4th

/5th

December to exhaust your pledge funds as quickly as possible. Donations will then be matched 100%

from Champion funds and you can make the most of the Champion funds on offer.

There is further explanation of this in the explanatory video which you will view as part of your application. However,

the table on the next page shows a list of online donors for CHARITY X who is aiming to raise £20,000 in total - £5,000

from pledges, £5,000 from Champions and £10,000 in online donations. The table shows that the first donors to the

charity have their donations matched 75% from the pledge funds and 25% from the Champion funds. This continues

until the pledge funds are exhausted after which point, donations are matched 100% by the Champion funds.

The table provides an illustrative example of donors and how donations are matched (please note the figures used are

purely for illustrative purposes).

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EXAMPLE DONATION TABLE FOR CHARITY X IN CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE 2015

Date & Time Donor Name Donated Matched by Champion

Matched by Pledges

Remaining Champion funds available for CHARITY X

Remaining in CHARITY X Pledge fund

£5,000 £5,000

04/12/15 12.04 Mr A Bishop £1,000 £250 £750 £4,750 £4,250

04/12/15 12.05 Mrs B Jaipur £500 £125 £375 £4,625 £3,875

04/12/15 12.06 Mr C Adnams £1,500 £375 £1,125 £4,250 £2,750

04/12/15 12.09 Mr D Sambrook £1,000 £250 £750 £4,000 £2,000

04/12/15 12.12 Mrs E Cobra £200 £50 £150 £3,950 £1,850

04/12/15 12.15 Ms F Guiness £1,500 £375 £1,125 £3,575 £725

04/12/15 12.16 Mr G Erdinger £400 £100 £300 £3,475 £425

04/12/15 12.20 Mrs H Meantime £500 £125 £375 £3,350 £50

04/12/15 12.21 Ms I Fuller £200 £150 £50 £3,200 £0

04/12/15 12.22 Mr J Smith £2,500 £2,500 £0 £700 £0

04/12/15 12.26 Mr K Thornbridge £200 £200 £0 £500 £0

04/12/15 12.27 Mr L Chang £50 £50 £0 £450 £0

04/12/15 12.28 Ms M Sol £450 £450 £0 £0 £0

TOTALS £10,000 £5,000 £5,000

All of the donations shaded in blue

are matched 25% by the

Champion funds and 75% from

Pledge funds

Ms I Fullers donation is where the

rule of 25% Champion / 75%

Pledge matching ends as there is

not enough remaining in the

Pledge fund for 25/75 matching.

Therefore, the final £50 remaining

in the Pledge fund is used and the

rest of her donation is matched by

Champion funds

The remaining donations, shaded

in green, are matched 100% by the

Champion.

Any donation made after Ms M

Sol’s will be unmatched as there is

no match funding remaining.

CHARITY X has raised a total of

£20,000:

Online Donations = £10,000

Champions = £5,000

Pledges = £5,000

TOTAL = £20,000

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HINTS & TIPS

Last year, several charities

‘tested’ the donation process by

entering test donations to take

them through to the page where

a donor would submit card

details, where they then left the

donation process. By doing this,

you are temporarily reserving

funds for this ‘fake’ donation for

10 minutes and, therefore, you

may see donations to your

charity being paused until these

funds are returned to the

matching pot. We would strongly

advise you not to do so!

6.4. The reservation system

The Big Give uses a reservation system, similar to that used on ticketing websites,

to ensure that matching funds do not run out once the donor begins making their

donation. When a donor begins the donation journey during the Christmas

Challenge they will be made aware:

Whether there is match funding available (if there are no matching funds

available, the donor will be made aware of this and given the option to try

again in a few moments or to continue to give an unmatched donation)

How much of their donation will be matched (dependent on how much

match funding is available)

Once a donor begins the donation process, the match funding will be reserved

them for 10 minutes. If donations are not made within the 10 minute period, the

donation will not be matched and their reserved funds will be returned to the

matching pot.

6.5 After the Challenge

The Christmas Challenge will remain open until 14th

December at 5pm for any match funding that is left over or for

donors to make unmatched donations to your project.

After the Christmas Challenge is complete, you have until 15th

January 2016 to collect your pledges –see section 4.3 for

further details.

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7. AN EXAMPLE OF A CHARITY WHO HITS AND DOESN’T HIT THEIR TARGET

7.1. An example of a charity who hits their target

The example below is of a CHARITY X who hopes to raise £20,000 and hits their target (please note the figures used are

purely for illustrative purposes):

STEP 1: Charity applies and sets a pledge target of £5,000

STEP 2: Charity is selected by a Champion

STEP 3: The charity secures their £5,000 of pledge funding from two sources, one of their trustees pledge £1,250

and one of their major donors pledges £3,750

STEP 4: The charity markets the Christmas Challenge to their online donors through phone calls and emails

STEP 5: Once the Christmas Challenge goes live they receive £10,000 in online donations which is matched by both

their pledge fund and Champion fund.

STEP 6: Once the Christmas Challenge is complete, the charity collects their £5,000 of pledges from their trustee

and major donor.

The charity has successfully raised £20,000 broken down as follows:

Online Donations = £10,000

MATCHED BY

Pledge funds = £5,000

Champion funds = £5,000

TOTAL RAISED £20,000

7.1. An example of a charity who doesn’t hit their target

The example below is of a CHARITY Y who hope to raise £20,000 but don’t quite hit their target (please note the figures

used are purely for illustrative purposes):

STEP 1: Charity applies and sets a pledge target of £5,000

STEP 2: Charity is selected by a Champion

STEP 3: The charity secures their £5,000 of pledge funding from two sources, one of their trustees pledge £1,250

and one of their major donors pledges £3,750

STEP 4: The charity markets the Christmas Challenge to their online donors through phone calls and emails

STEP 5: Once the Christmas Challenge goes live they receive £7,500 in online donations. As donations are initially

matched 75% from pledges and 25% from Champions, the first £6,670 of online donations is matched in this way

until all £5,000 of the pledges funds are exhausted (i.e. £5,000 from pledges and £1,666 from Champions have

been used). The pledge funds are now exhausted and the next £830 of online donations is matched 100% by the

Champion.

STEP 6: Once the Christmas Challenge is complete, the charity collects their £5,000 of pledges from their trustee

and major donor.

The charity has successfully raised £15,000 broken down as follows:

Online Donations = £7,500

MATCHED BY

Pledge funds = £5,000

Champion funds = £2,500

TOTAL RAISED £15,000

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8. FURTHER HELP

8.1. More resources

More information, include explanatory videos and FAQ’s can be found on www.thebiggive.org.uk. Simply follow the

links to the Christmas Challenge pages on the ‘For Charities’ section of the website.

8.2. Contacting the Big Give

The Big Give team is more than happy to help you throughout the process of the Christmas Challenge and to answer

any questions you might have. You can contact us by emailing info@thebiggive.org.uk and we will aim to reply within 3

hours during office hours.

You can also contact us on twitter @BigGive

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9. TERMS & CONDITIONS

All charities taking part in the Christmas Challenge accept the following terms & conditions

9.1. Application Phase (6th

– 17th

July 2015)

On application, charities set their own target for how much they aim to raise in pledges. Charities should not seek

to raise pledges from major donors and trustees until they have received confirmation of acceptance into the

Christmas Challenge.

On application, charities will nominate which projects they would like to enter into the Challenge. If they are

accepted into the Challenge, one project will be selected by their Champion and all funding received through the

Challenge will be restricted to this project.

The deadline for Challenge applications is 5pm on 17th July 2015.

The pledge target set by the charity in the application process may be adjusted by the Champion and/or the Big

Give prior to acceptance into the Christmas Challenge.

The pledge target set by the charity in the application process may be adjusted by the Big Give after acceptance

into the Christmas Challenge. This will occur only in rare circumstances and the charity will be informed before this

happens.

Each Champion will select which charities they wish to support from the applications received through the Big Give.

These charities will form their Sector. Champion decisions will be communicated to charities by the Big Give and

their decision is final.

9.2. Pledge Phase (early September – 16th

October 2015)

Participating charities must obtain pledges from their major donors and trustees up to the target amount agreed.

These combine with the Champion Fund and match online donations to their charity during the Christmas

Challenge Phase.

Each pledge is ring-fenced for the charity that the pledge was made to.

Each pledge is restricted to the project which the charity has had accepted into the Christmas Challenge.

Pledges must be made following acceptance into the Christmas Challenge. The deadline for pledges will be by the

16th

October 2015.

All pledges must be made using the Big Give online pledge form by the donor themselves.

Pledges must be a minimum of £100.

All pledges raised from major donors and trustees are promises of donations that are conditional on the charity

securing online donations during the Christmas Challenge Phase.

Major donors and trustees who make a pledge are not permitted to make a donation to the same charity in the

Christmas Challenge Phase. They are able to donate to a different charity.

Participating charities are not permitted to make pledges using funds from their own accounts as part of the

Christmas Challenge.

Pledges cannot be grants which have already been granted or confirmed.

All pledges must be filled out using the Big Give online pledge form before 16th

October 2015. Where a pledge, with

prior permission from the Big Give, has been made using an offline form, the charity must input the pledge

information onto the Big Give online pledge form no later than this.

If a charity does not reach their target of major donor and trustee pledges, they are still able to participate using

the total amount of pledges they did receive, provided that this is over £1,000, at the discretion of the Big Give.

Each charity is responsible for ensuring the payment of their pledges following the conclusion of the Christmas

Challenge and all pledges must be paid to the charity no later than 15th January 2016.

There will be a 4% participation cost on all pledges raised. The Big Give will withhold this 4% fee from the

Champion money owed to each charity, before it is paid out in January. Please note that if pledges are paid online

through the Big Give, this 4% administration fee will be additional to the online 4% charge.

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9.3. Christmas Challenge Phase (midday 4th December 2014 – 5pm, 14th December 2014)

All donations made in the Christmas Challenge Phase must be made online via theBigGive.org.uk without

exception. Donations must be made via a charity’s project page, for the project which has been accepted into the

Challenge.

Donations made during the Christmas Challenge Phase will only be matched up to the value of £5,000 per donor

per charity, where funding is available. Donations over this amount will have the first £5,000 of their gift matched

only.

A donation is eligible to be matched if there is a sufficient amount of Champion Funding and/or pledges for that

charity available.

During the Christmas Challenge Phase, participating charities are not permitted to process donations on behalf of

their supporters. Each donation must be made by the cardholder without exception. Any charity making donations

on behalf of their supporters is in breach of the Terms and Conditions and this can result in charities losing their

matched funding.

Participating charities are not permitted to make donations to their own charity from their organisational accounts

during the Christmas Challenge Phase. Charities making donations from their own accounts is in breach of the

Terms and Conditions and can result in charities losing their matched funding.

All decisions on whether to issue refunds rest with the Big Give, whose decision is final. Refunds of donations may

only be authorised by participating charities once they have received the consent of the Big Give. Charities Trust

may charge an administration fee for refunds.

All donations made during the Christmas Challenge Phase will be processed by Charities Trust, with a 4%

administration fee on the donation. Charities Trust will also make any Gift Aid claims resulting from online

donations, with a 4% administration fee deducted.

Donor names will be visible in each charity account area. Donor contact details will be displayed unless they have

asked not to be contacted. If a donor requests anonymity, the Big Give will not contact them on behalf of the

charity.

9.4. Completing The Christmas Challenge 2015

Online donations to participating charities will be matched in the following way: 75% by charity pledges, 25% by

the Champion Fund.

Once a charity has matched all of its pledges, donations will be matched 100% by the Champion Fund until the

Fund is exhausted or until they have accessed the maximum amount available to them, or until 5pm on Monday

14th December. This may change depending on which Champion sector you are in.

From Saturday 5th December onwards, once the Champion Fund has been exhausted, donations will be matched

100% from a charity’s pledge fund, where there are pledges remaining. This will continue until pledges are

exhausted, or until 5pm Monday 14th December.

The maximum a charity can receive from the Champion Fund is equal to the total amount of pledges they receive

(depending on Champion sector). To get the maximum amount from the Champion Fund a charity must therefore

receive twice as much in online donations as they receive in pledges before the Champion Fund is exhausted.

The Champion Fund will be allocated on a first come – first served basis until it is exhausted.

Once a charity’s participation in the Christmas Challenge has finished, their donation page will clearly state that any

subsequent donations will not be matched. Donors will still be encouraged to make an unmatched donation.

9.5. Payment of pledges

Pledgers will be emailed by the Big Give following the conclusion of the Christmas Challenge informing them of the

amount they owe their charity.

All pledges can be paid directly from the pledger to the charity, or through the Big Give using the pledge payment

link provided.

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Participating charities must confirm the receipt of all pledges from major donors and trustees by 15th January

2016 through their Challenge Dashboard on theBigGive.org.uk. The Big Give may request proof that pledges have

been paid.

If a charity has not matched all of its pledges by 5pm on 14th

December, their major donors and trustees will only

be required to pay a pro rata amount of their pledge. E.g. if a charity matches 50% of its pledges with online

donations each person who makes a pledge will only be required to pay 50% of the pledged amount. They may

choose to pay the full amount but this is not compulsory.

The Big Give reserves the right to conduct due diligence after the Christmas Challenge has been completed to

ensure pledges have been collected. Payment of Champion funds may be withheld until the Big Give has received

satisfactory proof that pledges have been collected according to the Terms & Conditions of the Christmas

Challenge.

9.6. Payment of online donations

Donations made up to 11.59pm on Tuesday 8th December will be paid to the nominated charity account by BACS

on 17th December (provisional dates). Charities should receive the donations in their bank accounts by Tuesday

23rd December at the latest (provisional dates). Payments made by BACS will carry the reference of ‘Charities

Trust’ or ‘CT’.

Gift Aid claims will be processed by Charities Trust and paid to the nominated charity account by BACS once they

have been confirmed by HMRC. Please allow 2-4 months for Gift Aid claims.

Champion Funds, less the 4% administration fee on pledges which were used to match online donations, will be

paid to charities approximately two months after the completion of the Christmas Challenge (subject to

satisfactory pledge due diligence).

9.7. The Big Give Responsibilities

The Big Give shall take all reasonable steps to ensure the maintenance of the online giving platform

(theBigGive.org.uk) and the associated payment systems for the duration of the Christmas Challenge.

The Big Give shall not be liable for faults that arise out of their control related to the online giving platform and

associated payment systems.

The Big Give shall manage the matching and payment process for all donations made during the Christmas

Challenge Phase.

The Big Give reserves the right to change any aspect of the service and/or these charity rules and/or the terms and

conditions, at any time without notice.

The Big Give reserves the right to cease or limit funding offered to any charity at any time.

In the case of any dispute the Big Give’s decision will be final and non-negotiable.

9.8. Charity Responsibilities

Each charity is responsible for informing the Big Give of a change of contact details as soon as possible.

Each charity is responsible for informing the Big Give of any organisational changes, proposed changes to their

pledge target and/or any other factor which may reasonably affect their performance in the Christmas Challenge.

Prior to the Pledge Phase, each charity is required to attend an online explanatory seminar.

Each charity is responsible for reading all communication sent out by the Big Give.

In the event that a charity is informed by the Big Give of the name of their Christmas Challenge Champion, it is the

charity’s responsibility to ensure that all staff are made aware of this and that all correspondence from the

Champion is responded to in a timely fashion.