Match funding simplified
When the public donates to a charity through a Big Give campaign, we ask funders (philanthropists, foundations or corporates) to match that donation.
So £50 from a member of the public, becomes £100 for a good cause.
Pledge Model
This is where it all began. The Pledge model offers supporters of participating charities the opportunity to double their donations. This innovative way of match funding ensures that charities can increase their resilience by diversifying their income streams.
Here’s how it works. To start with, charities apply to join us with some match funders of their own — their Pledgers. Then, our Big Give Champions get the chance to add funds to that pot. All of that together makes up the charity’s total match funding pot. When it’s time for the campaign to go live, that pot is used to match public donations — first from the charity’s Pledgers, followed by the Champions.
1:1 Model
In the 1:1 model, charities receive a set amount of money from a funder that matches all of their donations. This is generosity multiplying at its simplest — a funder matches every donation made to the campaign, up to an agreed amount.
Campaigns that follow this model include:
Hybrid Model
The Hybrid model is a new way to fund themed campaigns within specific cause areas. Our newest model, Hybrid is all about allowing Champions and donors to match their donations to multiple charities working in the same cause area, making it easier to raise money for important causes together.
Campaigns that follow this model include:
Collective Model
The Collective model is where the total match funding pot is shared between charities. By pooling match funds, every charity in the campaign can benefit from having their donations matched.
Campaigns that follow this model include:
FAQs
Who are Pledgers?
A Pledger can be anyone in a charity’s network — trustees, foundations, trusts, companies, volunteers, high-net-worth individuals and others — who commit match funds to a charity to support their match funding campaign. These pledges count as promises of funding and can be unlocked by a charity through online donations raised during a campaign. Pledgers are sourced and relationships managed by the Charity.
Who are Champions?
Champions are Big Give’s partners. A Champion can include high-net-worth individuals, foundations, philanthropists, trusts, statutory bodies, companies and corporations. A Champion will commit match funds to support one or multiple charities in a given match funding campaign. A charity can unlock the Champions’ match funds through online donations raised during a campaign. Champions are sourced and relationships managed by Big Give.
What due diligence do Big Give carry out?
Big Give completes due diligence on all charity applications and works with our partner Champions to ensure that selected charities meet our criteria. We also conduct due diligence on pledges secured by charities to ensure that these have been paid after the campaign ends. The public has made donations on the basis that they are being matched, so we ensure that all match funds are received to honour this commitment to donors.