#GivingTuesday, the global giving campaign being run in the UK by the Charities Aid Foundation, has now signed up more than 800 organisations, including some of the UK's largest charities and businesses.
Charities include Cancer Research UK, the RSPCA, Guide Dogs for the Blind, NSPCC, Breast Cancer Care, Diabetes UK, RNLI, The Children’s Society and Parkinson’s UK.
Partners in the UK also include businesses such as Microsoft, Argos, Homebase, BT and RBS.
The hashtag #GivingTuesday started trending on Twitter at 7.30 this morning as charities, celebrities and businesses got behind the campaign. More than 550 supporters also sent out a Thunderclap, a simultaneous message on Facebook and Twitter, which reached more than 3.3 million people.
Supporters of #GivingTuesday are also posting #unselfie pictures on social media throughout the day to show which cause they support. Celebrities, including Carey Mulligan in aid of War Child, have also taken part.
John Low, chief executive of CAF, said: "We are very proud to have helped bring #GivingTuesday to the UK for the first time this year.
‘’The enthusiasm for this idea has surpassed all our expectations with more than 800 business and charity partners inspiring people across the country to do something for a good cause today.
"People in Britain are among the most generous on earth. It's always humbling to see people rallying round good causes.”
The campaign launched in the US in 2012, as a chance for people to ‘give back’ after the consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the two big festive shopping days after Thanksgiving.
David Cameron spoke about #GivingTuesday in an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. He said: "I think it's a good moment to remember that of course Christmas is about giving to family and friends and buying gifts and the rest of it, but it's a moment also to think of others and to encourage giving.'’
Localgiving.com, an organisation that helps local charities and community groups, is running Triple Tenner Tuesday to encourage charities to donate, in association with the Office for Civil Society. It has said it will triple 1,000 £10 donations made through the website.
Workplace Giving, a professional fundraising organisation, has said it will contribute an extra £10 to the first donations made by employees at 60 organisations that have signed up. Employees just need to donate a minimum of £5 gross per month to a charity listed on the Workplace Giving website.
Additional £2m fund announced
On the first #GivingTuesday to take place in the UK, the Cabinet Office has announced an additional £2m of funding for the Community First Endowment Match Challenge fund.
The Community First Endowment Challenge is a national programme where a central funding pot is grown from individual and corporate donations. It is being invested by CCLA and returns are granted to local charities across the country which are chosen by the original donor.
The central pot is not touched, allowing the fund to keep on giving to causes in the local community “for generations to come”. The fund has now exceeded £110m and is expected to grow to over £120m by March next year.
Rob Wilson, the minister for civil society, announced the additional funding today at a celebration event at the London Stock Exchange in aid of #GivingTuesday.
He said: “The Community First Endowment Match Challenge is a clever way of donating to charities. Thanks to this £110m endowment, hundreds of local charities will benefit from this fund for many years to come.
“I’m also pleased to announce today an additional £2 million which is being made available to the Fund. This will encourage a further £4m from individuals and businesses, enabling the Endowment Match Challenge to grow to £120m by March next year.”
The fund, which was started in 2010, has seen £70m donated to it by members of the public and businesses, and matched with £40m from government. Last year, over £1.7m was granted to 762 charities across the country.
Safer giving
The Charity Commission has also today released an animated video emphasising its safer giving message to coincide with #GivingTuesday. The third in a series of safer giving videos, it explains how to give safely over the Christmas period.
Paula Sussex, chief executive of the Charity Commission, said: “It’s great that people continue to give generously at Christmas and we’d like to remind the public that by taking a few small steps you can ensure that your money goes to the right place.
“Whilst instances of fundraising fraud are rare, they sadly do occur, and the public has a key part to play in keeping charities accountable by using the resources available to them to make those checks.”
