Today we passed £1 billion of projects on theBigGive.org.uk. To have acheived this milestone in under 3 months (2 months and 19 days, to be precise) is an amazing acheivement, and hope the scale of interest in the site is a sign of many successes to come.
I would like to thank every charity (all 3,500 of you!) that has helped theBigGive.org.uk grow into such a useful tool for high wealth donors in such a short space of time.
As we continue to grow and develop, I look forward to working with our registered charities to improve the opportunities available to high wealth donors. If you have any comments or thoughts on the site, the project format or how your supporters react to your projects, please let us know by posting a comment on this blog.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Friday, December 14, 2007
First donations through theBigGive.org.uk!
This week we were delighted to hear that a multi-million pound grant-making organisation has used theBigGive.org.uk to successfully identify £500,000 of projects to fund.
It is fantastic that grant-making organisations are already using the website to inform their funding decisions, and we would like to thank our charities for making theBigGive.org.uk such an useful destination for high wealth donors.
The organisation, which wishes to remain anonymous, commented, "Rather than going through the traditional project proposal process, it was good to proactively select the shortlist. We managed to find projects in our very specific field, and had drawn up a shortlist of projects in 5 minutes."
With our first mailing to over 15,000 high wealth individuals landing this week, we are confident that these donations will be the first of many. If you have had success with theBigGive.org.uk, either as a charity or a donor, please let us know. With our ever-growing PR contacts, we can make sure that the charity enjoys maximum leverage from the donation, and of course the donor can remain completely anonymous if they wish.
It is fantastic that grant-making organisations are already using the website to inform their funding decisions, and we would like to thank our charities for making theBigGive.org.uk such an useful destination for high wealth donors.
The organisation, which wishes to remain anonymous, commented, "Rather than going through the traditional project proposal process, it was good to proactively select the shortlist. We managed to find projects in our very specific field, and had drawn up a shortlist of projects in 5 minutes."
With our first mailing to over 15,000 high wealth individuals landing this week, we are confident that these donations will be the first of many. If you have had success with theBigGive.org.uk, either as a charity or a donor, please let us know. With our ever-growing PR contacts, we can make sure that the charity enjoys maximum leverage from the donation, and of course the donor can remain completely anonymous if they wish.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Philanthropy UK Newsletter
Today sees the publication of the quarterly Philanthropy UK newsletter December edition, with features on theBigGive.org.uk and Top 5 giving tips from Alec Reed.
Philanthropy UK is a highly respected philanthropy resource and their newsletter is read by established philanthropists, high wealth individuals looking to give for the first time, and wealth advisors from some of the top private banks.
We are very pleased to be making such an impact in this sector after only 2 months, and I will keep posting our articles on the blog to let you know how we are going!
Philanthropy UK is a highly respected philanthropy resource and their newsletter is read by established philanthropists, high wealth individuals looking to give for the first time, and wealth advisors from some of the top private banks.
We are very pleased to be making such an impact in this sector after only 2 months, and I will keep posting our articles on the blog to let you know how we are going!
Monday, December 10, 2007
"Going Stellar"
I was pleasantly surprised by the headline of our article on Wealth Bulletin today. "New philanthropy website going stellar" couldn't be a more positive start for our coverage on the website that is read by thousands of wealth managers each week.
A recent survey (subscription required) suggested that wealth managers need more support when advising on philanthropy, and we will be pushing theBigGive.org.uk as the best place to find high wealth projects.
A recent survey (subscription required) suggested that wealth managers need more support when advising on philanthropy, and we will be pushing theBigGive.org.uk as the best place to find high wealth projects.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
DEC Bangladesh Appeal
You may have noticed that theBigGive.org.uk is supporting the Disasters Emergency Committee Bangladesh Cyclone Appeal on our homepage.
The DEC is made up of 13 member agencies who provide the humanitarian aid needed in a time of disaster, and I am delighted that we are able to give them another platform on which to raise funds.
While the DEC have an impressive network of media partners (BBC, ITN, the Post Office, BT and many banks), theBigGive.org.uk carries a message specifically aimed towards high wealth donors.
We hope that this niche promotion will help raise vital funds for those whose lives have been devastated by the effects of the cyclone.
The DEC is made up of 13 member agencies who provide the humanitarian aid needed in a time of disaster, and I am delighted that we are able to give them another platform on which to raise funds.
While the DEC have an impressive network of media partners (BBC, ITN, the Post Office, BT and many banks), theBigGive.org.uk carries a message specifically aimed towards high wealth donors.
We hope that this niche promotion will help raise vital funds for those whose lives have been devastated by the effects of the cyclone.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
The Big Four - our target markets
As you may have read in other media, the Reed Foundation is donating a £1 million promotional budget to theBigGive.org.uk.
We have broken our target market down into four sectors (worth well over £7 billion annually):
1. High Net Worth Individuals & Advisors
- The UK's top 30 philanthropists gave or pledged £1.2 billion last year, double last year's amount (Sunday Times Rich List 2007)
We are aiming to attract far more than just the top 30 donors, through mailing campaigns, targeted PR, and exclusive events.
2. Trusts & Foundations
- the Top 500 grant-making trusts gave £3.3 billion (Charity Trends 2007)
Whether a great historical trust or a founder-run foundation, we will communicate the benefits of using theBigGive.org.uk to find new funding opportunities and keep a check on the existing field. Mailings, conferences and our friends at the ACF will help to acheive this.
3. Corporate Giving
- CAF's Top 500 corporate donors gave over £1.1 billion in 2005/6
Working with some of the most philanthropically engaged companies and organisations, our goal is to help corporate donors find projects that really deliver value.
4. Legacies
- the 2007 legacy market is worth £1.6bn (Legacy Foresight)
Many high wealth individuals don't worry about legacy planning, as they know they are invincible! Working with legal experts (including the one who told us this 'fact') we will use theBigGive.org.uk to showcase what UK charities can do with those resources that can't be taken beyond the grave.
We will post our promotional successes in these four markets on this website, so keep checking to see how we are doing!
We have broken our target market down into four sectors (worth well over £7 billion annually):
1. High Net Worth Individuals & Advisors
- The UK's top 30 philanthropists gave or pledged £1.2 billion last year, double last year's amount (Sunday Times Rich List 2007)
We are aiming to attract far more than just the top 30 donors, through mailing campaigns, targeted PR, and exclusive events.
2. Trusts & Foundations
- the Top 500 grant-making trusts gave £3.3 billion (Charity Trends 2007)
Whether a great historical trust or a founder-run foundation, we will communicate the benefits of using theBigGive.org.uk to find new funding opportunities and keep a check on the existing field. Mailings, conferences and our friends at the ACF will help to acheive this.
3. Corporate Giving
- CAF's Top 500 corporate donors gave over £1.1 billion in 2005/6
Working with some of the most philanthropically engaged companies and organisations, our goal is to help corporate donors find projects that really deliver value.
4. Legacies
- the 2007 legacy market is worth £1.6bn (Legacy Foresight)
Many high wealth individuals don't worry about legacy planning, as they know they are invincible! Working with legal experts (including the one who told us this 'fact') we will use theBigGive.org.uk to showcase what UK charities can do with those resources that can't be taken beyond the grave.
We will post our promotional successes in these four markets on this website, so keep checking to see how we are doing!
Tell a friend (or client)
theBigGive.org.uk promotion push began this month, and we have already had some great feedback from the donor side.
One dotcom millionaire (anonymity rules here, I'm afraid!) is a huge fan of the site, giving us a list of ideas for the future and letting us know that they will be telling their friends about theBigGive.org.uk.
I have also spoken to three wealth managers/advisors who told me that they would be talking to their high net worth clients about theBigGive.org.uk and how they can benefit.
We have been delighted by the charity response to theBigGive.org.uk, and these early 'Tell a friend/client' stories suggest that theBigGive.org.uk has a strong potential for word of mouth success.
Look our for more promotion news on the blog in the coming months...
One dotcom millionaire (anonymity rules here, I'm afraid!) is a huge fan of the site, giving us a list of ideas for the future and letting us know that they will be telling their friends about theBigGive.org.uk.
I have also spoken to three wealth managers/advisors who told me that they would be talking to their high net worth clients about theBigGive.org.uk and how they can benefit.
We have been delighted by the charity response to theBigGive.org.uk, and these early 'Tell a friend/client' stories suggest that theBigGive.org.uk has a strong potential for word of mouth success.
Look our for more promotion news on the blog in the coming months...
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Top 5 questions from charities
We've had lots of comments (mostly very kind!) and questions from charities signing up on theBigGive.org.uk. A number follow the same theme, so here are our top 5 questions - and answers - about theBigGive.org.uk.
1. Why can't I find my charity in the sector/location/beneficiary search?
theBigGive.org.uk helps donors to search for projects rather than charities. Many charities cover a range of sectors - by displaying individual projects, we let donors know exactly what is available to them in their area of interest.
2. Can I enter a Magic Wand proposal for my charity?
The Magic Wand area will allow you to present a core funding proposal on the site (because we know how important core funding is!). This is currently in development - the 3 projects on the site now help us to illustrate how the section will appear.
3. I uploaded a project but it seems to be lost
As with all web forms, we recommend copying or saving your projects in a Word document (or similar) before submitting. Unfortunately Internet connections can time out - especially if you have spent a long time on a single page - causing you to lose the project.
We appreciate your patience (we've lost things too) and hope that you will try again - after a few deep breaths...!
4. Do I need to be a registered charity to join theBigGive.org.uk?
Yes, in a word. In order to protect our donors from unregulated fundraising organisations, we can currently only accept UK-regulated charities on theBigGive.org.uk.
We are talking to a number of experts about ways to get social enterprises and CICs on the site. If you have any suggestions, why not leave a comment using the form below?
5. How much does it cost?
We are very pleased to say that theBigGive.org.uk is free to all users! As we don't take a cut, either from the charity or the donors, we believe that theBigGive.org.uk really is helping big donations go further.
This is possible thanks to generous funding from the Reed Foundation (who, incidentally, make all their grants through theBigGive.org.uk).
1. Why can't I find my charity in the sector/location/beneficiary search?
theBigGive.org.uk helps donors to search for projects rather than charities. Many charities cover a range of sectors - by displaying individual projects, we let donors know exactly what is available to them in their area of interest.
2. Can I enter a Magic Wand proposal for my charity?
The Magic Wand area will allow you to present a core funding proposal on the site (because we know how important core funding is!). This is currently in development - the 3 projects on the site now help us to illustrate how the section will appear.
3. I uploaded a project but it seems to be lost
As with all web forms, we recommend copying or saving your projects in a Word document (or similar) before submitting. Unfortunately Internet connections can time out - especially if you have spent a long time on a single page - causing you to lose the project.
We appreciate your patience (we've lost things too) and hope that you will try again - after a few deep breaths...!
4. Do I need to be a registered charity to join theBigGive.org.uk?
Yes, in a word. In order to protect our donors from unregulated fundraising organisations, we can currently only accept UK-regulated charities on theBigGive.org.uk.
We are talking to a number of experts about ways to get social enterprises and CICs on the site. If you have any suggestions, why not leave a comment using the form below?
5. How much does it cost?
We are very pleased to say that theBigGive.org.uk is free to all users! As we don't take a cut, either from the charity or the donors, we believe that theBigGive.org.uk really is helping big donations go further.
This is possible thanks to generous funding from the Reed Foundation (who, incidentally, make all their grants through theBigGive.org.uk).
Friday, November 23, 2007
Welcome to theBigGive blog!
theBigGive.org.uk helps high wealth individuals to quickly and discreetly find charitable projects - from £100k to £10m - in their field of interest. In the first two months, we have had 3,000 charities register on the site and post projects worth over £800,000,000.
This blog is our way of communicating with these charities and donors. We will keep you up-to-date with the latest news and developments at theBigGive.org.uk. In return, we hope that you will use the site to give us comments and feedback about the website, and share your ideas and thoughts about philanthropy and fundraising.
Let the conversation begin!
This blog is our way of communicating with these charities and donors. We will keep you up-to-date with the latest news and developments at theBigGive.org.uk. In return, we hope that you will use the site to give us comments and feedback about the website, and share your ideas and thoughts about philanthropy and fundraising.
Let the conversation begin!
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