A bauble with a Christmas tree in the background.

Big Give Christmas Challenge 2024

The Big Give Christmas Challenge is back and we’re aiming to raise more than ever before, with our staggering £60,000 target!

This December, we're pleased to be taking part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge - where for one week only, your donations to Retina UK can be doubled at no extra cost to you. By supporting us this winter, your donations will go towards funding our upcoming medical research projects in 2025 and beyond. Thank you for your fantastic support.

Are you ready to double your donation?

Make a donation via The Big Give website between midday on 3 December and midday on 10 December and it will be doubled! Save the date and support our vital work.

Double your donation!

Your support means we can fund even more scientists, even more research and help even more people. We know that times are tough for everyone at the moment, but your donation ensures that research continues, and treatments are found faster. Thank you for helping to change someone’s life.

Since 2017, through The Big Give, you have helped us raise more than £250,000 to invest in research into inherited sight loss. What an amazing achievement – thank you so much for each and every donation!

  • Make a donation via the Big Give Christmas Challenge website between midday on 3 December and midday on 10 December
  • Your donation will be doubled thanks to match funding provided by generous funders
  • Your contribution to ground-breaking inherited sight loss research will go twice as far whilst the match funding pot lasts:
    • A donation of £7.50 will be doubled to £15, which would buy sterile pipettes that researchers need to feed and maintain cell cultures.
    • A donation of £50 will be doubled to £100, which could pay for four hours of medical research into potential treatments for people with inherited sight loss.
    • A donation of £100 will be doubled to £200, which could buy an antibody needed for crucial experiments to see how RP mutations affect protein levels within light sensing photoreceptors.
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Save the dates!

It's simple: Make a donation between midday on 3 December and midday on 10 December and it will be doubled!

Donate between 3 December and 10 December!

How does it work?

  • A group of major donors and charitable foundations have come together to provide a match funding pot.
  • To have your donation doubled from this pot, you must make your donation online using a debit or credit card via the Big Give Christmas Challenge website between midday on 3 December and midday on 10 December.
  • Donations will only be doubled during this time-frame, and whilst the match funding pot lasts.
  • Contributions will be invested in ground-breaking research, helping to kick start progress following a challenging time for the scientific community.

You can find answers to some frequently asked questions below. If you have any questions, or have trouble using the Big Give Christmas Challenge platform during the campaign, call any member of the Fundraising team, between 9.00am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday, or email Fundraising@RetinaUK.org.uk

Frequently asked questions

This year’s Big Give Christmas Challenge takes place from midday on 3 December to midday on 10 December. Only donations made during this timeframe are eligible to be doubled from the match funding pot.

To be matched, donations must be made via the Big Give Christmas Challenge website.

The Big Give Christmas Challenge website accepts the following card types: Mastercard/Visa/Maestro/Switch/Solo/Delta/American Express and CAF Bank Business cards displaying the Mastercard logo.

Yes, if you are a UK taxpayer and your donation qualifies for Gift Aid you will be able to select this during the donation process.

Yes, the website charges:

  • EU Visa and MasterCard donations = 1.5% of donation amount (without Gift Aid) + 20p + VAT
  • Non EU and American Express donations = 3.2% of donation amount (without Gift Aid) + 20p +3% of Gift Aid + VAT

You can find out more about this here: https://www.thebiggive.org.uk/s/our-fees. When making your donation, you will also be asked if you would like to make a voluntary contribution to support the running of the platform. If you would prefer not to, make sure to select ‘other’ from the drop down menu and type ‘0’.

You will see “The Big Give RETINA UK” on your bank statement.

We have lined up a match funding pot, provided by some of our major donors and charitable trust supporters. Every donation made will be doubled from this pot until it runs out, helping us to achieve our target of £60,000!

You can still make a donation, even if the match funding pot has run out. In fact, we would encourage you to do so – even though your donation won’t be doubled, it will still add to the total raised and invested in research, and if we exceed our target we become eligible for an additional cash award from the Big Give Christmas Challenge.

We will invest the amount raised into medical research investigating inherited sight loss and potential treatments.

If you have any difficulties using the platform, the Retina UK Fundraising team are here to help. Call the team on 01280 815900.