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Big Give Christmas Challenge 2023

The Big Give Christmas Challenge is back! And we’re aiming to raise more than ever before. Our target this year is a staggering £56,000!

Thank you to everyone who donated to The Big Give. We are still happy to accept donations (until midday on Tuesday 5 December) but because our target has been reached, they will no longer be doubled.

Double your donation

Make a donation via The Big Give website between midday on 28 November and midday on 5 December and it will be doubled!

Double your donation

A gift tag in green with a square gift image in red and gold with the words 'double your donation'. Underneath is a pink tag with The Big Give logo in red and black

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 £200,000 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 28 November and midday on 5 December
  • Your donation will be doubled thanks to match funding of £28,000 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 £12.50 will be doubled to £25, which could pay for two calls to our Helpline, supporting callers who feel isolated and alone.
    • 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.
A red sparkly background with a green gift tag with the words 'Double your donation'

Double your donation with The Big Give

Make a donation between midday on 28 November and midday on 5 December and it will be doubled!

Donate between 28 November and 5 December

How does it work?

  • A group of major donors and charitable foundations have come together to provide a match funding pot of £28,000.
  • 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 28 November and midday on 5 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 28 November to midday on 5 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 link will be made available nearer the time.

The Big Give Christmas Challenge website accepts the following card types: Mastercard/Visa/Maestro/Switch/Solo/Delta/American Express/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 of £28,000, provided by some of our major donors and charitable trust supporters. Every donation made will be doubled from this pot until it runs out – achieving our target of £56,000!

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 Jo, James or Clare during working hours: