Press Releases

5th October 2007

High-wealth philanthropy made easier by The Big Give

This week, Alec Reed CBE launched The Big Give philanthropy website to encourage high-wealth philanthropy and give charities the chance to attract project funding of up to £10 million.

The Big Give allows major donors to search quickly and anonymously for charitable projects in their field of interest with the aim that donors will initiate conversations with charities whose project they may wish to fund.

This is an opportunity proving popular with charities, over £100 million of charitable projects were uploaded onto the site in the first 24 hours.

Currently, the process of initiating large individual donations is complex and time consuming for both donors and charities. Donors are approached by a range of charities who use valuable resources trying to attract new funding. Using The Big Give, charities can quickly and easily input the details of their projects and donors can proactively approach the charities that match their interests.

All UK registered charities are eligible to register and the website (www.theBigGive.org.uk) is free to all users thanks to a donation from the Reed Foundation.

20th June 2008

High-profile philanthropists flock to endorse The Big Give

Lord Bell , Jon Snow and Martha Lane Fox join twenty-seven other well-respected individuals to pledge their support for new philanthropy website, theBigGive.org.uk.

The thirty big names will form The Big Give's Board of Philanthropists, further strengthening the site's growing popularity with high-wealth donors.

The Big Give website allows donors to search over 4000 charities and 3500 projects by geographical location, donation amount, sector and potential beneficiaries, building a short list that matches the donor's interests.

Alec Reed CBE, active philanthropist and founder of The Big Give, commented, "We want to make The Big Give the first step for any donor looking to give intelligently. Our thirty-strong Board of Philanthropists helps us to tailor the site to let donors find new charities and projects more effectively."

Having proved popular with high-wealth donors looking to give discreetly, The Big Give is now in discussion with corporate foundations, legacy advisors and charitable trusts interested in a more efficient way of finding new charities.

The full Board of Philanthropists can be seen at www.theBigGive.org.uk.

20th July 2008

Philanthropy website tops £1.5 billion

theBigGive.org.uk now boasts more than £1.5 billion in funding requests from over 4,000 charities, making it the first stop for proactive philanthropists.

The ground-breaking site allows engaged donors to search quickly and anonymously for charities and projects in their field of interest.

The website is the latest enterprise of Alec Reed CBE, founder of Reed Specialist Recruitment, and follows his frustration with the current giving process.

Alec Reed explained, "I was astonished at how difficult it was to find information on worthy charities to invest in. I aim to give £1million a year and The Big Give is making that a lot easier."

In addition to the 4000+ charities, The Big Give features over 3,800 projects hoping to attract between £5,000 and £10 million.

The site is completely free to all users, including charities, thanks to funding from the Reed Foundation.

26th August 2008

The Big Give-away

A quarter of a million pounds is up for grabs on philanthropy website theBigGive.org.uk.

Charities registered on The Big Give will be given the opportunity to attract their share of the £250,000 in September.

Alec Reed CBE, millionaire and chairman of The Big Give, is giving £25 vouchers to 10,000 top UK businesses to promote the launch of Big Give Charity Vouchers.

Reed commented, "I hope my initial give-away will lead to millions of pounds reaching charities through corporate donations on The Big Give."

Each voucher can be donated to one of the 4,500 charities registered on the website.

Charities already registered on the site will be able to receive donations automatically on their pages, and other charities can still register (for free) on the website in time for the Big Give-away, which starts on 1st September.

All charities are being encouraged to ensure their details are up-to-date to maximise their chance of attracting the attention, and money, of key figures in some of the UK's top companies.

The voucher scheme will be available for all companies to use after 1st September. It is hoped that businesses will use the Big Give Vouchers as an ethical alternative to client gifts.

1st September 2008

Ethical business during the credit crunch

In a bid to drastically improve corporate giving, both for businesses and charities, Alec Reed CBE has launched Big Give charity vouchers.

The scheme enables companies to buy charity vouchers that can be redeemed against any of the 4,600+ charities on the philanthropy website, theBigGive.org.uk.

Reed hopes the vouchers, already described as "a phenomenally good idea" by IntelligentGiving.com, will be used as an alternative to old-fashioned client gifts which are often a waste of money.

Reed commented, "Big Give Vouchers create a platform for businesses to increase and democratise corporate giving, give intelligently, strengthen client relations and obtain a positive, ethical image. I look forward to welcoming other intelligent companies wishing to take advantage of our new initiative."

The Big Give website allows donors to search for charities of interest, producing a tailored list of charities that they may like to give to. Recipients of the vouchers will be able to take their voucher to the site, and use a unique ID number to support their favourite charities.