1. Key Information

  1. A Pledge is a promise of match funding made to a Charity. The Pledge is conditional on the Charity receiving the equivalent amount in online donations on The Big Give Platform e.g. if you Pledge £1,000, you are offering to pay up to that amount to a Charity, dependent on them receiving the equivalent amount in Online Donations.
  2. A Pledge must not be fulfilled (i.e. paid to the Charity) until after the Match Funding Campaign has finished and before the Pledge deadline.
  3. Pledgers must not make an online donation to the Charity to which they have provided the Pledge to during the Match Funding Campaign.

2. Definitions

  1. “Charity”: Any charitable organisation that is proposing a Match Funding Campaign on The Big Give Platform.
  2. “Match Funding Campaign”: Any fundraising campaign on The Big Give Platform which involves match funding. This includes a campaign which the Charity is organising themselves or a campaign which the Big Give is organising e.g. The Christmas Challenge.
  3. “Online Donations”: Donations made to the Charity on The Big Give Platform during the Match Funding Campaign.
  4. “Pledge”: A promise of match funding to a Charity. The Pledge is conditional on the Charity receiving the equivalent amount in online donations on The Big Give Platform. A “Pledger” is any individual or organisation who makes a Pledge to a Charity.
  5. “The Big Give Platform”: A fundraising platform (theBigGive.org.uk) run by The Big Give Trust (Charity no: 1136547)

3. What is a Pledge?

  1. Charities which are running a Match Funding Campaign on The Big Give Platform are required to secure Pledges.
  2. A Pledge is a promise of match funding made to a Charity. The Pledge funds are used to match online donations made to the Charity during the Match Funding Campaign on The Big Give Platform.
  3. The Pledge is conditional on the Charity receiving the equivalent amount in online donations on The Big Give Platform e.g. if you Pledge £1,000, you are offering to pay up to that amount to a Charity, dependent on them receiving the equivalent amount in Online Donations.
  4. Pledgers must not make an online donation to the Charity to which they have provided the Pledge to during the Match Funding Campaign (as they are effectively matching their own donation). Any donation made by a Pledger to the Charity during the Match Funding Campaign will not be matched.
  5. Pledge funding is restricted to the activities set out by the Charity on The Big Give Platform as part of their Match Funding Campaign.

4. Making a Pledge

  1. Pledges must be completed via the online Pledge form on The Big Give Platform. The Charity will be provided with a link to the Pledge form in their Charity account to share with Pledgers.
  2. It is extremely important that the Pledge is not fulfilled (i.e. paid to the Charity) until after the campaign has finished (as the Pledge is a promise of funding dependent on whether the Charity raises a sufficient amount in online donations).
  3. Pledges must be a minimum of £100. The maximum Pledges a Charity can receive is the Pledge target set by the Charity.
  4. The deadline for making the Pledge will be displayed on the Pledge form.
  5. A Charity must receive in excess of £1,000 in Pledges to be able to participate in the Match Funding Campaign. A Charity receiving in excess of £1,000 of Pledges is not a guarantee that they will be able to participate in the Match Funding Campaign.
  6. If a Charity does not end up participating in the Match Funding Campaign, it is the Charity’s responsibility to inform the Pledger.
  7. The Pledger’s name and email address will be shared with the Charity to which they Pledge. The Pledger has the option to opt in to further communications from the Charity. The Big Give will not pass on any of the Pledger’s details to any third parties other than the Charity. For more details, see the Big Give’s Privacy Policy.

5. Who can make a Pledge?

  1. Pledges can be made by any individual or organisation who wishes to support the Charity with match funding.
  2. The Pledge form must be completed by the individual (or, if being made by an organisation, an authorized representative of said organisation) making the Pledge. Charities should not complete the Pledge form on behalf of their Pledger.
  3. Pledgers may not Pledge funds from a Charity’s own accounts; funds from an individual or organisation where the Charity has transferred (or intends to transfer) funds to reimburse said individual or organisation; Funding which has already been received into the Charity’s bank account

6. How Pledges are used to match donations

  1. It is only during the duration of the Match Funding Campaign that Pledge funds will be used to match online donations.
  2. If there are multiple Pledges to a Charity, Pledges will be allocated on a pro rata basis.
  3. All of the match funding is facilitated by The Big Give Platform in real-time.
  4. It is the Charity’s responsibility to communicate to the Pledger the result of the Match Funding Campaign.

7. Fulfilling the Pledge

  1. Pledges must not be fulfilled (i.e. paid to the Charity) until after the campaign has finished and before the Pledge deadline.
  2. Pledges must be paid directly to the Charity.
  3. Charities will be asked to provide proof that the Pledge has been fulfilled e.g. scan of a cheque/ bank statement.
  4. If a Charity has not used all of its Pledges by the end of the campaign, Pledgers will only be required to pay a pro rata amount of their Pledge.  E.g. if a Charity matches 50% of its Pledges  with online donations, each Pledger will only be required to pay 50% of the Pledged amount. The Pledger may choose to pay the full amount, but this is not compulsory.
  5. It is the Charity’s responsibility to ask Pledgers to pay their Pledge. The Big Give reserves the right to contact Pledgers following the conclusion of the Match Funding Campaign (regardless of whether they have opted in to receiving information from the Big Give) informing them of the amount they owe their Charity.

8. Making a Pledge to a Charity which is applying to participate in a Big Give campaign

(e.g. The Christmas Challenge, Champion for Children)

  1. A Charity which is applying to participate in a Big Give campaign, may access additional match funding from a Big Give “Champion”. The maximum amount of Champion match funding a Charity may receive is equivalent to whatever they have raised in Pledges.
  2. If a Charity has accepted Champion funds, Champion funds and Pledges will be combined to form a ring-fenced matching pot (“matching pot”) for the Charity. Online donations to participating Charities received during Big Give campaigns will be matched initially by Pledge funds. Once a Charity has used all of its Pledges, donations will be matched by Champion funds until Champion funds are exhausted or campaign has ended, whichever is sooner.

9. The Big Give’s responsibilities

  1. The Big Give shall take all reasonable steps to ensure the maintenance of The Big Give Platform and the associated payment systems for the duration of the campaign.
  2. The Big Give shall not be liable for faults that arise out of their control related to the online giving platform and associated payment systems, nor be responsible for any applications that are lost or mislaid as a result of any equipment or software failure or other technical malfunction.
  3. The Big Give shall manage the matching for Big Give campaigns and payment process for all donations made during the Match Funding Campaign.
  4. The Big Give reserves the right to change any aspect of the service and/or these Terms & Conditions at any time without notice.
  5. The Big Give reserves the right to cease or limit funding offered to any Charity taking part in Match Funding Campaign at any time.

10. Pledger responsibilities

  1. Each Pledger must complete the Pledge form with accurate information and if their contact details change they should notify the Charity to which they Pledged and Contact Us as soon as possible.
  2. A Pledger may not withdraw their Pledge after it has been submitted via the Pledge form. If a Pledger suspects they will no longer be able to fulfill their Pledge they should notify the Charity to which they Pledged and Contact Us as soon as possible.

11. General

  1. In the event that a Pledger breaches or is suspected to have breached the Terms & Conditions, the Big Give reserves the right to exclude the Pledger from participating in the Match Funding Campaign or any future Match Funding Campaigns on The Big Give Platform, and to seek legal redress or take such other further steps as may be necessary in the circumstances (including where relevant notifying relevant regulatory authorities of any concerns).
  2. The Big Give reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel, or amend Big Give campaigns where it becomes necessary to do so.
  3. These Terms & Conditions shall be governed by English law, and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.