Government contributes £245,000 to Localgiving’s Grow Your Tenner match fund campaign

• The Office for Civil Society has injected £245,000 into Localgiving’s ‘Grow Your Tenner’ match fund to help local charities and community groups become more sustainable.
• Localgiving is seeking more match funding ahead of the campaign’s launch on 18 October.
• Local charities and community groups are encouraged to join the campaign with free memberships available for all those attending Localgiving’s training webinars.
• Up to £2,500 of match funding will be available for each participating local charity or community group, matching public donations.

The Office for Civil Society has announced its support for Grow Your Tenner, an online match fund campaign run by Localgiving that supports local charities and community groups in the UK. OCS is contributing £245,000 to the pot, bringing the current total amount of match funding available to £345,000.

Grow Your Tenner 2016 will run from 10am on Tuesday the 18th October until the match fund runs out, or 5pm on Thursday the 17th November - whichever comes first. During the campaign one time donations made to local charities via Localgiving will be matched by up to £10; as will Direct Debits by up to £10 a month for the first 3 months.

This is why Localgiving is calling on donors to get involved and help increase the size of the match fund pot even further before the campaign launches on 18th October, so that as many local charities and community groups can benefit as possible. You can contribute to the appeal here.

Charities and community groups operating locally within the UK are eligible to benefit from the scheme. Each group will have the chance to secure up to £2,500 of match funding: £1,000 from one time donations and £1,500 from Direct Debits. To take part, groups must have an active Localgiving membership. Any organisations wishing to join Localgiving can do so here.

The additional funding forms part of government’s commitment to help local charities and community groups to become more resilient and sustainable. As part of those plans, government will hold a Local Charities Day later this year to celebrate the contributions of these groups to communities across the country. OCS will back a smaller match funding campaign delivered by Localgiving as part of those celebrations.

In the lead up to the campaign launch, Localgiving is running a series of free webinars to deliver skills training and build fundraising capacity amongst local charities. All webinar attendees will also have the opportunity to claim a free first year Localgiving membership, worth £72. The next webinar will run on Tuesday the 4th of October at 1pm.

Minister for Civil Society, Rob Wilson, said:

“The energy, commitment and expertise of local charities and community groups make a huge difference to the lives of countless people around the country.

This is why we have added funds to this excellent campaign and will host a ‘Local Charities Day’ later in the year to celebrate and strengthen the invaluable work they do.

I encourage other donors to follow government’s lead, add to this fund and help local charities get the support they need now and in the long term, helping us build a compassionate Britain that works for everyone.”

Stephen Mallinson, Chief Executive of Localgiving said:

“Match funds have proved time and again to be highly effective at helping grassroots organisations to fundraise, so we are thrilled that OCS is backing this year’s Grow Your Tenner campaign to increase the amount of match funding available.

We are also excited to be offering free Localgiving memberships to local charities that attend our free training webinars. We’re hoping this will enable more groups than ever before to benefit from the campaign - injecting much-needed funding into local communities across the country.”

For more information about Grow Your Tenner, please visit Localgiving.org, email help@localgiving.org or call 0300 111 2340.

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For more information please contact:

Lou Coady, Head of Marketing - lou.coady@localgiving.org / 0300 111 2340 or

Lewis Garland, Communications Manager - lewis.garland@localgiving.org

About Localgiving

Localgiving is the UK’s leading membership and support network for local charities and community groups. It aims to empower grassroots organisations to fundraise online, connect with supporters and take control of their financial future. In addition, it provides advocacy for the local voluntary sector and works to secure third party funding for its members. It provides free training opportunities, fundraising resources and regular incentivised giving campaigns to help groups raise funds online.

About the Office for Civil Society

The Office for Civil Society funds activities which benefit the whole or part of England. All match funding from OCS will therefore match donations to participating local charities and community groups in England only.