Make a pledge this month and double the impact
The Big Give
Christmas Challenge logo
THIS YEAR the Open Table Network [OTN] is taking part in The Big Give Christmas Challenge, the UK’s biggest match-funding campaign.
The first step is to ask our supporters to become Pledgers, whose promise to give after the campaign ends in December will help OTN to attract match-funding and double the impact of donations made during the campaign.
Our goal is to secure £2,500 in Pledges by 5pm on Friday 29th August 2025.
Achieving this goal will give us a good chance of attracting the support of a Charity Champion - a funder who will match up to the same amount we raise in Pledges. Pledges are promises of funding to double donations made to OTN during the Christmas Challenge campaign in December.
WATCH this short video [2.5mins] which explains how the Big Give Christmas Challenge works.
The minimum amount you can pledge is £100 - if you’d like to contribute a smaller amount, we'd love you to make a donation during the campaign week in December instead. Click here to donate instead (we’ll send you a link when the donation window opens).
This year’s Big Give Christmas Challenge will be from midday on Tuesday 2nd December to midday Tuesday 9th December 2025.
For those seven days, the general public and our wider network will have the chance to get involved by donating to the campaign. The fact that their donation will be doubled encourages more people to give, (and people often donate a larger amount too)!
Organisations can make pledges but they cannot donate during the campaign week, so, if you’re part of a church or charity who might like to support our campaign, please consider making a Pledge this month.
Why is this important for Open Table?
Just like the people we support are often rejected due to their faith or LGBTQIA+ identity, as a Christian LGBTQIA+ charity we are often excluded when applying for funding from trusts and foundations. This means that we’re more reliant on fundraising from our supporters.
Moreover, when we find sympathetic funders, they’re encouraged to see that our work is valued by our supporters (as evidenced by successful fundraising) and this helps us to raise more in grants. So making a Pledge to this campaign would in effect, more than double our ability as a network to ensure that all are more than welcome.
A Pledge is a promise of funding:
Pledges are key to OTN’s success in the Christmas Challenge - if you can make a Pledge, please complete this form by 5pm on Friday 29th August 2025.
Payment of Pledges depends on OTN receiving donations during The Big Give campaign. Therefore, Pledges will be payable after the campaign is completed, on 9th December 2025 at 12 noon, and before 6th January 2026 at 5pm.
