To support those in need this Christmas we’re launching our Christmas charity campaign, 12 Days of Giving. As the name suggests, donations are made to a different charity for a total of 12 working days in December.
We’ve known for a long time the Covid-19 pandemic is having a significant impact on many charities. As government and local authority budgets and services become increasingly strained, charities are left to plug the gaps and pick up the pieces. Over the last 18 months, the media has been flooded with news of charities being hit by this increased demand. Polling 1,966 charities in July and August this year, The Charities Commission reported 91% of charities have experienced “negative impact” from the pandemic. This included having to cancel events or other work (57%), losing fundraising income (49%) or having less access to volunteers (32%). Some 60% lost income from their charitable activities.
In addition, one in a hundred charities reported that they had folded as a result of Covid-19, with another 1% saying they had merged with another organisation or were in the process of doing so. These facts and accounts help us understand what the pandemic “felt like” from the perspective of people involved in, and dependent on, individual charities.
The campaign
Given these ongoing negative figures, we decided to re-launch last year’s Christmas campaign, ‘12 Days of Giving’. In case you missed it, here’s what we do.
Instead of spending our Christmas budget on printed mailers or presents to clients and internal teams, we decided to donate this money to charity and people in need. For a total of 12 working days in December, donations are made to a different charity. Each donation is hidden inside animated boxes of our digital advent calendar each day. The charities selected are mostly smaller causes that are dear to our hearts, chosen by members of the internal team.
Head to our LinkedIn and Instagram pages as we reveal a new charity every working day from today until the 23rd.
From the Make it Clear team, we wish you a wonderful Christmas and New Year and we look forward to working with you in 2022.