Every year, the Big Give Christmas Challenge helps fund our Bursary Scheme — here's how the matched-funding scheme works, what the YMM community achieved last year, and how to get ready to pledge. This year's dates and pledge link are coming soon.
Every year, YMM takes part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge to raise money for our Bursary Scheme, which helps children from disadvantaged families benefit from everything YMM has to offer.
Over the last year, the YMM community supported eighteen young people to access a full year of music lessons and groups, helped by £5951 we raised through the Big Give.
🤝 How the Big Give Works
The Big Give is a matched funding scheme. Core supporters who are able to promise ("pledge") £100 or more see that pledge matched by an equivalent pledge from the Big Give charity — and then doubled again through donations from the broader YMM community during our Christmas "Challenge Week", held around the time of our Christmas concert. It's a way to make your charitable giving work harder!
As in previous years, we'll be aiming to raise £2,500 in £100+ pledges from YMM supporters, philanthropists and businesses over the summer. With the Big Give's matching, that becomes £5,000 of matched funds — which we'll then seek to double during Challenge Week in December, as we have successfully done for several years. That would provide £10,000 for the bursary scheme: equivalent to a full year's cost of supporting the current bursary students.
💛 No Payment Up Front
Pledging doesn't cost anything today. Pledgers are only asked to pay if we are successful in raising matched funds in December.
📅 What Happens Next
We're currently finalising the details of this year's campaign. Dates and the pledge link will be announced soon — so if you think you might be able to join our core supporters with a pledge of £100 or more, now is the perfect time to start thinking about it. Keep an eye on the weekly newsletter and this news page for the announcement.
Many thanks, and wishing you all a great summer ahead!