A generous anonymous match-funder has agreed to donate £1 for every £1 raised for collective fundraising initiative Raise’25, up to £50k. The match creates a target of £100k to be distributed to 12 local charities that support people from cradle to grave.
OCF’s Deputy Chief Executive Kate Parrinder announced the match at the B4 Raise’25 Christmas showcase at The Randolph Hotel last week, which brought together charities and business that are members of the B4 networking group. The event included an endorsement of the Raise initiative by Peter Bennett-Jones DL, Patron of B4 Raise and founder of Comic Relief.
Raise exists to unite leading Oxfordshire businesses with leading Oxfordshire charities to achieve incredible social impact. Raise is annual event raising funds for 12 leading local charities that are building a fairer, safer and happier Oxfordshire for all.
In partnership with B4’s charity members, Raise started as a seed of an idea which has now grown to be one of Oxfordshire’s largest fundraising events of the year. In 2025, it will culminate with the Grand Finale at Rhodes House on 26th November, where we will hopefully announce funds raised in excess of 2024’s total of £36,100 to support 10 different beneficiary charities.
Raise’25 is raising funds for 12 hard-hitting local charities that support people in Oxfordshire at every stage of life, from cradle to grave. These charities support local people with issues as diverse as exploitation of young people, literacy, unemployment, mental health, homelessness, sexual violence, rural isolation, disability and palliative care. You can read more about them here.
Crucially, Raise will give unrestricted funding to these charities, which means they can use funds as they see fit, including on absolutely vital expenses such as staff for which they struggle to raise funds elsewhere.
All donations to Raise’25 are held in a ringfenced charitable fund by Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF), which offers a named fund service to over 30 different fundholders. This fund is called the B4 RAISE Fund, and OCF is responsible for the governance and financial management of the fund. This means that all donations will be made to OCF, who will hold the money safely, and pay each of the beneficiary charities a grant that they will use to fund their core services to improve lives in Oxfordshire and beyond.
Between May 2025 and 31st January 2026, fundraisers from B4’s networks will be completing sponsored challenges and performances, running ticketed events, and appealing to their networks for donations. On 5th and 6th November 2025 there will be a big fundraising push to raise £50k in 48 hours, book-ended by two events at Blenheim Palace. B4 will also be holding a series of events at which there will be the opportunity to donate or buy raffle tickets.
Match funding can encourage more and bigger donations to a charity appeal such as Raise’25. Research from The Big Give has found that 84% of donors were more likely to give to a charitable appeal when match funding was available. Donations attracting match funding were on average 2.5 times higher than unmatched donations. Our funder will also match any Gift Aid we bring in, so in many cases donors will be contributing 2.5 times their original donation in terms of the impact they will make on the beneficiary charities. With this year’s £50k match fund, we just need to raise £50k from our networks to achieve a grand total of £100k.
You can donate to or fundraise for Raise’25 from the dedicated Enthuse page.