Press release: Fresh Aid Match round opens – giving charities the chance to double donations

UK Aid Match brings charities, the public and UK government together to collectively change the lives of some of the world’s poorest people. It also gives the British public an opportunity to engage with international development issues and have a say in how UK aid is spent.

The Department for International Development welcomes proposals for the latest £20 million round of UK Aid Match from charities working on the following issues: disability, health, women’s empowerment, youth employment, prosperity, modern slavery, girls’ education, plus oceans and plastics.

This will be the first time the public will be able to double their donations to charities tackling the scourge of plastics waste in the world’s oceans.

Penny Mordaunt, International Development Secretary, said:

This is a very exciting step for UK Aid Match as, for the first time, we are asking for proposals to tackle the huge problem of ocean plastics. This is a clear sign of the British public’s passion and energy to fight against global plastic waste.

I’m looking forward to seeing the innovative solutions, which charities will bring to this global issue. I am sure the UK public will continue to show their incredibly generous support for the UK Aid Match scheme.

In the last five years, UK Aid Match has supported 42 charities and run projects in 22 countries, which have benefitted more than 19million of the world’s poorest people. The government has matched every public donation made to these charities pound for, helping them go further in changing and saving lives.

One of the many charities which have had their donations matched by the UK government funding is Action Against Hunger. Through UK Aid Match funding, they were able to raise £2million for their most recent appeal #HealthyMumsHealthyKids.

Action Against Hunger will use this money to support mums-to-be and children in Senegal where one in five children are stunted and 30% of all child deaths are due to malnutrition. This programme will ensure young people, pregnant women and children get the right food they need to avoid a lifetime of damaging effects from poor nutrition.

Executive Director of Action Against Hunger, Jean-Michel Grand, said in support of Aid Match:

We were thrilled public donations to our #HealthyMumsHealthyKids appeal were matched by the UK Government last year. Our generous donors were encouraged by the government’s pledge to double every pound they gave to improve the health of mothers and children in Senegal. The Aid Match scheme is a fantastic way for people who believe in a world free from hunger to double the impact they make on the lives of malnourished children around the world.

To find out more and enter UK Aid Match please visit: www.ukaidmatch.org Each charity appeal must run for up to three months and raise up to a maximum of £2million, subject to a due diligence assessment.

Notes to editors

UK Aid Match brings charities, the British public and the UK government together to collectively change the lives of some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.

It is designed to provide opportunities for the UK public to engage with international development issues and have a say in how UK aid is spent, whilst boosting the impact of the very best civil society projects to reach the poorest people in developing countries.

For every £1 donated to a UK Aid Match charity appeal, the government will also contribute £1 of UK aid, to help these projects go further in changing and saving lives. UK Aid Match is funded from the international development budget, for donations made by individuals living in the UK.

The first phase of UK Aid Match, launched between 2013 and 2016, funded 59 appeals. An estimated 3.6 million people in the UK donated to match-funded appeals. A total of £120m went to 42 charities, operating in 22 countries and running projects including health, education and water, sanitation and hygiene which are expected to benefit 19 million people.

Round 1 of the second phase of UK Aid Match will match 25 appeals running between September 2017 and June 2018. An estimated £30 million will be matched.

The latest UK Aid Match funding round (Phase 2 Round 2) will be launched on 17 April 2018. It will open for applications on 30 April 2018 with a deadline for concept notes by 25 May 2018.

From 12 February 2018 the Fund Manager for UK Aid Match has been MannionDaniels, working in consortium with Oxford Policy Management (OPM), Education Development Trust (EDT), Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), and the Social Change Agency (SCA).

For more information on the fund, or to make an application, please visit the UK Aid Match website