by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Generous folk who give to good causes this week can double their money.

The Reed Foundation - part of recruitment business Reed Global - aims to raise £6 million with its pledge to match donations via a website to 175 charities between now and Friday. (11)

The Big Give has created a matched fund – generated from trustees, major donors and the Reed Foundation – to attract £3 million of donations via its website, www.thebiggive.org.uk.

Last year, The Big Give’s first matched funding challenge saw £2 million raised in just 45 minutes, with an average donation of £1,400 - some £44,000 every minute.

Charities taking part in this year’s challenge, the world’s largest online matched charity fund, include The Prince’s Trust, the National Trust, WWF, the Royal Opera House and Best Beginnings.

Theo Walcott, Arsenal and England footballer and supporter of Best Beginnings, a charity that helps tackle child health inequalities in the UK, said: “The Big Give’s £6m Matching Challenge is a fantastic initiative, which is why my whole family, girlfriend and I have used www.thebiggive.org.uk to donate to Best Beginnings. Your donation will be matched by The Big Give so that charities, like Best Beginnings, can reach their fundraising goal twice as fast.”

With the help of a £1.5 million core donation from The Reed Foundation, the fund will be used to match pound for pound every donation up to £5,000 to charities registered for the £6m Matching Challenge.

The Big Give founder Alec Reed - chairman of The Reed Foundation - said: “I believe The Big Give’s £6m Matching Challenge presents a fantastic opportunity for anyone giving to charities this Christmas to make their donation go even further.

“I set up The Big Give so that I could give my money away intelligently and I hope, in this traditional season of goodwill, that people will use our website to support the valuable work charities do and make a real difference to the lives of others.”

Once people have clicked on the “Double Your Donation” button and entered their details, they will receive a confirmation email from The Big Give to say that their donation has been successful.

The Big Give is backed by big names like businessman Sir Adrian Cadbury, broadcaster Jon Snow and Martha Lane Fox, entrepreneur and founder of holiday website lastminute.com.