Where Reading Begins

Campaign Update – this campaign has now closed and we are delighted to have met our target. Thank you to all our generous donors!

Our match funding campaign ran throughout March, and for every pound that was donated the donation was matched, doubling its impact and helping even more children develop the literacy skills they need to succeed.

To support our work in this special National Year of Reading, in March we ran our Where Reading Begins match funding campaign, which saw every pound donated matched, doubling its impact, until the match funding pot of £25,000 was used up and the campaign target of £50,000 was reached. This was possible thanks to a pledge of £25,000 from our generous donors HandSpark, who pledged £20,000 and Campbell Lutyens, who pledged £5,000.

We are delighted to say that we exceeded our target, raising a grand total of £61,947!

By taking part in this campaign, supporters created twice the opportunity for children to unlock a love of reading and a lifetime of learning through literacy.

Reading for pleasure is a key message of the National Year of Reading but this is unattainable if a child lacks the essential literacy skills. Our specialist literacy interventions can make all the difference: the charity’s holistic approach goes beyond the mechanics of reading: our expert programmes focus on key communications skills such as writing, comprehension, listening and speaking, essential for improving fluency, enhancing vocabulary and boosting reading engagement and  confidence.

With the attainment gap the widest it has been for a decade, early intervention is a powerful means of giving children a fair start to their education.  Our work is needed now more than ever and every donation helps to fund our specialist tutors, tailored resources and expert programmes that build vital literacy skills and open doors to learning.

Thank you!

For more information, including if you wish to pay via BACS, email fundraising@theclc.org.uk.

The campaign has now closed, but if you would still like to donate to our work please do so by clicking here.

With thanks to:

Match Funding Campaign Terms and Conditions

• This match‑funding campaign runs from 1 March to 31 March 2026.
• All donations to this campaign will be matched pound‑for‑pound from our £25,000 pledge pot until the pot is fully allocated. For example, a £100 donation will be doubled to £200, and the pledge pot will reduce by £100.
• The campaign total and remaining pledge pot are updated regularly every working day until 5pm.
• Donations made after 5pm will appear on the campaign page by the end of the following working day.
• Match funding is applied in the order donations are received.
• For monthly donations set up during the campaign only the payment made in March will be matched. Subsequent monthly payments will not be eligible for match funding.
• Once the £25,000 pledge pot has been fully used, and our campaign target of £50,000 is reached, further donations will no longer be matched, but are still welcomed.
• If the pledge pot is exhausted between updates, any unmatched donations received after that point will be recorded as standard (unmatched) donations.