The Octagon were one of 238 arts charities across the country selected to take part in The Big Give, Arts for Impact campaign in partnership with New Philanthropy for Arts & Culture (NPAC) last month – which saw us raise £6,874 in just seven days, which includes public donations, match funding from The Big Give and Gift Aid.

Arts for Impact is a new campaign from The Big Give and specific for the arts sector, which supports arts charities to fundraise for projects that work with communities to help with mental health and improve social skills through arts and culture that have a meaningful impact on lives.

In its inaugural year, Arts for Impact raised a life-changing £2.8million for the 238 charities across the country from over 12,000 donations.

The £6,874 raised for the Octagon will go towards sustaining our Bridges groups.

Our award-winning Bridges Company provides a safe, inclusive space for people with additional needs to use creativity and theatre to build confidence and social skills. This includes opportunities for participants to celebrate their shining talents and create magical memories in performance opportunities, whilst developing life changing connections with other families and participants.

Head of Development at the Octagon, Danielle Fearnley said:“We were overwhelmed by the momentum this campaign reached and the generosity and support we received. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to donate or share the details of our campaign, every penny raised will go a really long way to supporting the participants of our Bridges Company and provide them with even more opportunities.

“Finally, a big thank you also to The Big Give and NPAC for selecting the Octagon as one of the charities to support for their very first Arts for Impact campaign – as well as raising vital funds, it gave us the opportunity to celebrate and shine a spotlight on this brilliant work that is taking place at the Octagon on a weekly basis. The arts really do have the power to change lives and we are extremely grateful for Big Give’s support and for recognising the important work we do with communities here in Bolton.”

Founded in 2007, The Big Give bring together large donors, like philanthropists, foundations and businesses, with the giving public and charities who need them. They match public funding, meaning every donation gets doubled and has double the difference and double the impact. Through all its projects and fundraising campaigns, The Big Give has helped to support over 16,000 charity projects and raised over £280million since 2007.

As a registered charity we could not deliver our vital creative engagement and community projects without the continued support of our funders and donors.