Learn
Students learn about social issues in their communities and choose which are important to them.
Close
Reach out to a new generation of supporters
First Give supports students to learn about social issues in their community. Through the programme students will choose charities that they want to support through social action.
If your charity is chosen, then the school will invite you to participate and engage with their students.
£814,500
Total funds granted to charities (2014-2020)
£175,210
Total funds raised by students (2014-2020)
909
Total number of winning charities (2014-2020)
- Health
- Mental Health
- Community cohesion
Top three issues chosen by students since 2018
199
Number of schools (2021/22)
36,207
Number of students (2021/22)
How the programme works
Research
Students research charities working in their communities and as a class, choose one to represent.
Students get the opportunity to meet you
You’ve been chosen by a class of students! You should be invited to meet the class so you can talk to them about how they can plan social action projects to help you.
Download our FAQ PDF, for the most common questions asked by students during your First Give charity meeting.
Plan & Deliver
Students plan and deliver social action activities (fundraising, awareness raising, volunteering) in support of their charities.
Present
Students learn public speaking skills and put together creative presentations about the work of their charity and what their class has done to support it.
School Final
One group is chosen to represent each class at your school’s First Give Final. A panel of judges rate each class based on their social action and presentations. The winning class wins a First Give grant of £1,000 for their charity.
The School Final experience
First Give Finals are a celebration of the full year group. They are an opportunity for students to stand up and speak out on the issues that matter to them and showcase their social action. Each school runs their Final slightly differently, but they are all inspirational events!
Come along to your class’s School Final to celebrate all the work they’ve done to support your cause.
The most important thing I've learnt is that teamwork is key and also my confidence has been boosted. This has also raised my awareness of the charities around my community.
As well as the fun learning experience that we all had together, our charity is overwhelmed to have benefited from the £1,000. This will go towards helping us fund our counselling service.
We were delighted to win the £1,000 First Give grant…Apart from the money, it’s great to see students learning about local issues and raising awareness of local charities
The young people are really willing to give back to local causes and the local community. And I don’t think this is something they will just finish and forget. I think they’ll take this forward and volunteer further and fundraise further.
They’ve been amazing. I don’t think we’ve ever had a group of people so enthusiastic about raising funds for us.
First Give is an amazing way to skill up our students whilst making contributions to charities within our communities. It is a winning formula for all involved.
How do I get involved with the School Final
Charity representatives are always welcome to attend the First Give Final at schools where they have been chosen. The school usually coordinates these invites themselves, but if you have any questions, please get in touch with us at First Give
How does my charity get the money?
If you win the prize of £1,000, First Give will send you a cheque. Any funds raised by young people will be sent to you directly from the school.
Charity case study
"A fantastic way to build our youth supporter network"
One of the classes at the Jo Richardson Community School supported Young Carers of Barking and Dagenham. We spoke to Ronda Browne, a representative from the charity and found out that the students had carried out a range of activities to support them, including fundraisers and also engaging Year 7 in a food drive for the charity’s food bank. Even though they didn’t win the £1,000 grant, Ronda was thrilled by the impact the students had.
The students we connected with through First Give raised enough money to run 3 months' worth of activity, and on top of that collected food and other essential items that supported 65 of the families who use our foodbank.
Who has been involved
and many more!