Our campaign is now complete. 410 supporters helped us raise £3,379.00
Visit the charity's profile
The campaign has now expired but it's not too late to support this charity.
Visit the charity's profileThis page is now closed, but you can still donate to the Ben Fund via our usual JustGiving page .
In November and December, colleagues across the British Council took part in activities to bring us together across countries, cities, departments - and lockdowns - and raise funds to support British Council team members in times of crisis. British Council colleagues can still visit our Sharepoint page to see the full programme activities
Please continue to share your memories of 2020 via our interactive map: This is open to all British Council colleagues and Ben Fund donors.
What was the Ben Fund End-of-year cheer all about?
It's not just the end of another year this year. It's the end of 2020. And wherever you are in the world, however you usually spend December, and however you usually see in the new year, we think we can all agree that 2020 has been a year like no other.
The Ben Fund is the British Council's charity that exists to support colleagues in need. It is run for colleagues, by colleagues, supported by the kind donations of colleagues.
From 1947 when we were founded until 2019, much of our fundraising took place in the UK. 2020 has been a very different year for the Ben Fund too. With the pandemic hitting our global operations, we saw an increase in applications for support. At the same time, contributions began to come in from colleagues worldwide. Our Lockdown Challenge raised over £2,000 for those facing hardship due to the pandemic and other reasons. Hundreds of colleagues responded to our Lebanon Appeal, raising over £9,600 for colleagues affected by the explosions in Beirut. 2020 has been a tough year - but it's the year that more colleagues than ever have reached out to support colleagues in need.
Christmas was always important for the Ben Fund. We offer a number of 'Christmas Grants' - small grants to colleagues in need around the world. Our UK offices also run Christmas-themed fundraising events. This year, we want to take advantage of our digital connectedness and share a bit of cheer at a pretty tough time for many of us.
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