Newquay’s St Francis Dogs Home needs a £250 promise by Sunday

📷Credit: St Francis Dogs Home

A late donation pulling out has left a Newquay dog rescue scrambling to save its place in this December’s biggest matched-giving campaign, with two days left to find the money it needs. And the money in question doesn’t even have to change hands yet.

Why the charity needs a promise, not a payment

St Francis Dogs Home, the Porth-based rescue and rehoming centre, is trying to complete Stage 1 of its application to Big Give, the platform that doubles donations to good causes through a network of trusts, foundations and philanthropists. To get through that stage, the charity needs pledges totalling £1,250, made up of promises of at least £100 each.

It had that figure within reach until one of the pledges was pulled. Now the charity is either looking for a single person to promise £250, or two people willing to split it between £100 and £150.

Crucially, nobody who pledges now has to pay anything today. The actual Big Give campaign doesn’t go live until December, and any money promised at this stage isn’t due until after 8 December 2026. St Francis says it will send pledgers a reminder nearer the time.

What a pledge actually does

The mechanism is straightforward. A promise made now, doubled later by Big Give’s network of trusts and foundations, effectively turns every £1 pledged into £2 for the dogs in the charity’s care once the December campaign is live. Filling the £1,250 gap this weekend is what unlocks that doubling in the first place.

Anyone who was already planning to give to St Francis before the year is out is being asked to make that promise early, through the pledge form, rather than wait until December to decide.

The deadline

Pledges close this Sunday, 6 September, at 5pm. Anyone able to help, or wanting more detail on how the pledge and later payment works, can email [email protected].

The charity rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes dogs across Cornwall, and says every promise of funds now is what keeps that work going into next year. Whether the missing £250 lands as one pledge or two, the clock is running to Sunday afternoon.

📷Credit: St Francis Dogs Home