The response by a philanthropy website to an appeal for funds was so overwhelming that it caused the site to crash. The appeal was launched by UK donation platform, The Big Give, with the promise of matched funding up to £1 million provided by the Reed Foundation. £600,000 was donated within 18 minutes of the scheme’s going live at the end of November, a response the organizers had clearly not anticipated since it proved too much for the Big Give’s site to handle. The £1 million total was reached after half an hour’s operation on 2 December, with an average donation of over £1,400.