Exeter’s Really Big Quiz raises £1,200 for Lord Mayor’s charity despite being cancelled

Exeter’s Really Big Quiz, which has raised over £84,000 for local charities over the past 16 years, has announced that despite the decision to move the annual May Exeter fundraising event to 2021, the Lord Mayor’s Charity of the year, CITY Community Trust, will receive £1,200 from The Really Big Quiz. The decision to move the event was taken in light of the impact of Covid-19 and necessary restrictions on social gatherings that remain in place for the foreseeable future.

Of the £1,200, half is being donated thanks to the generosity of teams that had booked their place and asked for that money to go to the charity. The other half is being donated by organisers of the Really Big Quiz chartered accountancy firm Simpkins Edwards, whose staff raised money for the charity over recent months. As a result, the Trust will shortly receive a vital cash injection, during what is a particularly difficult time for all charities.

To further help CITY Community Trust, Simpkins Edwards has proposed that next year’s event should raise money for both the Lord Mayor’s 2019-2020 and 2021-2022 charities of choice, so that neither miss out on this valuable source of income. In 2019, the Exeter Really Big Quiz raised over £7,400 for SSAFA, The Armed Forces Charity.

Commenting on the news, Mary Jane Campbell, Senior Partner at Simpkins Edwards, said: “This is the first time in the long history of the Really Big Quiz that we have had to cancel one of our events.

“A highlight of the year, we regularly bring teams of quiz goers and businesses together from across the city of Exeter to help raise many thousands of pounds for good causes. So far – combined with our Barnstaple Quiz held in November – we have raised over £114,000 for charities throughout Devon, and we plan to continue adding to that total for many years to come.”

Mary Jane added: “Our aim is to come back stronger than ever in 2021 and so we’ve already booked the Corn Exchange for 19th May 2021, where we look forward to raising a record-breaking amount for both CITY Community Trust, and next year’s charity of the year.”

Lord Mayor of Exeter, Councillor Peter Holland, commented: “Like so many city events, the Really Big Quiz has had to be cancelled for this year. While this is a great disappointment, it is heartening to know that so many businesses and teams have chosen to donate their entry fees to CITY Community Trust, despite the fact that the quiz will not be going ahead. It’s a great example of how Exeter is pulling together despite the impact on Covid-19 on all our daily lives.

“A total of £1,200 will now be donated to the Trust, helping it to deliver vital health and wellbeing programmes across Devon and Somerset for all members of the community regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, physical ability, background or economic status.”

Jamie Vittles, chief executive of CITY Community Trust, said: “We are extremely grateful to the businesses who agreed to donate their entry fee when they heard that the quiz had been cancelled and, of course, to Simpkins Edwards for their generosity in matching this sum.

“All our income generating programmes were halted by coronavirus. We had to adapt very quickly and are now working with Exeter City Council to deliver vital supplies, including food and medicine to shielded and vulnerable people in our community.

“These funds will be extremely beneficial to us in delivering this and future work. We also appreciate the opportunity to benefit from next year's quiz - a gesture we didn't expect and, again, one that will make a huge difference to the work we do in our city.”