The idea behind Big Sunday began as "Mitzvah Day", a project motivated by the Jewish concept of "tikkun olam" (repairing the world), at Temple Israel of Hollywood, supervised by temple member (and Big Sunday founder and executive director) David Levinson.[2] That event in 1999 had 200 volunteers, and has grown each year. It was renamed "Big Sunday" in 2003 to reflect the organization's secular and non-partisan openness.
In 2006, the event partnered with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to become an official city event, and reached 32,000 volunteers.[3][4][5] Executive Director and Founder David Levinson was named California Nonprofit Leader of the Year at the inaugural Governor and First Lady's Medals for Service ceremony on June 22, 2009.[6] In 2009, Big Sunday had over 50,000 volunteers participating in 500 projects around Southern California, including a neighborhood renovation project in Watts.[7]