Guardian readers donate more than £1 million to 2025 charity appeal
Howard Lake | 16 January 2026 | News
Guardian readers have donated over £1 million to support five grassroots organisations tackling social division and hate and promoting tolerance and unity in communities across the UK.
The newspaper’s annual end of year charity appeal, which closed yesterday, was raising funds for Citizens UK, The Linking Network, Locality, Hope Unlimited and Who is Your Neighbour? to help ensure their community-building work continues throughout 2026.
The focus on tackling social division and hate came at the end of another year in which The Guardian and other news organisations had reported on division, unrest and rising far-right rhetoric. The appeal took a positive view, championed organisations that undertook practical, community-led action.
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The appeal featured calls to give that turned messages of hate and division into positive calls to action:
It was underpinned by Guardian journalism, sharing personal stories, original films and investigations that highlighted the power of communities coming together.
The appeal raised a total of £1,035,000, inclusive of estimated Gift Aid from more than 10,000 readers. Many emailed The Guardian to express their support for the focus of the appeal and the organisations chosen to benefit. One reader wrote: “I’m so glad the Guardian is supporting organisations which bring people together, supporting what is humane and in common amongst us all.”
Past Guardian charity appeal results
Since 2015, Guardian readers have raised more than £16 million for good causes, including fighting child poverty and tackling the climate crisis.
- 2024: the Guardian & Observer charity appeal raised £1.7 million
- 2023: over £1.42 million
- 2022: over £1.25 million
- Guardian seeks charity trailblazer of the year (6 February 2015)
- Guardian and Knowhow Nonprofit publish podcast on fundraising (15 September 2010)
- Guardian appeal nears £2 million (22 January 2005)
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.