Donating to Samaritans - FAQs

For every £1 donated to Samaritans and its branches in the UK and Ireland, 85p goes on our services and just 15p is invested in raising the next £1. To give you an idea of how much it costs to run our services, £10 will cover the cost of 2 calls to our helpline from people struggling to cope, £96 could train and support an existing Samaritans volunteer for a whole year, and a donation of £500 could keep our phone lines open for one hour.

Gifts to Samaritans will not only help us to answer as many calls as possible, but it will also help us develop new ways of making sure our service is available to those who need it. We’ll be able to keep up with evolving communications, making sure that whenever and however someone makes a call for help, we’ll be ready to answer. 

Samaritans are supported by an incredible 20,000 volunteers across the UK and Republic of Ireland, but it is not just our listening service that helps us achieve our vision of fewer people dying by suicide. We also provide workplace training to help people take better care of their mental health at work, as well as campaign for more investment in national and local suicide prevention.

Our Supporter Care team would be happy to help answer any query you have about a donation you have made or would like to make. Simply give us a call on 03709 000 032 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back the next working day).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Supporter Care
The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell, Surrey
KT17 2AF

Please include your full name and address when writing to us.

Please note, if your query relates to a donation you’ve made to a particular branch, we recommend contacting that branch in the first instance.

Our major giving team would be happy to help answer any query you have about philanthropy, major giving or trusts. You can email us at [email protected].

We’re very happy to receive a donation directly into our bank account. Please contact our Supporter Care team who will be able to provide you with our details. You can get in touch by calling 03709 000 032 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back the next working day).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Supporter Care
The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell, Surrey
KT17 2AF

Please include appropriate contact details when writing to us so that we can get back in touch with you.

To support a particular branch of Samaritans please visit our Find a branch page and locate your preferred branch. At the bottom of their page you will find a link to donate to that branch via an online third party. If that branch does not have a link to donate, they may not yet be set up to take donations online. They would, however be very grateful to accept a donation by post.

Please be aware that donations made to Samaritans Central Charity cannot be transferred to a particular branch retrospectively. This includes (but is not limited to) donations made on this website and via Facebook Donate.

To donate by cheque please make your cheque payable to ‘Samaritans’. Your cheque can then be posted to:

Samaritans Supporter Care
The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell, Surrey
KT17 2AF

We would be very happy to accept a donation over the telephone. To do this, please call 03709 000 032 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back the next working day).

Whilst we are grateful to receive any type of donation, we do not recommend sending cash in the post as we cannot guarantee it will arrive with us and cannot be held responsible for any cash that is lost on its way to us.

Our Supporter Care team would be happy to update the contact details we have for you. Simply give us a call on 03709 000 032 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back the next working day).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Supporter Care
The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell, Surrey
KT17 2AF

Please include your full name and address when writing to us.

We want to communicate with you in a way that you’re happy with. If you find you’re receiving too much or too little contact from us, or want to change the kind of things you hear about, let us know by calling our Supporter Care team on 03709 000 032 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back the next working day).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Supporter Care
The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell, Surrey
KT17 2AF

Please include your full name and address when writing to us.

Samaritans welcomes all the feedback we receive from our supporters, so if you think we’ve done something well or you think we could have done better, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

You can get in touch with our Supporter Care team by calling 03709 000 032 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back the next working day).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Supporter Care
The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell, Surrey
KT17 2AF

We may need to investigate some complaints further before we can provide a resolution, so please leave your name and contact details when writing to us in case we need to ask for more information in relation to your feedback.

Samaritans proudly works with the Fundraising Regulator, an independent body who set and maintain the standards for charitable fundraising. We use the Fundraising Regulator logo to show to our supporters that we’re following these standards. By using this logo, we want you to know that you can trust us and give with confidence as we regularly monitor all of our fundraising activities against the Code of Fundraising Practice.

We will always try to resolve your concerns but if you think we haven’t, you can forward your complaint within two months of our final response to the Fundraising Regulator. You can use the online complaints form or call 0300 999 3407.

Please be aware that complaints raised directly with the Fundraising Regulator will only be considered if we have been given the opportunity to respond in the first instance.

Our raffles and lotteries are licensed by the Gambling Commission under the 2005 Gambling Act.

The use of personal data for all of our fundraising is regulated by the Information Commissioner, and adheres to the guidelines set out in the Data Protection Act, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation (PECR).

If you’re thinking of cancelling your Direct Debit, please give our Supporter Care team a call on 03709 000 032 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back the next working day).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Supporter Care
The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell, Surrey
KT17 2AF

Please include your full name and address when writing to us.

Samaritans are so grateful for every donation we receive, but we understand if you are unable to continue giving at your current amount. If you would prefer to reduce your monthly gift or change the frequency instead of cancelling it, we would be very grateful and it would still do so much in supporting people who are struggling to cope.

If your regular donation is via a Standing Order you can cancel or amend this directly with your bank.

If you would like to increase or decrease the amount or frequency of your regular gift please give our Supporter Care team a call on 03709 000 032 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back the next working day).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Supporter Care
The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell, Surrey
KT17 2AF

Please include your full name and address when writing to us.

If your regular donation is via a Standing Order you can amend this directly with your bank.

To change the bank account that your Direct Debit is paid from, please give our Supporter Care team a call on 03709 000 032 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back the next working day).

You can also write to us at:

Samaritans Supporter Care
The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell, Surrey
KT17 2AF

Please include your full name and address when writing to us. We do not recommend sending bank details via email.

Our fundraising appeals provide a vital source of income for Samaritans that is invaluable in helping us answer a call for help every seven seconds. Not only do they help us raise crucial income, but they also allow us to communicate the latest Samaritans’ news to our supporters.

Whilst we understand it may not seem cost effective to write to our supporters, the income we’re able to raise far outweighs the cost of our appeals and goes straight back in to the service we provide. We regularly monitor the effectiveness of our campaigns to ensure we’re doing the best we can for our supporters and service users, and we would never undertake any fundraising activity that would negatively impact our service. If you would prefer to receive fundraising appeals via email, please give our Supporter Care team a call on 03709 000 032 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back the next working day).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Supporter Care
The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell, Surrey
KT17 2AF

Please include your full name and address when writing to us.

How often we contact you will depend on how you’ve supported us in the past and what you have chosen to hear about. On average, we contact our supporters 8 times a year with the latest news, fundraising appeals and volunteering opportunities at Samaritans.

If you would like us to contact you more or less often, or want to change what kind of things you hear about, simply give our Supporter Care team a call on 03709 000 032 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back the next working day).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Supporter Care
The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell, Surrey
KT17 2AF

Please include your full name and address when writing to us.

At Samaritans we want to contact you how you want to be contacted. So if you’d like to receive more, less or no contact from us, please let us know by calling our Supporter Care team on 03709 000 032 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back the next working day).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Supporter Care
The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell, Surrey
KT17 2AF

Please include your full name and address when writing to us.

Gift Aid is a government run scheme that allows charities to reclaim some of the tax that you have already paid to HMRC. Currently, this is equal to 25p for every £1 that you give.

Gift Aid does not cost you any extra and can make your donation worth an extra 25% to us, so it is a fantastic way of ensuring your donations go as far as they possibly can.

To qualify for Gift Aid you must be a resident of the UK that has paid Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax that is at least equal to the value of Gift Aid that will be reclaimed in the tax year. For example, if you make one donation of £10.00 in the tax year, as long as you have paid at least £2.50 in Income or Capital Gains Tax in the same tax year, this will qualify for Gift Aid.

If you have given us permission to claim Gift Aid but you have paid less Income or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid we reclaim, you may be asked by HMRC to pay the difference.

To qualify for Gift Aid, you must also be a resident of the UK and be donating your own money – so a collection from friends and family would not qualify, nor would a donation made by someone else on your behalf.

To allow Samaritans to claim Gift Aid on your donations, you must provide us with a Gift Aid declaration.

When donating to Samaritans we will always ask you if your donations qualify for Gift Aid, whether your donation is online, over the telephone or by post. Your declaration must:

Contain your first name, surname and full home address.

Name Samaritans as a charity that you permit to reclaim Gift Aid on your donations.

Identify the donation(s) to which the declaration relates.

Confirm that the identified donations are to be treated as Gift Aid donations.

When donating online or by using one of our paper forms, all you need to do is enter your details and tick the box that contains the declaration. If donating over the phone, we will send this information to you in a confirmation letter, provided you have agreed to Gift Aid.

You may withdraw your declaration at any time. If you withdraw your declaration within 30 days of making it we will not claim any Gift Aid on your donations.

Please also let us know if your name, address or taxpayer status changes so that we can update our records accordingly.

This will be specified in your declaration but usually it will last until you tell us otherwise. Your declaration will usually allow Samaritans to reclaim Gift Aid on the donations you have made in the last four tax years as well; so if you have forgotten to make a declaration for a donation you made previously, you still can!

To withdraw permission for Samaritans to claim Gift Aid on your donations, simply let our Supporter Care team know by calling 03709 000 032 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back the next working day).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Supporter Care
The Upper Mill
Kingston Road
Ewell, Surrey
KT17 2AF

Please include your full name and address when writing to us.

If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self-Assessment tax return or ask HMRC to adjust your tax code.

On Christmas Day last year, our volunteers were there when 11,000 people reached out for help. As a charity, we rely on the kind donations of the public and partners to help Samaritans continue to be there for anyone struggling to cope, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We’ve found that an engaging and popular way for people to support Samaritans is through our Christmas Raffle and weekly lottery campaigns. Tickets are £1 each, and every single sale counts for Samaritans and our callers, with five raffle tickets helping us answer one call for help.

Our weekly lottery is run by Unity, who help Samaritans and many other charities to raise money by offering the chance to win up to £25,000.

Samaritans are licensed by the Gambling Commission under the 2005 Gambling Act.

We regularly monitor the effectiveness of all our fundraising initiatives. We find that offering cash prizes through our raffle campaigns encourages supporters to raise more vital funds for Samaritans. The cost of the cash prizes do not have any detrimental impact on our net income and therefore do not affect our ability to deliver our invaluable support services to those struggling to cope.