Donating to Samaritans - FAQs

For every £1 donated to Samaritans and its branches in the UK and Ireland, 80p goes on our services and just 20p 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 around 22,000 incredible 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 within 48 hours).

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.

Major gifts can be transformational to Samaritans. Our Philanthropy team would be happy to help answer any query you have about philanthropy, major giving or support via a family trust, and connect you with the areas of our work you feel most passionately about. You can email us at [email protected].

We are very happy to receive a donation directly into our bank account. Please contact our Supporter Care team by email at [email protected], who will be able to provide you with our bank details and a payment reference.

We are also happy to verify our bank details over the phone. 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 within 48 hours).

To support a particular branch of Samaritans please visit our Find a branch page (https://www.samaritans.org/branches/) 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 contact the Supporter Care team if you have any questions at [email protected] or 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 within 48 hours).

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 within 48 hours).

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.

We welcome donations to our charity shops. You can find your closest Samaritans charity shop but visiting the our charity shop location page (https://www.samaritans.org/support-us/other-ways-support-us/find-your-nearest-samaritans-shop/).

Our mobile donations are managed by a third party company called Donr. To cancel a monthly donation set up via text message, please text STOP to 70085**. If you wish to change the amount you’re donating, you’ll need to cancel your original donation by texting STOP to 70085** then set up a new monthly donation by following the original instructions that your chosen charity provided when they asked for your help. You will be charged your mobile provider’s standard network rate for one text message when you text STOP.

More information about mobile donations can be found on our website ( Mobile donation to Samaritans | Charity donations via mobile | Samaritans )

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 within 48 hours).

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 within 48 hours).

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 within 48 hours).

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.

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).

There are plenty of ways you can fundraise for Samaritans – we’d love to have your support!

Some of the ways our amazing #TeamSamaritans supporters like to fundraise include:

- Runs, walks, cycles and other sporting challenges

- Streaming and gaming

- Celebrations like weddings or birthdays

- Fun activities like bake sales, raffles, quizzes or craft-making

The possibilities are endless! Whatever you choose to do, we’ll be here to support you throughout your fundraising journey.

To get started, just visit our events and fundraising page to discover some events and activities you can get involved in. If you had your own fundraising idea or you’re taking part in an event that isn’t on our website, just let us know about it here.

If you need help getting inspired or had any questions about fundraising for Samaritans, just email our friendly Community & Events Team at community&[email protected] who’ll be happy to help.

Please get in touch with our corporate team who would be happy to assist with this. You can contact the team at [email protected]

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 within 48 hours).

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 within 48 hours).

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 within 48 hours).

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 10 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, 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 within 48 hours).

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 within 48 hours).

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 within 48 hours).

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 contact supporters by phone for various purposes, for example, to say thank you for their support or to ask whether they might consider starting or increasing their regular donation. We also call supporters to ask if we can claim Gift Aid on their donation or encourage prior donors to give again.

We use an external telemarketing agency called QTS for these calls.

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 and 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 can also complete a Gift Aid declaration on our website

(https://www.samaritans.org/support-us/gift-aid-declaration).

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.

How long your Gift Aid declaration will last will be specified in your declaration but usually it will be 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 within 48 hours).

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.