Frequently asked questions
Find out more about the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal
What is the BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal with St Martin-in-the-Fields?
For 99 years the BBC and St Martin-in-the-Fields have partnered to raise support from Radio 4 listeners to support people away from homelessness. In the last two years, the Appeal has raised over £9 million. The money we raise funds the work of St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity, supporting people away from homelessness.
How does St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity spend the money donated by Radio 4 listeners?
St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity (Charity no 1156305) exists so that everyone has a place to call home. With the help of our supporters, we support frontline workers and organisations across the UK. Together, we ensure that everyone experiencing homelessness can secure - and keep - a safe place to live.
We help people in vulnerable situations to find and keep a home. Wherever it’s needed, we seek to provide emergency financial help that allows someone to secure or keep safe accommodation. These grants alleviate worry and stress and can transform a person’s circumstances within a matter of days.
We help people to move away from homelessness. We support organisations across the UK, including The Connection at St Martin's, to connect people with experts who understand the complexity of their situation and who listen and then help. Step by step, this provides the long-term, tailored support that allows people to regain their health, home and their independence.
We work to ensure that the best quality support is always on offer. The Frontline Network works with our partner organisations and networks across the UK, to ensure that people experiencing homelessness are aided in the most effective ways possible - linking professionals on a national level and funding important, related services in areas such as mental health care, legal advice, and the support of marginalised young people.
Through our generous supporters, we have developed programmes that enable us to support frontline service delivery in all four nations of the UK.
How can I donate to the Christmas Appeal?
BY PHONE
You can donate by calling 0800 082 82 84 — which is free from landlines and mobiles.
(Between 8AM and 10PM Monday to Sunday)
BY POST
If you prefer to donate by cheque, please make your cheque payable to the St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal and post it to us at Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 4JN. To send your gift using Freepost by just putting FREEPOST ST MARTINS CHRISTMAS APPEAL onto an envelope and the Post Office will deliver it to us, at no cost to you.
If you are a UK taxpayer and would like the Christmas Appeal to reclaim the tax you have paid on your donation through the Gift Aid scheme, you can download our Gift Aid declaration. Just print it, fill it in and send it to us with your cheque.
Alternatively, you can fill out an online Gift Aid form here.
ONLINE
Use a credit or debit card to make your donation, just by clicking DONATE NOW
The link above will redirect you to the St Martin-in-the fields donation page and its use is subject to their terms & privacy policy.
BY CAF
You can make a payment directly from your CAF Account. Please add the reference ‘St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal’.
BY JUSTGIVING
Make your donation, just by clicking DONATE NOW
The link above will redirect you to JustGiving’s website and its use is subject to their terms & conditions and privacy policy.
BY DIRECT DEBIT
If you are a regular supporter of the Christmas Appeal – or you would like to be – you may want to consider setting up a Direct Debit. You can also download our Direct Debit Form, complete it and return to FREEPOST ST MARTINS CHRISTMAS APPEAL
BY BANK TRANSFER
If, for whatever reason, you prefer to donate via bank transfer, please send an email to [email protected], so that we can securely pass on the correct details to you.
FROM OVERSEAS
The easiest way to donate to us is via direct bank transfer. As above, please do send an email to [email protected], so that we can securely pass on the correct details to you.
What are our Emergency Grants (formally known as the Vicar’s Relief Fund)
Our emergency grants programme provides financial support across the UK so that more people have a safe place to call home. These grants help people secure accommodation by covering essential costs such as rental deposits or rent in advance, offering the support many individuals need at very short notice. We deliver this funding quickly and effectively, often within days, for those who urgently need a safe place to live. By addressing financial barriers directly, we prevent homelessness before it starts.
What is our Personal Grants programme
At St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity, we know that the path to accessing safe housing and stability can look different for each person. That’s why, alongside our long-standing emergency grants programme, we’re investing in new approaches that could make an even greater impact for people rebuilding their lives after homelessness. In partnership with the Centre for Homelessness Impact and other charities, we’re funding the Personal Grants project. This ground-breaking trial is testing direct cash transfers to support people out of homelessness. Unlike our emergency grants, which are applied for by frontline workers on someone’s behalf, these personal grants go directly to individuals. Each individual decides how to use their funds, giving them full control over their next steps.
What is The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields?
In the very centre of London, St Martin's Charity funds The Connection at St Martin’s (Reg. Charity Number 1078201), a specialist service that enables people sleeping rough to find the support they need and a safe place to live.
This funding makes a range of support possible, from helping people to access benefits to referring them for medical treatment. And it allows the staff at The Connection to maintain a flexible approach which places people at the heart of their own recovery, and which understands that anyone’s journey can be both complex and long-term.
How much does the Appeal raise?
Last year the BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal 2024 raised over £2m, however this important appeal supports St Martin-in-the-Fields with their wider fundraising efforts contribution to an annual target of over £5.1m.
Does the BBC pay for any of the advertising done in connection with the Appeal?
The BBC does not pay for any advertising in connection with this Appeal. If paid advertising is used to promote the Appeal, the cost is borne by St-Martin-in-the-Fields Charity.
Fundraising Standards
St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity is signed up to the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice as well as to the Fundraising Promise. These agreements set out the standards that we must meet to ensure that our fundraising is legal, open, honest and respectful. It’s an agreement that is incredibly important to us.
