As a charity, we don’t pay celebrities for their support. We’re very grateful to all of our celebrity supporters who give their time for free.

BBC Children in Need exists to change the lives of disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.

Our vision is that every child in the UK has a safe, happy and secure childhood and the chance to reach their potential.

We use the money raised to support disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.

BBC Children in Need is currently supporting over 1,500 local charities and projects in communities across the UK that are helping children and young people facing a range of disadvantages such as living in poverty, being disabled or ill, or experiencing distress, neglect or trauma.

In the last grant year alone, your support helped change the lives of over 426,000 children and young people facing disadvantage, right here in the UK. 

Since our first major Appeal in 1980 BBC Children in Need has raised over £1 billion to help make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people around the UK.

We raise money by organising an annual fundraising campaign that culminates with the annual BBC Children in Need Appeal Show live on BBC One.

Every year, people from every corner of the UK come together to support BBC Children in Need and help change young lives – from schools and corporate partners like Asda and McDonald’s, to individual fundraisers, colleagues across the BBC and celebrity friends.

Once we know how much money has been donated and raised through the annual Appeal, we set out our ‘grant budget’ for the year and hold ‘grant rounds’ where projects can apply to us for funding. We receive thousands of applications for grants every year. Applications are carefully assessed to ensure that the funding will make a real difference to children and young people facing a range of disadvantages, such as living in poverty, being disabled or ill, or experiencing distress, neglect or trauma. Organisations applying for funding must clearly demonstrate how their project will change the lives of those aged 18 and under for the better.

We provide grants to projects over a three year period. Like most responsible charities, we do not hand over the multi-year grants in one lump sum at the beginning of their funding period. Instead, the money is released to the organisation over time in instalments so that we can monitor the work being done and feel confident that money donated by the public is being spent wisely, with the greatest possible impact on the lives of young people.

We have a rigorous decision making process in place to ensure that the grants that we award will have a positive impact on the lives of children and young people facing disadvantage. Our teams carefully assess these applications to ensure that grants will make a real difference to the lives of children and young people facing disadvantage across the UK.

Grant applications are reviewed in the Nation or Region where projects are based. A group of people, either local staff or volunteer committee members, draw on their specialist knowledge of the local context, the non-profit and children’s sectors, and BBC Children in Need’s policies and priorities to advise our board of Trustees which projects should receive grants.

Please look at the Grants section of our website for more information.

All charities in the UK which are registered with the Charity Commission have a trust deed – a legal document which governs what they can and can’t do. When the BBC Governors registered BBC Children in Need as a charity it was to support and help disadvantaged children and young people in the UK only. As this is our stated purpose, we have over thirty years’ experience helping disadvantaged children in the UK and will continue our work within this sector.

We fund projects working with children and young people aged 18 years and under, living in the UK, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, who are experiencing disadvantage through:

• Illness, distress, abuse or neglect
• Any kind of disability
• Behavioural or psychological difficulties
• Living in poverty or situations of deprivation

We fund not-for-profit organisations working to combat this disadvantage and to make a real difference to children and young people’s lives. These organisations include registered charities and voluntary organisations.

Grants for individual children and young people are available through our Emergency Essentials Programme. This programme provides struggling families with items that meet children’s most basic needs, such as a bed to sleep in, a cooker to give them a hot meal or clothing in a crisis.

In exceptional circumstances, we might also consider a case from an appropriate organisation seeking to make specialised types of grants (starter packs for young homeless people, for example) or from organisations who specialise in addressing the needs of specific disadvantaged communities. Organisations can also seek a Small or Main Grant to support an individual child or young person with specific needs to access their activities or services. Read our A to Z Guidance for more detail.

If you’re still unsure whether your group is able to apply for a grant please contact our helpdesk on 0345 609 0015 or email [email protected].

We do not fund schools, academies, universities, pupil referral units (PRU) or statutory educational establishments. We will accept applications from:

• Not for profit organisations that work in schools
• Not for profit organisations that work in partnership with schools
• Special Schools (These are provisions for children with learning difficulties or disabilities which cannot be met within a mainstream setting.)

We do not provide grants for work which statutory bodies such as schools or local authorities have a duty to fund. Projects taking place in schools must demonstrate how their project will provide additional services that are beyond the state’s responsibility.

These projects normally take place outside of school time, before or after school, during lunch or in the holidays, unless there are exceptional circumstances. All further details can be found here.

Visit the Grants section of our website for more information about applying for a Main Grant or a Small Grant from BBC Children in Need, including how to access our online application forms.

We accept applications all year round, but have a number of deadline and award dates throughout the year. You can find these dates in our Main Grants section, or our Small Grants section. The deadline is always midnight on the dates listed.

Remember:

Plan your project carefully. Look at our Planning your project page before you complete your application. Poor planning is a common reason why applications are not successful.

Read our A to Z Guidance to help you make sure you only apply for things that we can fund.

The most common reason applications are unsuccessful is because not all the required extra information is included. If you have any questions about what you need to submit please refer to our Grants FAQs or contact us.

No. All of the money in our grant reserves is intended for grantmaking activities and will help to support children and young people. We are committed to ensuring that donations are spent responsibly, and a rigorous evaluation and decision-making process is in place to ensure that this money goes on to have the greatest possible impact on young lives.

Any money not allocated to projects by the time our annual accounts are finalised at the end of June will be paid out in subsequent grant rounds. We have recently invested in our grantmaking capacity to ensure that we can allocate funding more quickly, and we have significantly reduced the time it takes to award funding.

As a charity, we are committed to ensuring that money generously donated by the public is spent wisely and goes on to make a real difference to the lives of children and young people experiencing a range of issues and challenges across the UK. Like any other organisation, BBC Children in Need incurs necessary costs in the course of its work; running the charity professionally and efficiently, managing grants responsibly and raising funds all costs money.

For every pound donated to BBC Children in Need, a minimum of 95p goes directly towards changing the lives of children and young people experiencing a range of issues and challenges across the UK. This includes the grants we make to projects working with children and young people around the UK, the costs of making sure that these grants are properly monitored and evaluated, and the costs of undertaking research and initiatives designed to ensure we have a positive impact on young lives.

All other costs not attributable to grant making are funded by investment income, Gift Aid, licensed income, and up to 5p from every pound donated.

Our 2024 Appeal show will be Friday 15th November

Our Chief Executive’s salary is £154,044 as published in our latest Annual Report & Accounts.

Check out our fundraising hub for loads of advice, tips and ideas on how to be a fundraiser.

We really appreciate when our supporters choose to think of us on an ongoing basis and not just at the time of our annual appeal show. By giving monthly you will help ensure that the obstacles that children and young people face, from poverty, inequality, lack of access to education and mental health challenges, are addressed head on.

You’ll be contributing to organisations near you, supporting children who are the beating heart of your community. Helping to ensure that children right across your region have the childhood they deserve – and the support they need to thrive.

To set-up your monthly donation please visit our dedicated page today. Thank you for considering supporting us in this way.

We don’t encourage fundraisers to collect money door-to-door, in the street or any other public place and are unable to supply tins or buckets. Public collections undertaken for, or on behalf of, charities in public places are regulated by law and require a licence from the relevant authorities.

We would recommend that you arrange a fundraising event rather than a collection, or undertake a collection at a private event or venue with the permission of the owner.

With a huge volume of amazing supporters who fundraise for us every year, we do not have the resources to authorise and monitor every one of these fundraisers where any authorisation would require us to take full responsibility for the activities taking place.

Annually, BBC Children in Need is supported by thousands of amazing supporters. We would like to help all of our supporters maximise their fundraising, but with limited resources, we cannot provide merchandise sold on the Pudsey shop to supporters free of charge.

There are lots of small items available on the Pudsey shop that can be ordered individually.

In addition under the terms of the Gambling Act 2005 a raffle is considered to be a lottery and must be run in accordance with the law. If you’re planning on organising your own raffle, please check the rules on the Gambling Commission website.

Unfortunately, we do not currently have merchandise for you to sell at your event. Many of our supporters do opt to purchase items instead, you will be able to do this through our online shop.

It is also possible to make bulk purchases by shopping through our shop.

In addition, we have special arrangements in place for schools whereby we operate a deposit scheme. Details of these are in our Schools section.

That’s great news, and we’d love for you to be involved! Check out our fundraising hub for loads of advice, tips and ideas on how to be a fundraiser.

Alternatively, if you’re interested in becoming a corporate partner and nominating BBC Children in Need as your official charity, email us at [email protected] and one of our dedicated team will be in touch ASAP.

Businesses are required by company law to have a written agreement with us if they plan to sell goods, services, or run promotions for the Appeal. Contact us via the above email for more details.

The Fundraising Regulator provide comprehensive guidance on issues such as fundraising laws, public events, fundraising with children, insurance and risk. You can access their guidance for supporters by visiting the Fundraising Regulator website.

When planning a fundraising event, please also refer to the NSPCC’s information on safeguarding children and the NSPCC Fundraising best practice guidelines.

You can fundraise at any age. However, the minimum age varies depending on the type of fundraising activity you wish to undertake.

• Collection box collectors must be 16 years of age or over
• For licensed lotteries, children under the age of 16 cannot sell tickets
• Children under 16 cannot count money
• To skydive, you must be 16 or over

For all other fundraising activities, children under 16 need to have written consent from a parent or guardian in order to undertake their fundraising.

Unfortunately we can’t provide celebrities for events but, if he is available, Pudsey would love to make an appearance. Please contact your local BBC Children in Need office for details. Please be aware, they do get a lot of requests, so please get in touch with them as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

We’re proud of your donations, and want you to be too! The easiest way to receive your Thank You Certificate is to request one here.

Alternatively, to receive a Thank You Certificate, send your original paying-in slip or your cheque with your name and address included, to

BBC Children in Need

MediaCityUK

Salford

M50 2BH

This year we are asking people to let us know what they are doing by completing an online update form. If you could fill this out with your story, adding your permission we will be able to share these with regional BBC colleagues. This will also enable BBC TV & Radio and social media to pick it up.

Unfortunately, we cannot promote individual fundraising events, however please feel free to post on our Facebook wall and tweet us.

We have a range of different videos that you could show at your event. These are available at our YouTube channel or available throughout this website.

Any money donated through external online fundraising platforms is paid directly to the charity at regular intervals. This is cost effective for the charity and makes collecting money easier for you.

There are a range of options online and each option offers differing functionality depending in your need, including JustGiving and Facebook Donate.

Yes, as long as you let your supporters know that the money is being split, how and between which charities.

As the long-time face of our charity, Pudsey is a trade mark and copyrighted by the BBC. Because of this anyone using his logo must have a formal licensing agreement. 

Unfortunately, as the long-time face of our charity, Pudsey is a trade mark and copyrighted by the BBC. Because of this we are unable to allow anyone to use the logo without a formal licensing agreement.

There are lots of ways to send in your donations, but please don’t send cash by post. Instead, please use one of these other options.

Gift Aid is an easy way to increase the impact of your donations; further details are available from the HMRC website.

We are incredibly grateful for these donations. By supporting BBC Children in Need with a gift in your Will means that the Charity can confidently plan and fund further initiatives which make a vital difference to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in the UK.

If you would like to leave a gift to BBC Children in Need in your Will, please contact a solicitor who specialises in this area. You will be able to source a solicitor here.

In preparing your will you will need to include the following details.

The official name of the charity is:
BBC Children in Need

Our address is:

BBC Children in Need

MediaCityUK

Salford

M50 2BH

Our registered charity number in England and Wales: 802052, in Scotland: SC039557.

To claim Gift Aid on your fundraising we must have the first name or initials, last name, full home address and postcode of each individual donor/ sponsor. So please encourage them to tick the Gift Aid box on your sponsorship form when they sponsor you or you collect money together.

Without these details we legally cannot claim Gift Aid – so follow up with your supporters – for every £10 you could add £2.50 against your target.

We do not use gift aid details for marketing purposes.

Please see our frequently asked questions section dedicated to shop enquiries.

Alternatively please email [email protected] or call us on 0345 609 0015.

See our full privacy policy which details our information management process.

BBC Children in Need recognises the fact that receiving feedback from those it interacts with, both through compliments and complaints, is an important part developing as an organisation.

To make a complaint, please read our Complaints Procedure.

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, BBC Children in Need is currently funding around 550 local charities and projects across the UK supporting children and young people affected by poverty and deprivation, to a total value of £35.2 million.

As part of this, we fund over 180 local charities and projects to the value of £10.2m specifically supporting children affected by food insecurity. This includes breakfast clubs, lunch clubs and afterschool clubs as well as playschemes and holiday clubs outside of school term-time. These projects work in communities right across the UK to provide food, support and advice, helping children and young people when they need it most.

We are aware of a message circulating on social media and via messages resulting in individuals making an inadvertent donation to BBC Children in Need. If you have been affected, please contact [email protected].

We mostly use models in our photography to respect the privacy of the children we support. When we do feature real children, we take great care to protect their identities, including changing names if requested. Occasionally, with explicit permission from both the children and their caregivers, we use photos of children we have supported.