Fundraising FAQs

See below for answers to any questions you may have about making a donation, fundraising for for us, or our other fundraising activities. If you have a question that's not answered below, please reach out to our Supporter Experience team, who will be happy to assist you further.

Donating to Make-A-Wish »
Fundraising for Make-A-Wish »
Face to Face fundraising »

How do I donate to Make-A-Wish?

Thank you for thinking of us! To make a donation online, please follow the link below.

Donate to Make-A-Wish

For cheques, please make these out to “Make-A-Wish UK” and post alongside a note of your details to:

Experience Team
Make-A-Wish UK
7th Floor, Thames Tower
Station Road
Reading
RG1 1LX

Alternatively, you may also make a donation over the phone by calling our Supporter Experience team on 01276 405060.

How much of my donation goes towards granting a life-changing wish?

In 2018, for every £1 we raised, we spent 63p on wishgranting, with the remaining 37p being invested into fundraising. For every £1 we invested, we generated £2.09.

How much does a wish cost?

On average a wish costs approximately £2,500; however, this varies from wish to wish depending on the requirements of the wish.

Is it possible to sponsor a local wish?

We understand how important it is for people to know that their efforts have made a difference. If you have any questions about supporting a local wish, we’d be happy to discuss this further. Please speak to our Supporter Experience team for more information.

How do I change my regular donation?

You can change or cancel your regular donation to Make-A-Wish at any time. If you give by Direct Debit, you can make a change by calling us on 01276 405060 or emailing [email protected].

Please include your full name and address and details of any change you wish to make. You can also cancel a Direct Debit directly with your bank. Please note that if you wish to cancel your Direct Debit near to the date it usually comes out of your account, you'll need to do this directly with your bank.

If you give by Standing Order, you'll need to make any changes directly with your bank.

If you make a regular donation direct from your pay, you'll need to contact your employer to make any changes as they collect the donations on our behalf before forwarding them to us. Depending on your employer this may be handled by your HR, Finance or Payroll department.

To change your address details, Gift Aid status or communications preferences and for any other enquiries please call us on 01276 405060 or email [email protected].

My business would like to donate products or services to help make a wish come true, how do I do this?

Thank you so much for thinking of us. You can read more about giving a Gift in Kind here, or email us at [email protected] with more details and we'll be delighted to keep you in mind when a wish you can support comes up.

I want to fundraise for Make-A-Wish, but I’m not sure where to start

We're delighted that you'd like to raise money for Make-A-Wish. Your fundraising will help us grant life-changing wishes to even more children with critical illnesses in the UK.

There are many ways you can get involved, why not take a look at our Events and challenges page or if you'd like to organise your own event, head over to our Fundraising ideas section for some inspiration.

Please do remember to register your fundraising so we can support you with your efforts.

Do you have Make-A-Wish materials for my fundraising event?

Yes! We have balloons, banners, stickers and much more in stock, which we can provide for your fundraising event.

Please get in touch with our Supporter Experience Team on 01276 405060 or via email at [email protected], and they'll be happy to order these items for you.

I want to set up an online fundraising page, how do I do this?

We recommend using JustGiving, as setting up a page is quick and simple. Visit justgiving.com/makeawish, click “Fundraise for us” and you'll be prompted to create your account. Complete the registration and you're good to go.

How will you spend the money I raise?

The money you raise will go towards granting magical wishes for more children with critical illnesses across the UK. If you'd like the money you raise to be spent in your area, please speak to our Supporter Experience Team.

The money we receive is generally unrestricted and this allows us to support even more children and spend the money where the need is greatest.

Why we do face to face fundraising

Face to face fundraising is an essential, highly effective and most cost effective way to bring in new supporters. We receive no government funding and rely solely on supporter donations to continue our life-changing work to grant magical wishes for critically ill children. It is an important part of our regular income so we can plan for the future. Without this we simply couldn’t grant the increasing number of wishes for these children.

Make-A-Wish UK is a member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and the Fundraising Regulator, and adheres to their D2D Code of Conduct and their private site Code of Practice.

Private sites

Private site fundraising is where our teams visit a variety of locations such as supermarkets. These teams setup a Make-A-Wish stand to work from and engage with people to provide them with information about Make-A-Wish UK and to sign up to our regular giving product or our Wish+Win Weekly Lottery.

Door to Door

Door to door fundraising is where our teams call at home across the UK, knocking on doors to speak with people about our work and asking them to support by signing up to our regular giving product or our Wish+Win Weekly Lottery. Under the guidelines of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, our fundraisers are allowed to carry out fundraising activities from 9am to 9pm on weekdays, and 10am to 9pm on Sundays.

About our agencies

Make-A-Wish UK have teamed up with a face to face fundraising agencies, Engage and Connect Limited and Appco UK.

Engage and Connect and Appco both have over 20 years of experience between their staff working with several charities all over the UK. 

Engage and Connect Limited and Appco UK are active members of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and the Fundraising Regulator. We have chosen to partner with them because they comply with all the relevant fundraising laws and code of practice.

All our fundraisers can be identified by their photographic ID badge and Make-A-Wish branded clothing. To confirm the identity of a fundraiser, you can call the phone number on their photo identification badge.

Where we'll be fundraising

During the week commencing 15^th April, 2024 we'll be fundraising in the following locations.

Want to know more?

Further FAQs about Face to Face fundraising can be found here:

Regular Giving FAQs Lottery FAQs