How we’re funded

We couldn’t do what we do without you – the amazing people who trust us with your money to help women and girls living in poverty change their lives, for good. 

From child sponsors and marathon runners to trusts and corporate sponsors, find out how we received funding in 2023 to run our life-changing projects.

Our income year on year

The pie chart below shows you who gave us how much.

The largest percentage of our funding comes from individual committed giving: this fantastic support is the best guarantee of our independence as a charity.

To see this in more detail, you can download our annual report or go to the International Aid Transparency Initiative website.

Our supporters

We’d like to say a huge thank you for the generous donations of all our supporters who provided 78% of our income in 2023. 

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Our income in 2023

Our income in 2018: pie chart
Income (£m) 2023 2022 2021
 
Committed giving

This includes income from Child Sponsorship, The Next Step, Basics, and our Country Programme General Fund and any Gift Aid collected from these amounts.

25.9 27.3 27.9
 
Appeals, individuals, and legacies

This includes income from legacies (e.g. Will Aid), emergency appeals (e.g. Türkiye and Syria appeals), regular appeals like our Christmas appeal, Gifts in Action, general donations, payroll giving, events, JustGiving.com, and any Gift Aid collected from these amounts.

9.1 10.3 11.6
 
Government and EU

This includes income in the form of grants from governments (e.g. the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the Belgian government, and the EU).

4.7 3.8 4.3
 
Trading income

In prior years income from People’s Postcode Lottery was reported under Trading.

0 0 0
 
DEC

This is income from the Disasters Emergency Committee, including allocation for Türkiye and Syria, and Ukraine in 2023.

6.7 12.7 2.2
 
NGOs, Trusts and companies

This includes income from other NGOs and trusts, such as the Ethical Tea Partnership and the People's Postcode Lottery, and also from companies. These can take the form of donations or grants.

6.2 5.0

3.2

 
Other

This includes rental income from subletting parts of our office building. 

0.7 0.4 0.4

Supporting women in the fight against climate change

Through the Women-Led Alternatives to Climate Change in Cambodia (WLACC) project, ActionAid is providing women with training and resources on disaster response, climate change and sustainable farming.

Nearly 300 farmers in Cambodia have already committed to learning about agroecology and have received a small amount of money to implement sustainable
farming practices. 

The WLACC project has also installed a water pump system most recently in Pursat where 58 farmers can now sustainably access water for their crops, expand their livelihoods and tackle issues like drought.

The WLACC project is a vital lifeline for farmers in Cambodia, and every day your donations are helping in the fight against climate change.

Players of People's Postcode Lottery helped to empower young women 

In 2020, thanks to the players of People's Postcode Lottery, we supported our work promoting girls' empowerment and promoting the rights of women. 

In Ghana, People's Postcode Lottery has funded safe spaces for women to advocate for rights and distribute sanitary pads to over 1,600 members across five regions.

Find out more about People's Postcode Lottery

Our Gifts in Action help strengthen communities

Our supporters helped Shaher, from Afghanistan with the training and equipment needed to start beekeeping. Her new skill has transformed her life.

For the first time, ActionAid offered beekeeping gifts as part of its Gifts in Action range. Gifts in the ‘Beehives to Thrive’ category help women kickstart a new career in beekeeping and earn an independent income.

Before, women in my community didn’t have any opportunity to work except for household and caring activities... now, I spend profits from my beekeeping on my children’s education, buying new clothes for my children and supporting my husband with the household expenses."

Learn more about Gifts in Action

Our institutional donors

We’re also really grateful to the many NGOs, trusts, companies and government or EU funders. Thank you!

These are some of our major funders:

Hewlett Foundation

Hewlett Foundation

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)

UKaid

Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC)

DEC
 

The Belgian Government

Belgian Govt logo

European Union

European Union

Government of Canada

Govt of Canada logo

UN Peacebuilding Fund

UN logo

GSMA

GSMA

People’s Postcode Lottery, Global Trust

PPL logo

Alborada Trust

The Alborada Trust

Start Network

start network logo
Top image:Jeanne can now go to school, thanks to the support of our donors. Jennifer Huxta/ActionAid

Page updated 6 July 2024