

MoneySavingExpert charity fund
Grant-giving to grassroots groups and more
If you want to empower consumers, put money in their pocket. This site is dedicated to doing just that... but our charity fund does it even more directly. With over £2.2 million donated so far, it's MoneySavingExpert's way of giving back to users.
The money we raise currently goes to support the MSE Charity, which gives grants of up to £7,500 to groups that provide education, information and support to help people learn how to manage their money better.
But that's not all – we also make one-off donations and, in the past, have donated part of our fund to a range of charities nominated by you, MSE users.
January grant-giving is now closed
Due to a high level of interest, the MSE Charity has already accepted 40 applications for grants in its January round of donations.
This is the maximum number it allows, so the charity closed its grant-giving at 3pm on Monday 16 January.
The round was themed on 'raising the next generation', and was focused on funding groups that help develop the financial life skills of children, young people and families.
The MSE Charity team will now review the applications and will look to announce the groups that will benefit from grants some time in March.
For more info on previous projects the MSE Charity has funded, see June 2022 grant recipients below.
The MSE Charity is separate from MSE founder Martin Lewis's charitable fund. For full info on that, see his blog:
And for more information on MoneySavingExpert, see:

What is the MSE Charity?

Launched in May 2008, the MSE Charity (registered charity number 1121320) is dedicated to helping people help themselves, by funding activities that make a lasting impact on how people think, behave, and manage their money.
Rather than engaging in any projects itself, the charity offers grants of up to £7,500 to support non-profit organisations, such as social enterprises or registered charities, with specific money education projects. Help is given to a range of projects, from small grassroots groups to more mainstream charities, with the maximum annual income level for an organisation set at £750,000.
The MSE Charity has two themed grant-giving rounds a year and four themes that rotate through a two-year cycle. Its themes include building and developing resilience, life-changing transitions, and living with long-term challenges.
Its latest grant round, themed on raising the next generation, closed at 3pm on Monday 16 January, with the recipients of grants due to be announced in March. Then, the next round is set to open on 4 September 2023.
For more info on the MSE Charity's last round of donations, see grant recipients below.
And to find out more about applying for a grant, see the MSE Charity website.

MSE founder Martin Lewis on the MSE Charity's history...
The MSE Charity is now over 10 years old. It was my first foray into the third sector and I've learned much. The MSE Charity is still very much the site's baby, a passion play that allows us to help far more than those who just use the site. It enables us to put money into small projects that may otherwise get ignored, but can have a huge impact on people's lives. Its focus remains on educating people on how to deal with their money and to tackle financial illiteracy.
In the early days MSE and I were the same thing. Now the site has its own independent life, alongside me, which is why I'm delighted it continues to fund the MSE Charity. It was the MSE Charity that educated me into what a privilege having money and being able to put it where it is needed really is. Without it I'm not sure I'd have had the confidence to set up the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute and the other work I do. Thanks MSE Charity.
See more on Martin's personal charity fund work, including his own donations to the MSE Charity, which are separate from MSE's.

Where does the MSE Charity's money come from?
The cash is generated from two sources:
- An annual donation from this site. A donation of over £235,000 was made to launch the charity, and substantial donations have continued to be made each year.
All this cash – less some small administrative costs – goes directly to the grant fund. Martin makes a separate personal donation to cover the majority of the running costs of the charity.
Martin also put money into the Martin Lewis Charitable Fund when MoneySavingExpert joined the MoneySupermarket Group – for more information on this, see Martin's blog.
- Donations from well-wishers. Anyone who wants to support the charity is more than welcome; for the many who have said they'd like to donate to MoneySavingExpert as it's saved them money, please donate to the charity instead.
How can I make a donation to the MSE Charity?
You can donate online through the MSE Charity's PayPal Giving Fund page or through its Bacs donation form. To donate by post, contact its treasurer Tony Tesciuba, at Tesciuba Ltd, 72 Cavendish Road, Salford, M7 4WA, and if your donation is eligible for Gift Aid, please complete its Gift Aid declaration form.
Who's recently been given an MSE Charity grant?
The MSE Charity awarded an average grant of about £6,250 to eight worthy organisations in its last round of donations.
Its June 2022 grant-giving was themed on 'developing resilience', and focused on groups that provide urgent money guidance and emergency debt help.
The groups benefited from a total of just under £50,000, allowing them to teach vital financial life skills to people who are struggling with their finances.

Visit the MSE Charity website or discuss it in the MSE Forum.

What other donations has MSE made?
Not only has MoneySavingExpert donated towards the MSE Charity's work, over the years we have also gifted cash to charities nominated by MSE users, and made a string of one-off donations, totalling more than £700,000.
The nominated charities include:
While many of MSE's donations have gone towards helping improve people's financial skills, we've also made a number of one-off donations to high-profile fundraising events and a range of charities large and small, including:
- Children in Need
- Comic Relief
- Red Cross
- Unicef
- Various charities following natural disasters such as the Myanmar cyclone in 2008, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in 2004
How much has MSE donated over the years?
Here's the MSE donation history since the site launched in February 2003.
This money comes directly from the site, and doesn't include any donations made by private individuals to the MSE Charity. If you're asking: "How does a free site with no ads make these donations?", read our How this site is financed guide.
Donations between 1 Sep 2019 and 31 Dec 2022

£327,800
Donations between 22 Jul 2008 and 31 Aug 2019

£1,389,750
Donations between 1 Sep 2006 and 21 Jul 2008

£404,084
Donations between 25 Jun 2005 and 31 Aug 2006

£87,248
Donations between 12 May 2004 and 24 Jun 2005

£39,680
Spotted out of date info/broken links? Email: brokenlink@moneysavingexpert.com
Clever ways to calculate your finances