Generous Guardian readers have so far raised more than £500,000 for the Hope appeal supporting inspirational grassroots charities that bring together divided communities, promote tolerance, and tackle racism and hatred.
The 2025 Guardian appeal is raising funds for five charities: Citizens UK, the Linking Network, Locality, Hope Unlimited Charitable Trust, and Who Is Your Neighbour?
Our partner charities deliver practical projects designed to foster empathy, build trust and promote positive change on the issues that matter for local communities, from affordable housing to youth clubs, arts projects to food kitchens.
The appeal launched earlier this month as a constructive blast of hope and optimism against an increasingly unsettling backdrop of extremist violence and harassment, anti-migrant rhetoric, and the re-emergence of “1970s-style racism”.
Our coverage includes Lucy Knight’s moving account of SaSh, a Jewish-Muslim charity food kitchen project supported by Hope Unlimited that tackles hatred and hunger with joy and irrepressible determination.
As one donor told us: “The story about SaSh was beautiful and gives me hope.”
A SaSh trustee, Andrea Chipman, was talking about the Nottingham-based project but arguably summed up the spirit of the entire 2025 appeal when she said: “When everything’s feeling a bit hopeless, [it’s] a very local hands-on way where you can make a difference.”
Other recent highlights of our appeal coverage include Taj Ali’s Guardian film featuring the work of Locality member Back on the Map, a community organisation revitalising a Sunderland neighbourhood after far-right riots in 2024; and Helen Pidd’s report on Who Is Your Neighbour?’s pioneering work holding “difficult conversations”.
The appeal has struck a chord with many donors. One emailed: “This country is full of decent and wonderful people who want to help those around them. Hate doesn’t help those who are in need, love and kindness do.”
Gurinder Josan Singh, the chair of Hope Unlimited, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Guardian readers for your generous support. We believe by funding local organisations at the forefront of the fight against hate and division, your donations will make a huge difference in bringing people together and building hope.”
The Guardian editor-in-chief, Katharine Viner, said when introducing the appeal: “Our charities – and the projects they support – are united in the belief that however loud the forces of hate and division, they will never drown out the values shared by the vast majority: tolerance, compassion and common humanity.”
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