How To Donate Used Stamps To Raise Money For Charity
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Don’t bin your old stamps. Instead, recycle them. Here’s how to donate your used stamps to help raise funds for the charity of your choice.
We’ve all seen our energy bills and food bills go up in the last few years. And as a knock-on effect of this, charities have been hit hard. A majority of charities say their income has been hit hard as bills have risen, with four million fewer people donating money to charity compared to six years ago.
If you aren’t able to donate cash to the charities closest to your heart, then there are still ways to help.
Donating goods you don’t need is one way. Make sure you Gift Aid your donations, if you’re a taxpayer, so that charities can claim an extra 25p for every £1 they raise on the sale of your items. As is shopping in charity shops for the things you need.
But there’s another, often forgotten way, to help out your favourite charities. That is donating your old stamps.
Many charities accept any used stamps. These stamps are then sold by weight, and most charities earn around £20 per kilogram of stamps. This makes it an easy way for charities to raise money from something that would otherwise go straight into the recycling bin.
The run-up to Christmas is the ideal time to start collecting used stamps for charity. Many of us will receive Christmas cards from friends and family, which are more likely to have stamps on them, compared to bills. Here’s all you need to know about how best to save your stamps, which charities collect them, and more.
What Stamps Do Charities Accept As Donations?
Charities that collect stamps want any type of postage stamp. Whether they are new or used, first or second class, or smaller denominations, they will take them.
Charities also want stamps from foreign countries, commemorative stamps, first-day covers, presentation packs or albums. Basically, any kind of stamp is accepted.
In 2018, UK charities were advised by the Fundraising Regulator to stop collecting used stamps as donations. This is because concerns had been raised about the fraudulent use of postage stamps.
However, it seems that the introduction of barcodes on stamps a couple of years ago has helped combat fraudulent stamp use. Charities now seem able to collect used stamps as donations in confidence.
How To Donate Used Stamps For Charity
Before you start saving your stamps, there are a few key pointers to note:
- Pre-paid or pre-printed stamps aren’t accepted by charities. They only accept physical stamps, so there’s no need to save every envelope that comes through your door.
- There’s no need to remove the stamp from the envelope, as attempting to peel the stamp off could rip the stamp. Instead, it’s best to cut around the stamp, leaving roughly a centimetre of envelope or packaging around each stamp. The rest of the envelope can then be recycled.
- You shouldn’t send the whole envelope to the charity – you just need to cut around the stamp to save on postage fees and the charity’s time.
Top Tip
Start collecting stamps as they come through your post box at home or at your work. Alternatively, you could set up a collection point in your local community.
Sending Your Stamps
When it comes to sending off your stamps, don’t worry, stamps don’t need to be thoroughly sorted.
Some charities say that it helps if you can separate them into British and foreign stamps (note that stamps from both the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man count as foreign stamps). Others do not require you to sort them before sending them. Check with the charity you wish to support before posting them as to what their preferences are.
Finally, when you send your stamps to your charity, make sure you pay the correct postage on your parcel. If postage is underpaid, the charity has to pay a surcharge, which can sometimes be more than the value of your stamps. This can negate your good work.
The Charities Collecting Stamps
If you’ve started collecting, then here are just some of the charities collecting stamps to raise money to support their vital work:
1. RNIB
The Royal National Institute For The Blind collects used stamps to support its charity work. Here’s how you can donate your stamps to help blind and partially sighted people live the life they want.
The charity offers practical and emotional support to blind and partially sighted people, their families and carers. It also raises awareness of the experiences of blind and partially sighted people and campaigns for change to make society more accessible for all.
2. Canine Partners
Canine Partners is a UK charity transforming the lives of people living with disabilities by training assistance dogs. You can support its important charity work by donating your used stamps. Here are the full details on where to donate them.
3. Age UK
Age UK collects stamps to fund its work supporting older people to lead rich and full lives. Here is all the information on donating your stamps to Age UK .
4. Against Breast Cancer
Against Breast Cancer turns your old postage stamps into funds to support breast cancer research. Here’s where to send your stamps to Against Breast Cancer to support its charity work.
5. The Greyhound Trust
The Greyhound Trust was founded in 1975, and since then has found over 100,000 loving homes for retired racing greyhounds. Each year, the charity rehomes approximately 3,500 retired racing greyhounds and helps hundreds more. Here is where to send your stamps to support this work.
6. Ehlers-Danlos Support UK
Ehlers-Danlos Support UK is the only UK charity to support anybody touched by the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes – a group of thirteen individual genetic conditions, all of which affect the body’s connective tissue. The charity collects stamps to support its work – here’s where to donate them.
7. Kidney Care UK
Kidney Care UK is the leading kidney patient support charity providing advice, support and financial assistance to thousands every year. Here’s how to donate your stamps to Kidney Care UK.
8. Amnesty International UK
Amnesty International UK collects used stamps to support its charity work supporting human rights around the world. Here are the full details on where to send your stamps.
9. Reaching The Unreached
Reaching The Unreached (RTU) is a UK-based charity that works to empower the most marginalised and disadvantaged people, especially children and their families, in rural South India. Here’s where to send your stamps to RTU.
10. Omega
Omega is a registered UK charity dedicated to reducing social isolation and loneliness by offering telephone and pen pal befriending schemes. Here’s where to send your stamps to Omega.
11. Macmillan Cancer Support
Macmillan Cancer Support accepts donations of stamps to help support its work in supporting people living with cancer. Here’s how you can donate your stamps to Macmillan.
12. The Bone Cancer Research Trust
The Bone Cancer Research Trust is a charity that offers hope to people affected by primary bone cancer. It can send you a free pre-paid envelope to you can send them your stamps, and all proceeds go towards its work doing research and offering information, awareness and support to those affected by this type of cancer.
13. Retina UK
Retina UK is a charity that supports people affected by inherited sight loss. It also helps fund medical research to help make their challenges a thing of the past. If you’d like to support this charity, here’s where to donate your stamps to Retina UK.
14. Bransby Horses
Bransby Horses is an animal charity that rescues, rehabilitates, and cares for equines in need, caring for nearly 1000 horses, donkeys, ponies and mules across the UK. Here’s where to donate your stamps to Bransby Horses.
15. The Alzheimer’s Society
Finally, the Alzheimer’s Society collect used stamps to help raise vital funds to support everyone living with dementia. Here are all the donation details for Alzheimer’s Society.
What Happens To Donated Stamps?
I’ve had a few questions in the comments about what happens to the stamps once they are sent to a charity, so I thought I’d update this post with an insight into what happens next.
When charities receive your old stamps, they then wait until they have a big enough batch, before selling them to stamp dealers. Stamp dealers then divide these into smaller quantities to sell to stamp collectors – typically packaging them into 1kg unsorted lots.
These unsorted bundles are attractive to stamp collectors because each bundle could contain collectable commemorative stamps, foreign stamps, and old stamps from people cleaning out cupboards or drawers.
Even common stamps with imperfections – including 1st and 2nd class stamps – are exciting to stamp collectors. This is because any fault on even a common stamp, such as a 1st or 2nd class stamp, can make that stamp rare and therefore worth more. Errors could include too many or too few perforations or printing errors.
The stamp collectors then get the joy of sorting through the bundle (much like how metal detectorists spend hours searching through a field!), with the thrill of potentially finding rare stamps for their collection.
Other dealers sort and grade the stamps they buy from charities, selling any unusual or valuable ones in very good condition to collectors, either individually or in lots based on a theme. These could be foreign stamps or commemorative stamps. They often sell the rest of the used stamps specifically for crafting purposes.
The Bottom Line
Donating your old stamps is an easy way to support your favourite charities. Each charity can raise around £20 per kilogram of stamps they receive, so it really is money for almost nothing.
So let’s start collecting, and support your favourite charity. Philately will get you everywhere, after all! Sorry, couldn’t help myself there!
More Ways To Support Your Favourite Charities
Looking for more ways to support your favourite charities?
- Did you know you can recycle printer cartridges for charity?
- You can also donate any foreign coins leftover from your holidays – even if they are out of circulation. These also raise funds for good causes.
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There would not seem to be any credible use of stamps purchased by the kilo other than washing and reselling. The addition of barcodes only protects the Post Office and not the people duped into buying the dud stamps. I am sure if the charities took the effort to do some basic research into the companies they are selling the stamps to then they would quickly stop facilitating this fraud.
I’m not a philatelist, but stamp collectors like to buy kiloware as it can be a cheap way to add potentially rare stamps to their collection. It’s a perfectly credible hobby that many people partake in. With the addition of the barcodes, fraudsters can’t reuse old stamps.
Do used stamps still need the barcode attached, as this makes them heavier to send, but the stamp can’t be re.used without it anyhow. They look to be perforated and therefore removable. Jean
Hi Jean, I would imagine it would be best to leave it on, as most charities say that it’s best to cut around the stamp, leaving roughly a centimetre of envelope or packaging around each stamp.
Hi Wendy
I notice that some of those on your list above currently do not accept stamps – Against Breast Cancer, Kidney Care and Leprosy Mission. Would you consider including a great charity raising funds to help people in India? Many thanks
Thanks for the heads up Mo. I’ve double-checked and Kidney Care is still collecting stamps, Against Breast Cancer have temporarily paused its collection, and Leprosy Mission has stopped collecting. I’ve updated the post and included RTU.
If the buyer then finds a valuable stamp do they then sell it on and give the charity some of the win fall?
I guess that would be up to the generosity of the buyer! However, the buyer would have no way of knowing which charity it came from – I don’t think stamp donations are tracked in that way.
I have a pile of stamped postcards,uk,USA,a few European. Dates range from late 70’s onwards. As card is heavier than paper what is the acceptable way of donating these stamps.?
Hi Joy, it’s fine that they are on card. Just cut the stamp out, leaving a border of card around it – roughly a centimetre.
So if I have 50kg bag of old used UK stamps and forward them to one of the charities could someone please explain what exactly the charity and dealers (who are they) do with them? I can hardly believe that some dealer sits at a table scrutinizing 1,000’s of old 1st and 2nd class stamps and how many arts & crafts users would want 30k used UK stamps?
The best use would be to pile them into a furnace and use to generate heat & power.
Hi Stevie, it’s an established way of selling stamps to collectors – known as Kiloware. Unsorted stamps are sold in 1kg bundles to collectors. As the bundles are usually unsorted this means scarcer or better stamps will not have been removed from the mix, and there is the possibility of the collector finding good stamps for a low price. I personally don’t collect stamps. However for collectors, I can imagine it’s probably quite thrilling sorting through a large pile of stamps hoping to find something interesting/rare. Similar to metal detecting I guess!
Thanks for the interesting article about recycling postage stamps … something I’ve done for years, but a friend told me they are just stripped off the paper and used for their paper value.
Do you have any information on what happens to the actual stamps?
I really appreciate the way you respond to questions.
Thanks for your comment Rosie. I’ve had a few questions about this lately, so I have just updated the article with what happens to stamps once they are donated. Essentially, they are sold in small bundles to stamp collectors, who regard the bundles as highly prized as they could contain rarities for their stamp collections. Hope this is helpful!