Donate now
Christmas Appeal 2026
This year’s RNLI Christmas Appeal begins mailings this week, with aims to raise an ambitious £2.1M/€2.5M to power our lifesaving service through another festive season and beyond. Read on for all you need to know about our biggest fundraising campaign of the year, and how you can play your part.
‘No matter how many people you rescue, you always remember the ones you couldn’t reach.’
Those are the powerful words that will be sent to millions of people over the coming weeks. This year’s Christmas Appeal once again takes an unflinching look at the realities of life as frontline volunteer lifeboat crew, with emotional stories of crew members being driven to save every one, and thinking about the ones they couldn’t save.
This year supporters will receive a story told by Graham Heritage, Volunteer Coxswain at Llandudno, with an honest view that rescues don’t always work out the way we would like. Graham’s story tells of his crew – including his own son, Luke – and their search for a fishing boat with three crew members on board.
Sadly, despite dozens of volunteers putting all their efforts into the search, the fishermen could not be found. But Graham’s story also shares a message of determination and hope that next time they can save every one.
Our thanks go to Graham and all the crew members at Llandudno, as well as the families of the three fishermen. With their help, we hope that their stories will help us to:
- Raise a massive £2.1M/€2.5M from approximately 53K donors
- Generate sales for our online shop
- Convert donors to legacy giving
- Generate additional money through Gift Aid (in the UK) and Tax Relief (in Ireland).
The Observer
From the end of November, the RNLI will be partnering with The Observer to amplify our Christmas Appeal in the media and to celebrate the commitment of our lifesavers who remain on call throughout the festive season.
We have been chosen as one of two charity partners for the Observer to support throughout November and December. With thanks to crews from across the RNLI including LLandudno and Tower, we can help drive awareness, reach new audiences and generate donations to support our lifesaving service.
Watch out for content from November 29 to December 27.
How you can help
As we prepare to head into 2027, we need these donations more than ever. And we hope you will help us reach them by sharing our campaign far and wide. Please show your support by sharing the printed or online materials with friends and family, or passing along your copy of The Observer once you’ve read it. If you spot one of our ads on social media, please give it a thumbs up, heart or share!
If you’re feeling energetic, you can also support our lifesavers this year by taking part in the ever-popular Reindeer Run Challenge. Take on 24 miles throughout December – running, walking, or wheeling – and raise money to keep our volunteers rescue-ready all year round. With a £140,000/€167,000 fundraising target, a much-loved incentive making its return and plenty of Christmas spirit, we’re looking forward to another fantastic Reindeer Run!
As you can imagine, it has taken an enormous effort from our teams to create and coordinate the Appeal and all our other Christmas activity, so huge thanks to everyone who has been involved.
Thank you for your amazing support – we are all lifesavers, we are all fundraisers, we are one crew.