Donating to Samaritans - FAQs

To give you an idea of how much it costs to run our services, €10 will cover the cost of a call to our helpline from someone struggling to cope, €30 could help Samaritans cover the costs of training, supporting and mentoring a listening volunteer, and a donation of €156 could help Samaritans cover the costs of recruiting and training a new listening volunteer to answer calls for help.

Gifts to Samaritans will not only help us to answer as many calls as possible, but it will also help us develop new ways of making sure our service is available to those who need it. We’ll be able to keep up with evolving communications, making sure that whenever and however someone makes a call for help, we’ll be ready to answer. 

Samaritans Ireland are supported by around 2,000 incredible volunteers across Ireland & Northern Ireland, but it is not just our listening service that helps us achieve our vision of fewer people dying by suicide. We also provide workplace training to help people take better care of their mental health at work, and campaign for more investment in national and local suicide prevention.

Our Supporter Care team would be happy to help answer any query you have about a donation you have made or would like to make. Simply give us a call on 01 671 0071 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back within 48 hours).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Ireland Supporter Care
4-5 Usher's Court
Usher's Quay
Dublin
D08 Y223

Please include your full name and address when writing to us.

Please note, if your query relates to a donation you’ve made to a particular branch, we recommend contacting that branch in the first instance.

Major gifts can be transformational to Samaritans. Our Philanthropy team would be happy to help answer any query you have about philanthropy, major giving or support via a family trust, and connect you with the areas of our work you feel most passionately about. You can email us at [email protected]

We are very happy to receive a donation directly into our bank account. Please contact our Supporter Care team by email at [email protected], who will be able to provide you with our bank details and a payment reference.

We are also happy to verify our bank details over the phone. To do this, please call 01 671 0071 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back within 48 hours).

To support a particular branch of Samaritans please visit our Find a branch page (https://www.samaritans.org/branches/) and locate your preferred branch. At the bottom of their page you will find a link to donate to that branch via an online third party. If that branch does not have a link to donate, they may not yet be set up to take donations online. They would, however be very grateful to accept a donation by post.

Please contact the Supporter Care team if you have any questions at [email protected] or 01 671 0071 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you within 48 hours).

To donate by cheque please make your cheque payable to ‘Samaritans Ireland’. Your cheque can then be posted to:

Samaritans Ireland Supporter Care
4-5 Usher's Court
Usher's Quay
Dublin
D08 Y223

We would be very happy to accept a donation over the telephone. To do this, please call 01 671 0071 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back within 48 hours).

Whilst we are grateful to receive any type of donation, we do not recommend sending cash in the post as we cannot guarantee it will arrive with us and cannot be held responsible for any cash that is lost on its way to us.

We welcome donations to our charity shops. You can find your closest Samaritans charity shop but visiting the our charity shop location page (https://www.samaritans.org/support-us/other-ways-support-us/find-your-nearest-samaritans-shop/).

Our Supporter Care team would be happy to update the contact details we have for you. Simply give us a call on 01 671 0071 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back within 48 hours).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Ireland Supporter Care
4-5 Usher's Court
Usher's Quay
Dublin
D08 Y223

Please include your full name and address when writing to us.

We want to communicate with you in a way that you’re happy with. If you find you’re receiving too much or too little contact from us, or want to change the kind of things you hear about, let us know by calling our Supporter Care team on 01 671 0071 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back within 48 hours).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Ireland Supporter Care
4-5 Usher's Court
Usher's Quay
Dublin
D08 Y223

Please include your full name and address when writing to us.

Samaritans welcomes all the feedback we receive from our supporters, so if you think we’ve done something well or you think we could have done better, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

You can get in touch with our Supporter Care team by calling 01 671 0071 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back within 48 hours).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Ireland Supporter Care
4-5 Usher's Court
Usher's Quay
Dublin
D08 Y223

If you complain in person or over the phone, we will try to resolve the issue there and then. Similarly, if you complain by email or in writing we will always acknowledge your complaint within seven days, and do everything we can to resolve it within 21 days. If this is not possible, we will explain why and provide a new deadline.

If you are not happy with our response, you may get in touch again by writing to the Samaritans Ireland’s Chair. The Chair will ensure that your appeal is considered at Board level and will respond within two weeks of this consideration by Board members.

Ideally, in the first instance you should address your complaint to the organisation as outlined above. You may however at any stage make your complaint to the Charities Regulator who oversee charities compliance with the Guidelines for Charitable Organisations on Fundraising from the Public.

If you wish to contact them regarding a concern, you must complete the online concerns form.

Samaritans Ireland is committed to best practice, transparency and accountability in our fundraising activities. At its meeting on the 9th of April 2022, the Samaritans Ireland Board resolved to adopt the Charities Regulator Guidelines for Charitable Organisations on Fundraising from the Public and confirmed that Samaritans Ireland is committed to complying with the Guidelines.

Donor Charter

As a charity seeking donations from the public Samaritans Ireland aim to comply with the Guidelines for Charitable Organisations on Fundraising from the Public.

Our pledge is to treat all our donors with respect, honesty and openness.

We commit to being accountable and transparent so that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in Samaritans Ireland.

We promise we will effectively apply your gifts to us for their intended purposes.

We commit that you, our donors and prospective donors will:

• Be informed of the organisation’s mission, and of the way the organisation intends to use donated resources.
• Be informed of the identity of those serving on the organisation’s governing board, and that the board will exercise prudent judgement in its stewardship responsibilities.
• Have access to the organisation’s most recent financial statements.
• Be assured your gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given. Receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.
• Be assured that information about your donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
• Expect that all relationships with individuals representing the charity will be dealt with professionally.
• Be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organisation or hired third party agents.
• Have easily available the agreed procedures for making and responding to complaints.
• Have the opportunity for any names to be deleted from mailing lists and to be informed if the organisation intends to share the mailing lists with third parties.
• Receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers to questions you might have of the organisation.

There are plenty of ways you can fundraise for Samaritans – we’d love to have your support!

Some of the ways our amazing #TeamSamaritans supporters like to fundraise include:

- Runs, walks, cycles and other sporting challenges

- Streaming and gaming

- Celebrations like weddings or birthdays

- Fun activities like bake sales, raffles, quizzes or craft-making

The possibilities are endless! Whatever you choose to do, we’ll be here to support you throughout your fundraising journey.

To get started, just visit our events and fundraising page to discover some events and activities you can get involved in. If you had your own fundraising idea or you’re taking part in an event that isn’t on our website, just let us know about it here.

If you need help getting inspired or had any questions about fundraising for Samaritans, just email our friendly Community & Events Team at [email protected] who’ll be happy to help.

Please get in touch with our corporate team who would be happy to assist with this. You can contact the team at [email protected]

If you’re thinking of cancelling your Direct Debit, please give our Supporter Care team a call on 01 671 0071 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you within 48 hours).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Ireland Supporter Care
4-5 Usher's Court
Usher's Quay
Dublin
D08 Y223

Please include your full name and address when writing to us.

Samaritans are so grateful for every donation we receive, but we understand if you are unable to continue giving at your current amount. If you would prefer to reduce your monthly gift or change the frequency instead of cancelling it, we would be very grateful and it would still do so much in supporting people who are struggling to cope.

If your regular donation is via a Standing Order you can cancel or amend this directly with your bank.

If you would like to increase or decrease the amount or frequency of your regular gift please give our Supporter Care team a call on 01 671 0071 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back within 48 hours).

You can also email us at [email protected], or write to us at:

Samaritans Ireland Supporter Care
4-5 Usher's Court
Usher's Quay
Dublin
D08 Y223

Please include your full name and address when writing to us.

If your regular donation is via a Standing Order you can amend this directly with your bank.

To change the bank account that your Direct Debit is paid from, please give our Supporter Care team a call on 01 671 0071 (we’re available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, but outside of these hours you can leave a voicemail and we’ll call you back within 48 hours).

You can also write to us at:

Samaritans Ireland Supporter Care
4-5 Usher's Court
Usher's Quay
Dublin
D08 Y223

Please include your full name and address when writing to us. We do not recommend sending bank details via email.