Giving Tuesday 2025
02 Dec 2025
Make a difference this season: challenge accepted?
Today, Tuesday 2 December, we’re celebrating Giving Tuesday! Giving Tuesday is an annual day for people to do ‘good stuff’, to recognise what is already being done and to encourage people to consider giving time, money or supporting a worthwhile cause.
Our new fundraising and volunteering campaign, Challenge Accepted, shares the same ambition as Giving Tuesday - encouraging colleagues to consider how a small action can make a huge difference. Whether it’s unlocking student potential, fuelling research discoveries, backing bold ideas or building cultural connections, we’re committed to facing these challenges together, and it can start with something as simple as volunteering for a couple of hours a month, or donating a few pennies with your payslip.
Giving Tuesday is a great opportunity to ask yourself if you’re up for the challenge – and join colleagues giving their time, skills, and even coats! to deliver real world change.
Get involved!
Volunteering
As part of our Volunteering Policy, we offer colleagues three working days (pro-rata) each to volunteer with a local cause that matters to them. Volunteering is vital for us to become a great philanthropic university – a key element of our strategy to 2035, From Manchester for the world. Now’s a great time to look ahead to 2026 and consider how you could make a difference with your volunteer days if you’ve not already used them.
Purple Pennies
Our Purple Pennies scheme allows you to donate the pennies from your salary towards local causes voted for by our colleagues: Wood Street Mission, Rewrite Cancer, and Supporting Manchester Students. This includes the option to back the next generation of changemakers, by supporting our student inclusion and success fund.
With the scheme, your salary will be rounded down to the nearest pound, meaning you will never donate more than 99p a month. It only takes 30 seconds to sign up!
Purple Pounds
This year we were awarded the Payroll Giving Gold Award, a first for our university that recognises our commitment in this area. Purple Pounds enables you to donate to any UK registered charity on a regular or one-off basis. You can also choose our university as your charity of choice, making a huge difference in one of our four campaign challenge areas – from removing obstacles to allow students to thrive, to backing the researchers tackling today's most urgent problems.
Automatic deductions are taken from your monthly pay, pre-tax.
Seasonal Giving
Stan's Secret Santa
Manchester Museum's beloved T. rex, Stan, is getting dressed up for the annual Stan’s Secret Santa charity appeal, collecting gifts for people experiencing homelessness and poverty across Manchester. Simply head down to the Museum from Tuesday 2 December to Sunday 7 December to deliver a donation and support Manchester-based charities Barnabus, Mustard Tree and Wood Street Mission.
Donate your old coats!
The University of Manchester Staff Association (UMSA) are supporting the Human Appeal by collecting coats of all sizes to ensure those in need can stay warm this winter. If you have any to spare, please drop them off at the Royce Reception by Tuesday 9 December.
Make Christmas special for a local care leaver
The Christmas Dinner is a university initiative that hosts a fun and memorable Christmas Day to care leavers aged 18-25, who would otherwise be on their own. You can donate a gift or support the touring raffle across campus to be in with the chance of winning something special.