Common questions

What does the Big Issue Foundation do?

What does the Big Issue Foundation do?

Our mission is to dismantle poverty by creating opportunity, through self-help, social trading and business solutions.

Who funds the big issue?

The Big Issue Foundation is not funded by magazine sales and 98% of our work is funded through voluntary donations.

Can you donate to the big issue?

The Big Issue Foundation is the charity arm of The Big Issue and is 100% reliant on voluntary donations. We work with Big Issue vendors by cultivating strong working relationships through which we can provide the vital bespoke support that is needed to help people away from the street.

How much is the big issue Australia?

Partners. The Big Issue magazine is a fortnightly, independent magazine sold on the streets by people experiencing homelessness, marginalisation and disadvantage. Vendors buy copies of the magazine for $4.50 and sell them for $9, keeping the difference and earning meaningful income.

Is the big issue tax deductible?

The Big Issue is a not-for-profit with charity status, which allows us to receive tax deductible donations. All donations are used to support the programs which help people experiencing homelessness, marginalisation and disadvantage.

How much does the big issue cost?

Since the magazine was founded, we have been in partnership with the people who sell it. Vendors buy The Big Issue for £1.25 and sell it for £2.50. Each seller is a micro-entrepreneur who is working, not begging.

How often is big issue released?

The Big Issue

The Big Issue, January 2012
Editor-in-chief Paul McNamee
Frequency Weekly
Circulation 83,073 (as of February 2018)
First issue September 1991

Are Big Issue sellers Self Employed?

Big Issue vendors are a well known and wonderfully supported group of individuals, buying and selling the Big Issue magazine across the UK for nearly 30 years. This will directly affect their sales and therefore their income. They are self-employed and not eligible for any statutory support.

Do Big Issue sellers have to be homeless?

To become a vendor, one must be homeless or almost homeless, vulnerably housed or marginalised in some way. At the magazine’s launch in 1991, around 90% of vendors were homeless; by 1997, the majority had temporary accommodation.