The Big Issue exists to support people who are homeless, long term unemployed or in need of extra cash to avoid falling into debt. In unpredictable times, we provide an opportunity for people to earn their own income.
The Big Issue in the North Trust is a small charity which raises funds from the public (about £100k per year) to support vendors. The charity pays for some staff time to support vendors – doing things such as crisis work, assessments, action planning and helping them access other services.
The Big Issue is one of the UK's leading social businesses and exists to offer homeless people, or individuals at risk of homelessness, the opportunity to earn a legitimate income, thereby helping them to reintegrate into mainstream society. It is the world's most widely circulated street newspaper.
About Us. We are an independent, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting and creating work opportunities for people experiencing homelessness, marginalisation and disadvantage.
They keep the profit from every sale, and can reinvest it buying more magazines. Many vendors are homeless, or at risk of losing their home if they do not make enough money to pay rent and bills.
We support every vendor to run their own mini business, buying and selling the Big Issue magazine each week. We sell the Big Issue magazine to vendors at £2 and vendors sell the magazine on to customers for £4, keeping the difference.
Selling Big Issue North is a genuine, legally recognised form of self-employment. Vendors buy magazines for £1.50 each from one of our offices, then sell them on for £3, keeping the money they make.
The publication has helped 92,000 homeless and impoverished people collectively earn £115 million through work rather than begging. Right now, around 1,500 vendors sell The Big Issue across the UK.
Support from Big Issue Group is helping millions of people through the cost of living crisis, a new report has found. Overall, 7.4 million people in the UK were impacted by Big Issue Group's systems of support or engaged with our products – an increase of 58% in a year.
Vendors must stand when selling if they are able to do so. Vendors must not beg for money using the magazine (asking for spare change or other items is considered to be begging). Vendors can only charge the cover price (£4) for each magazine and must always give the customer the magazine once paid for.
Since then over 200 million copies magazine have been sold by over 100,000 people. Vendors buy the magazine upfront for £1.75 and sell it on to the public for £4.00, and in doing so each runs their own micro-enterprise.
Big Issue North is set to maintain its increased festive price, in order to help vendors face the cost-of-living crisis and to meet rising production costs. The weekly magazine will now be on sale for £4, available from your local vendors.
In 2022, BIG worked with 3,577 vendors, who sold 2.2 million magazines in 2022. These sales saw Big Issue vendors earn a collective profit of £3.76 million.
Big Issue vendors are self employed. They buy the magazine at a cheaper price than they sell it. Aside from your implied criticism of their job, that vendors are either homeless or vulnerably housed will not be a great selling point to prospective employers.
We're relying on cash less than ever before, and the EQ Foundation has joined with the Big Issue to offer contactless card readers to all its vendors. London is now a largely cashless society and most other UK towns are fast following suit. In recent years, contactless has become king.
Vendors who sell The Big Issue magazine are their own mini-enterprises, buying copies for £1.75 and selling them to the public for £4, keeping the difference. This allows them to support themselves and their families, while becoming less reliant on tax-funded benefits.
We are one of the oldest and biggest social enterprises in the UK. All the profits made by the Big Issue Group are reinvested back into helping vendors with a 'hand up, not a hand out'.
Big Issue North is to close following the publication of its May 8 issue. From the following week, Big Issue vendors across the North will sell the main national Big Issue UK weekly magazine.
As long as you're 17 or older, you can work with us, even if you have a criminal record. While a third of our vendors are homeless, the majority are not – people sell Big Issue North for a wide variety of reasons, and if you want to work with us, we want to work with you!
Every week's edition is packed full of original takes on the biggest issues of the day as well as interviews with the most significant figures in politics and entertainment. Every subscription purchase goes towards supporting The Big Issue's mission to help the most vulnerable people in the UK to improve their lives.
To sell the magazine, you do not have to have any ID, a bank account, or any proof of address. Vendors buy the big issue for £1.50 per copy and sell for £3; the profit is theirs to keep.
Out of the 3,637 vendors, 899 sold the Big Issue for the first time in 2022 – highlighting how many are in financial need for the first time. We are very grateful to the amazing support we have received that has enabled us to work with even more people.
The Big Issue is one of Britain's leading news and cultural magazines. Every week's edition is packed full of original takes on the biggest issues of the day as well as interviews with the most significant figures in politics and entertainment.
