BGC Group raises record amounts at charity day amidst decline in corporate giving
BGC Group raised a record $16m globally for its annual BGC Charity Day last week, bringing the firm’s total to $250m over the fundraiser’s 22-year history.
Established in memory of the 658 colleagues at Cantor Fitzgerald, BGC Group’s former parent company, who lost their lives on 9/11, the day invites global entertainment and sport celebrities to become brokers for the day, making trades to raise money for chosen charities. More than 1,000 charities have been supported to date, with 60 or more UK charities benefiting each year.
Sean Windeatt, Co-CEO and COO of BGC Group, said that the day had become “one of the world’s most significant fundraising events and an incredible legacy in their honour.”
Friday’s 50 ambassadors included stars Dame Helen Mirren, Hugh Grant, Sir Gareth Southgate and YouTuber KSI.
All revenue from the day is donated to dozens of charities around the world. Among the charities supported this year were Action Medical Research (AMR), the UK’s children’s charity which helped fund the development of the first UK polio vaccines, and the 100-year-old Denville Hall, represented by Dame Mirren, the residential home for members of the creative and performing industries.
Joanne Benjamin, Chair of Trustees at Denville Hall said that in the context of the cost of living, “corporate support of this kind is no longer a bonus; it is essential to our survival, and to our ability to care for those who have spent their lives entertaining us”
Philanthropist John Caudwell, founder of Caudwell Youth, said donations from the day would fund one-to-one mentoring for young people facing mental health challenges, leaving care, or at risk of exploitation and offending, adding: “This generous donation from BGC Charity Day will fund… the consistent support and guidance they need to build a brighter future.”
Decline in UK corporate giving
This week, research by the Charities Aid Foundation found that only 27 per cent of UK businesses support charities in any way, with just 17 per cent giving cash, while FTSE 100 giving has halved as a percentage of profits since 2009. Charities would receive an additional £1bn if FTSE 100 companies donated one per cent of profits.
AMR’s Director of Fundraising, Lewis Coghlin, said that the charity had “seen donations affected by the cost of living crisis and the general economic uncertainty”.
Windeatt said he hoped Charity Day would “encourage more [businesses] to find their own way to step up, especially when the benefits, from employee retention to how customers see you, are so clear”. He noted that giving did not need to involve writing a cheque. “Give time, give skills, give a day.”
BGC Charity Day 2026 took place across the Group’s offices worldwide, including London, New York, Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong, São Paulo and Sydney.