Thank you for considering making a donation to BAILII.

Why does BAILII appeal for funds?

BAILII is a charity committed to providing free access to the law for all. It relies on donations to fund the very modest costs of maintaining and extending its free-to-access databases of legal information. With a three-person, mostly part-time staff and an annual budget of approximately £225,000,¹ BAILII hosts 139 databases covering 14 jurisdictions and uploads almost 500 judgments per week.

Why donate to BAILII?

BAILII was founded in 2000 to promote access to justice by providing free online databases of case law, legislation, and other legal materials. At that time, accessing judgments, which is essential in common law jurisdictions like those of the UK, was largely impossible without an expensive database subscription or a very well-stocked law library. That level of cost exceeded the means of many who needed access to the law, particularly advice sector organisations, individuals, and small firms. The same is true today.

A contribution to BAILII helps ensure that everyone has free access to a reliable, independent, cookie-free source of judgments and other legal materials. In 2023, we had almost 5 million visitors and over 100 million page views. For the underfunded advice sector and community law centres, BAILII is an essential resource. In addition, BAILII is widely used by the legal education and training community (students, academics, librarians, and researchers), litigants in person, journalists, those working to promote access to justice and the rule of law, as well as individuals around the world. A donation to BAILII supports the infrastructure that is essential for access to justice, so that everyone – citizens and residents as well as the people and organisations who represent them – has access to the laws under which they live.

If you use BAILII, whether regularly or occasionally, a donation also ensures that you will continue to have access to the free, multi-jurisdictional databases that you need. BAILII is widely used among legal practitioners and their library/knowledge management support teams. While many have access to subscription services, they also use BAILII for a variety of reasons, such as staying up to date via BAILII's lists of recent and popular judgments. In a 2018 survey of users, 100% of responding barristers and solicitors said that they used BAILII, and the majority were daily users. To remain viable, BAILII needs the financial support of those who use it.

Contributions from those who support BAILII's aims and/or make regular use of the BAILII website are welcomed and gratefully received.

Donating to BAILII

If you wish to discuss becoming a donor – particularly if you are a corporate or institutional donor interested in making a multi-year commitment (e.g. 3 years), or if you would like to donate £5,000 or more – please e-mail partnerships@bailii.org.

Methods of Donating

• Online via Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)

To donate online, please click to visit BAILII’s Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) page. This is the most appropriate route for the majority of individual donors, and UK taxpayers can register for Gift Aid, which will increase the donation's value by 25%. Donations can be made using the following:

• Credit/debit card;

• PayPal;

• Direct Debit;

• An existing CAF account.

N.B. CAF cannot process corporate/institutional donations unless the corporation/institution has its own CAF account.