A new charity partner has been named for this year’s Sober October in the UK, with Macmillan Cancer Support no longer running an abstinence-based fundraising campaign that month.
Macmillan launched Go Sober for October, which invites participants to stop drinking alcohol and gain charitable sponsorship for a month, in partnership with Australian fundraising campaign Dry July in 2013.
The cancer charity has run the fundraising campaign each October since but it dropped out of the UK’s top 25 charity-owned mass participation events last year.
Alcohol Change UK (ACUK), which also runs Dry January, has been named as the UK charity partner of Sober October for this year.
An ACUK spokesperson told Civil Society that it hopes to raise £30,000 next month, a quarter of the amount donated in Dry January earlier this year.
ACUK, which works to reduce alcohol harm in the UK, recorded a total income of £1.95m in the year to March 2025 and an expenditure of £3.54m.
In its announcement, ACUK said that Australian fundraising platform Ezy Raise now owns and delivers Sober October.
Danielle Houliston, ACUK executive director of income and engagement, said: “We’re incredibly proud to become its new charity partner and work with the team at Ezy Raise on the fantastic fundraising legacy.”
Brett Macdonald, EzyRaise managing director, said that ACUK’s “expertise in alcohol harm and behaviour change makes it a natural fit for Sober October”.
Macmillan welcomes fresh partnership
Macmillan, which recorded an income of £246m and expenditure of £226m in 2024, still lists Sober October merchandise such as t-shirts and cocktail glasses at the time of writing.
Ian Lulham, the charity’s events head, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has taken part in Sober October and raised money for Macmillan over the years.
“We wish Alcohol Change UK and Ezy Raise every success.”
Australian youth organisation Life Education has been credited with starting a similar event called Ocsober in 2010.
Ezy Raise has been approached for further comment.
