What can you do with leftover foreign currency? Here’s one idea…

A journey home often brings the holiday into focus: the places you’ve seen, the people you’ve met, the memories you’ll carry back. And perhaps there’s a little change left in your pocket.

On British Airways flights, customers have the option to donate this spare change to the BA Better World Community Fund. It’s a modest gesture, but one that helps to support charities and social enterprises working to make a lasting difference in communities. Here’s how it works – and what your donation can help make possible.

What is the BA Better World Community Fund?

BA Better World is British Airways’ sustainability programme. It focuses on three areas where we believe we can make a difference: People, Planet and Responsible Business.

That includes a wide range of work, from improving accessibility and reducing waste to supporting communities and fighting illegal wildlife trafficking. The BA Better World Community Fund is one part of that wider programme, supporting UK-based charities and social enterprises working towards long-term positive change.

Why are cabin crew asking for spare change?

From May to December, cabin crew collect customer donations on board for the BA Better World Community Fund. Every donation made during this collection period is shared equally between its five principal Community Fund partners: Alzheimer’s Society, The Earthshot Prize, The King’s Trust, The British Red Cross Society and the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).

It’s an easy opportunity to give while you travel. A few coins may not feel like much on their own, but donations from many customers, alongside support from colleagues and the wider public, add up.

How can I donate?

When cabin crew come round with the collection, you can donate your spare change. You can also scan the QR code. Every contribution is appreciated, and giving is entirely optional.

You can also support the Community Fund when booking a British Airways flight by rounding up your fare. Members of The British Airways Club can donate Avios to their chosen charity through the Fund. In 2025, three Avios match-funding campaigns doubled the value of donations to Comic Relief, the Royal British Legion and Alzheimer’s Society.

In 2025, thanks to the generosity of colleagues and customers more than £3.5m was raised for the Community Fund, including a contribution of more than £1m from British Airways.

What can my donation help support?

The Community Fund supports amazing projects, including wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, community engagement, climate action and the protection of biodiversity and nature.

That support can take many forms. Projects backed in 2025 included restoring woodland and peatland, planting and protecting urban trees, supporting local communities to improve access to nature and helping young people build employability skills.

The Fund also supports organisations working with people and communities, including those affected by mental health challenges, fighting modern slavery and human trafficking, and the impacts of disaster.

What happens when we all give a little?

For more than 30 years, British Airways has supported community initiatives in the UK and around the world. Since the Community Fund began in 2022, more than £12m has been raised to support UK-based charities and social enterprises.

And it’s not just customers who make this work possible. More than 5,000 British Airways colleagues around the world are active champions, helping to support charity partners through fundraising and volunteering, both on the ground and on board.

So, on your next journey, if you have a little change to spare, consider giving it to the collection. It’s a small gesture that can help support meaningful work in communities.

Learn more about BA Better World Community Fund