Mystery as envelopes stuffed with £1,000 in old notes land on doorsteps

A mystery donor is sending £1,000 in £20 notes to various charities – three in the last few months. The latest good cause to receive the cash is Bristol Autism Support having received £1,020 in the post.

Recently the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), based in Portishead, received an anonymous £1,100 cash contribution. And in May, Marie Curie in Bristol discovered wads of cash amounting to £1,000 in their letterbox.

All three donations were given in old £20 notes and appeared in an envelope without a return address – prompting speculation that they may be from the same person. Workers at Bristol Autism Support said they were “completely blown away” by the donation.

One employee explained: “On Tuesday (June 4) afternoon, I collected our post from reception as normal. One envelope was sellotaped up and difficult to open, meaning I very nearly ripped it (good job I didn’t).

“When I opened it, out spilled £1,020 all in old £20 banknotes. But there was no note and nothing on the envelope – just a mystery donation.”

Despite the notes being old, the local Post Office confirmed they were still able to be paid in. Another member of staff said: “We’ve been completely blown away by this – such a generous donation to a small charity will have an enormous impact on the families we support in and around Bristol.”

Meanwhile, a charity spokesperson added: “Bristol Autism Support wants to thank the anonymous donor who has given £1,000 to the charity. The charity, which supports parents and carers of autistic children in the local area, received a bundle of old £20 notes anonymously by post on June 4.

“The donation will go towards supporting the charity’s ongoing work, which includes free in-person support, a helpline, training and information sessions, events for families supporting autistic children (with or without a diagnosis), and more. It is understood this is the third time a local charity has benefitted from a donation of this nature, following on from the RNLI and Marie Curie.”

In May, Hannah Drury, Community Fundraiser for Marie Curie Bristol, Bath and Somerset, had a similar experience to those at Bristol Autism Support. She was checking the post with her colleague when they found an envelope in the letterbox.

Hannah said: “When she opened it, it was a wad of cash – £1,000 in old £20 notes. It was really exciting. It was addressed to us and had no return address and no contact details, so it was completely anonymous.”

What immediately crossed Hannah’s mind was a BBC article she had read in April about a similarly generous donation to the RNLI in Portishead. She explained: “When we were comparing the two envelopes based on the pictures of the RNLI donation – we think it could the same donor.

“It had similar handwriting and both envelopes had the letters LL. It is quite unusual – but we think it might be the case.”

Hannah added that the “super generous” donation will significantly benefit the charity. She explained: “It will help to fund our Hospice at Home care services. This is where our Marie Curie nurses and health care assistants go into people’s homes in our areas overnight and provide care and support to people living with terminal illnesses.

“This includes Bristol, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall – across the South West. We also have information and support line services and bereavement services, so this money will help us fund all of those.”

RNLI was the first charity in the area to receive such a donation – with staff members discovering the cash in April.

A spokesperson said at the time that the mystery contribution meant a lot to the charity and the team.