Ground-Level Activist Funding — UK Far-Right Ground-Level Activist Funding — UK Far-Right Last updated: 2026-06-14 Overview This document covers the small-scale, informal, and street-level funding that sustains UK far-right activism — as distinct from the billionaire/electoral pipeline documented in the main research. Ground-level funding is harder to track but forms the operational bedrock for street movements, legal defense, and day-to-day organising. 1. Crowdfunding Platforms GiveSendGo (US Christian Platform) The most important platform for UK far-right crowdfunding after deplatforming from GoFundMe, JustGiving, and PayPal. Known UK campaigns: PA member Costello : £3,379 raised via GiveSendGo, described as "political prisoner". Campaign set up by Samuel Melia (known PA member). Source: The Ferret, Aug 2024. Tommy Robinson legal defense : Multiple campaigns, amounts unclear. Robinson has used GiveSendGo for legal fees. General pattern : GiveSendGo allows neo-Nazi fundraising that other platforms ban. The platform's "Christian" framing doesn't prevent this. The 2022 leak: 92,000+ donor records leaked (Freedom Convoy-focused but contained ALL campaigns) Hosted by Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets) Data includes names, emails, IP addresses, ZIP codes Key gap : The full leak has NOT been systematically analysed for UK recipients. This is a significant research opportunity — the dataset likely contains UK far-right campaign donors. Anti-disinformation org Logically reported in Jan 2022 that GiveSendGo was "the hub for a far-right funding network" including QAnon, anti-vaccine, and Project Veritas. What we need: Access to the DDoSecrets leak dataset Filter for UK-specific campaigns (GBP currency, UK locations) Cross-reference donor names with known far-right figures GoFundMe / JustGiving Mainstream platforms generally remove far-right campaigns quickly JustGiving: John Myles (PDL) raised £16,544 for "4 Miles For Myles & MND Challenge" (charity, not political, but demonstrates fundraising network) GoFundMe bans legal defense for violent crimes and hate promotion SubscribeStar / Patreon / Buy Me a Coffee Used by far-right influencers as alternative to demonetised YouTube channels SubscribeStar : Popular with deplatformed creators, including UK far-right figures Buy Me a Coffee : Lightweight donation tool, harder to track Amounts unknown — no public disclosure requirements 2. Merchandise Sales A pervasive, low-visibility funding stream for nearly every group. Britain First / Advance UK iNews investigation (Jan 2026) : Both groups sell merchandise "Made in China" and "Made in Pakistan" — despite campaigning for British-made goods Items: t-shirts, hoodies, flags, patches, mugs Storefronts on their own websites (Shopify or similar) Revenue: Unknown but described as ongoing funding stream Patriotic Alternative Sells t-shirts, stickers, flags via website Hope not Hate: "tacky lines of merchandise are producing dwindling levels of support" Revenue: Unknown, likely small-scale Key finding : PA's merchandise and crowdfunding may be declining — the group is "flagging" per HnH Oct 2024 Active Club Network White Rex brand: Combat sports clothing branded for white supremacist market MMA/fight club events generate revenue through ticket sales and merch Centralised merch operations (Terror Machine) route money to Robert Rundo Revenue: Unknown — BBC and ADL have flagged this as a concern General Pattern Print-on-demand means low overhead — no inventory risk Platforms: Shopify, Teespring/Spring, Spreadshirt, Printful Some groups use encrypted/private storefronts on Telegram Regulatory gap : Merchandise sales are NOT reportable as political donations 3. Cryptocurrency Fundraising Why Crypto? Deplatformed by PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Visa, Discover Pushes groups toward Bitcoin, Monero (privacy coin), and crypto donation bots Telegram integrated wallets (Button Wallet, NOWPayments) make it trivially easy Scale of Crypto Extremist Funding (Global) Chainalysis 2025 report : Crypto donations to extremist groups dipped globally BUT white supremacism and anti-Semitism grew across Europe Europe's share : Rose to ~50% of global extremist crypto inflows between 2022-2024 Daily Stormer (Andrew Auernheimer): $2.2M in Bitcoin at current values Nordic Resistance Movement : "Hundreds of thousands of dollars" in Bitcoin ADL 2024 report : Traced $142,546 between extremist actors and exchanges (Kraken, Gemini, Binance) UK-Specific Crypto Activity UTK coin : "Unite the Kingdom" cryptocurrency promoted at Tommy Robinson's Sep 2025 rally. Logo visible during livestream. Described as route to "financial freedom". Sponsor: Core Signals (warned by FCA). Reform UK : First UK party to accept Bitcoin donations (May 2025). Electoral Commission "doesn't know where" the crypto donations come from (Byline Times, Mar 2026). Tommy Robinson : QR codes for crypto donations displayed at rallies. TBIJ described the UTK rally as a "cash grab". Telegram channels : Many UK far-right groups post Bitcoin/Monero wallet addresses for donations What We Need Systematic collection of crypto wallet addresses from UK far-right Telegram channels Blockchain analysis of inflow/outflow (tools: Chainalysis, TRM Labs, or public explorers) Focus on Monero — the privacy coin preferred by extremists (harder to trace) 4. Legal Defense Funds A recurring funding need — activists are frequently arrested and need legal representation. Tommy Robinson Constant legal battles : Multiple arrests, terror act detention (Feb 2025), contemp of court Funding mix : US donors (Shillman, Andy Miller, Elon Musk allegedly), GiveSendGo, direct appeals to supporters Politico EU : "Elon Musk to fund Tommy Robinson's legal fight, supporters claim" (Dec 2024) Typical pattern : Robinson posts video asking for money → supporters send crypto/PayPal → legal fees paid Patriotic Alternative £14,500 raised (2024) to "support families" of convicted members. Source: Hope not Hate Sam Melia and Costello both convicted — PA crowdfunding for their support Key insight : PA is now providing financial support to members facing legal consequences — suggests institutional maturity Britain First Legal fee crowdfunding is a recurring theme £200,000 undeclared donation (via shell company) — VICE investigation PDL / Street Activists Legal support for members arrested at counter-protests Funded by Telegram donations and informal collections Amounts unknown 5. Major US Donors to UK Street-Level Activity This bridges the "billionaire" and "ground-level" categories. US individuals are directly funding UK street events. Donor Amount Recipient Event Source Andy Miller (US Republican donor) $200,000 Tommy Robinson Unite the Kingdom rally (Sep 2025) TBIJ, HnH, May 2026 Robert Shillman $100,000 Tommy Robinson Unite the Kingdom rally (Sep 2025) TBIJ, HnH, May 2026 Elon Musk (alleged) Unknown Tommy Robinson Legal fees Politico EU, Dec 2024 Andy Miller is a US Republican donor — previously not in our research. This is a new lead that connects US GOP donor networks directly to UK street-level far-right activity. 6. Shell Companies and Obfuscation Britain First Shell Company VICE investigation : Britain First set up a shell company to disguise £200,000 donation Electoral Commission found £200,000 of undeclared donations in 2016 Pattern: use limited company registration to obscure donor identity Patriotic Alternative Ltd (12759841) Registered company provides some transparency Micro-entity accounts required at Companies House Action needed : Download and analyse latest accounts 7. Funding Channels — Full Summary Channel Transparency Scale Groups Using It Difficulty to Track GiveSendGo crowdfunding Low (public campaigns) £3k-£50k per campaign PA, Robinson, Britain First Medium Merchandise sales Very low (private sales) Unknown, likely small ALL groups Hard Crypto (Bitcoin/Monero) Pseudonymous Growing globally (£Ms) Robinson, PA, ACN + Telegram groups Very hard (Monero = near impossible) Legal defense crowdfunding Low £10k-£100k per case Robinson, PA, Britain First Medium US individual donors Ad-hoc public $100k-$200k per event Robinson Low (when reported) Shell companies Opaque £200k+ per case Britain First Hard Telegram / informal Zero transparency Unknown PDL, local groups Very hard Patreon / SubscribeStar Low Unknown Individual influencers Medium Event revenue (tickets, QR codes) Zero transparency Unknown Robinson, PDL Very hard Priority Actions High Priority GiveSendGo 2022 leak analysis — search the leaked dataset for UK campaigns. The raw data is hosted by DDoSecrets. Filter for GBP, UK locations, and known far-right figures. Andy Miller profile — US GOP donor who gave $200,000 to Tommy Robinson's rally. Who is he? What's his network? Patriotic Alternative Ltd accounts — download from Companies House (12759841). Latest micro-entity accounts will show revenue. Telegram crypto wallet collection — systematically collect BTC/Monero addresses from UK far-right Telegram channels. Medium Priority Britain First / Advance UK merchandise revenue estimates Active Club Network / White Rex financial footprint SubscribeStar analysis for UK far-right creators Cross-reference GiveSendGo leak for Tommy Robinson campaigns UTK coin analysis — who created it, who profited? Lower Priority Buy Me a Coffee profiles of far-right influencers John Myles (PDL) fundraising network map Cash collection at far-right events (un-trackable but worth noting) Sources The Ferret (Aug 2024): "UK far right raises money for convicted racists on US platform used by neo-Nazis" Hope not Hate (Oct 2024): "Patriotic Alternative: Flagging Fascist Group Finds New Funding Stream" Hope not Hate (May 2026): "Big Money, Dwindling Crowds: Tommy Robinson Demonstration" TBIJ (May 2026): "Unite the Kingdom rally was a cash grab" iNews (Jan 2026): "UK nationalist parties sell patriotic merchandise made in Pakistan and China" VICE: "Revealed: How Britain First Disguised the Source of a £200,000 Donation" PBS Frontline: "'White Dissidents' Raise Millions in Cryptocurrency" Chainalysis (2025): "Cryptocurrency donations to extremist groups dip globally" Byline Times (Mar 2026): "The Elections Watchdog Doesn't Know Where Reform UK's Crypto Donations Are Coming From" GNET (2021): "Far-Right Fundraising on Telegram"