Our Charity

In 2026, we are seeking to widen our charitable fundraising to more local charities, whilst also increasing the opportunity to raise money for The Swan Renovation Fund via our monthly Fundraising Coffee Mornings.

Instead of electing a single Community Charity for the year, we will be selecting six (6) local charities who will each benefit from the proceeds of one Coffee Morning during the year. We will continue to support MacMillan and the Royal British Legion with a Coffee Morning each and the remaining three Coffee Mornings will be raising funds for The Swan Renovation Fund.

Any member of The Swan community will be able to nominate ONE local charity of their choice. If fewer than six charities are nominated, they will all be selected automatically and will each benefit from one or more Coffee Mornings held for them.

If more than six charities are nominated, all will be entered into a selection draw to be held in public at the February Coffee Morning. The first six nominated charities drawn will be selected to benefit from a Coffee Morning each during the rest of the year.

Nominations for charities to potentially benefit from The Swan's Fundraising Coffee Mornings are open between Friday 16th January and Friday 13th February (inclusive). Please nominate here:

A full set of rules for the process can be found here. We do strongly advise that you read these before nominating a charity. Thank you in advance.

If you have any queries or need any help please contact the Project Lead on charity@theswanwindsor.co.uk

The community have chosen The Windsor Homeless Project as our Community Charity for 2025.

The Windsor Homeless Project provide a drop-in centre four days a week at Alma Beacon on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays between 10.30 am and 14.00 pm and Saturdays 11.00 and 13.30 pm. Our guests are welcomed with a hot meal, with warmth, with friendship, and practical help. They can shower, have their laundry done, get clothing, and receive help and advice.

Our approach starts with registration, getting to know our new guest, and their individual needs, and building trust. Compassion and a listening ear are often the starting points that gives guests the confidence to share their problems and seek our help to move forward.

We aim to solve any immediate issues straight away, such as helping our guests access the NHS, Universal Credit, a phone or the internet. Then we’ll work together to build a plan, starting the journey towards being housed and fully supported into a sustainable, fulfilling, settled lifestyle.

On hearing the news, Manager Carron Edgell said:

See more at The Windsor Homeless Project website.

We were delighted to support The King George V1 Day Centre, a community based lunch and social club based in the very heart of Windsor. Their aim was to give senior members of our town somewhere to socialise, meet friends, have a nutritious lunch. The centre offers a positive experience for members through a combination of them being occupied, having companionship, and developing good relationships with staff and volunteers. This positive experience improves quality of life and wellbeing.

From the sponsor who put them forward:

See more at Day Centre's website.

We were pleased to have Swan Support as our chosen local charity for 2023. Chosen by you - the local community. We spoke to Wendy Hermon, the Treatment & Rescue Centre Co-ordinator at Swan Support. She told us:

Here is Wendy Hermon of Swan Support with Friend of The Swan and Coffee & Cake guru, Richard Douglas. Over the year, we raised £2,011.10 for Swan Support. Thanks to all those involved.

More About Swan Support

Swan Support is a charity that rescues and rehabilitates sick and injured swans within the Thames Valley and surrounding areas.

They operate 24/7, run entirely by volunteers and are solely reliant on public donations. They have over 50 years combined experience in rescuing and treating swans and as such are regularly called upon to advise and support other organisations and charities such as the RSPCA. As a result of our expertise, they now receive calls from as far away as Portsmouth, Devizes, Milton Keynes, Essex and occasionally into London/Home Counties to assist in difficult rescues, often requiring a canoe.

In 2021, they attended in the region 1,500 rescues, ranging from tackled swans, to territorial fights, dog attacks, shootings, abandoned cygnets and crash-landings; we saw this number increase across 2022 as well as managing the recent outbreak of Avian Flu in the area to help minimise the spread.

Wherever possible, they deal with the situation on site as this is the optimum outcome for the bird. However, if required, the swan will be admitted to their treatment centre for rehabilitation and whenever possible they release the swans back to their original location if it is safe to do so.

During 2022 we were very pleased to support Family Friends throughout the year. From coffee mornings and other activities, we raised £1,453.43 towards their very worthy cause. We wish them continued success and thank them for their kind words.

Family Friends provide short term support to families who are facing difficult times and enable them to get back on their feet. Their help is free, confidential and open to any family living in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead with a child aged 0 – 13 years and up to 18 years for Armed Service families.

Family Friends is staffed by a team who are all passionate about helping families going through difficult times. They also have a dedicated Board of Trustees and a number of committed volunteers who come from all walks of life. Why not join them? They are always looking for help.

After nearly 1,200 votes were cast the Swan Charity for 2021, as chosen by the Community, is The Windsor Homeless Project. Congratulations to the winner and commiserations to those that were not successful on this occasion. We are delighted to be able to support this worthy cause and look forward to supporting them throughout the coming year.

The Windsor Homeless Project began following the death of a homeless man. He was found on a bench in the town. Patrick O’Leary died in Windsor from cold and lack of care. This prompted a community of people in Windsor to say … 'this must never happen again'.

The Windsor Homeless Project was launched in 2009 and is a local charity that:

• Provides immediate practical support to the homeless and vulnerable
• Offers support in a respectful, compassionate and non-judgemental way
• Empowers people to rebuild their lives
• Partners with other agencies to support positive change, accommodation and a new, sustainable lifestyle

To see more of their work, please visit their website

Family Friends is a local charity who provide short term support to families who are facing difficult times and enable them to get back on their feet. Their help is free, confidential and open to any family living in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead with a child aged 0 – 13 years and up to 18 years for Armed Service families.

Family Friends is staffed by a team who are all passionate about helping families going through difficult times. Their work includes:

• Offering Triple P Parenting Courses and One to One Parenting Support
• One to One Support Sessions with Children
• One to One Support Sessions with Parent(s)
• Building a Bridge of Support between a Family and their School
• Working with the Army Welfare Service and supporting their Community Development Work

More details can be found on the Local Giving website.

We were extremely pleased to support Family Friends through Coffee Mornings, Online activities and through the Coca-Cola donation for winning the Great British Pub Award.

Here are the rules for the selection process for Local Charities to be supported by The Swan Fundraising Coffee Mornings in 2026. We believe that these rules encompass the SCCIC's core values of community, sustainability, inclusivity and responsibility:

Charity Eligibility

1. Nominated charities must operate locally. This is defined as having a significant presence in Windsor and/or the immediate surrounding area and operating so that residents can easily support and access, or benefit from, their services.
2. All nominated entities must have a Registered Charity Number (RCN) in the same name as the organisation being put forward. RCNs must be provided as part of the nomination submission and will be checked with the Charity Commission website by The Swan Project Lead prior to the nomination being accepted.
3. Nominations for specific charitable projects working under an umbrella registered charity will be accepted, provided the Sponsor makes that clear in their nomination submission. Funds raised must go directly to the project nominated and not be used generally by the umbrella association.
4. Nominations from previous years’ successful charities will be considered.

The Nomination Process

5. Any member of The Swan community can nominate only one charity per year.
6. The person submitting a nomination will be designated their charity’s named Sponsor and agrees to liaise with the charity, and The Swan Project Lead as required, throughout the process. This includes contacting their proposed charity themselves prior to submitting their nomination. This will ensure that the charity is aware of their nomination and either allow them to provide all the information required or have the opportunity to decline involvement, should they wish to.
7. All nominations must be submitted via the online form at the link provided in The Swan's weekly newsletter email. In exceptional circumstances, anyone who is unable to use this process should contact The Swan Project Lead and support can be provided to enter relevant information.

The Verification Process

8. Certain mandatory information will be requested for all nominated charities. If this is not provided by the Sponsor by the nomination deadline, or by any subsequent deadline given in follow up requests, The Swan Project Lead reserve the right to reject the nomination.
9. If a charity declines to be included after its nomination has been received, the nomination will be rejected and the nominating Sponsor will be informed.

The Selection Process

10. After the deadline date for nominations, the list of received nominations will be reviewed by The Swan Project Lead. Eligibility will be checked, any duplicate nominations removed and the final list of eligible charities nominated will be communicated to the charities involved, their Sponsor(s) and the wider community via The Swan weekly newsletter e-mail.
11. If there are less than six (6) nominated charities, those charities will be selected automatically.
12. If there is more than six (6) nominated charities, each nominated charity will be entered into a random draw to be held in public at February' Fundraising Coffee Morning. The first six (6) charities drawn will be selected as those who will be supported at one Fundraising Coffee Morning each between March and November that year.
13. The successful and unsuccessful charities and their Sponsors will be contacted by The Swan Project Lead to inform them of the outcome of the Selection Draw. The wider community will be informed via The Swan weekly newsletter e-mail.
14. Sponsors will work with their charity and The Swan Project Lead to allocate each selected charity with a mutually convenient Fundraising Coffee Morning during the year and finalise a complete list to be promoted to the wider community.

General

15. Email addresses will be collected as part of the nomination process, but only for use in line with the reasons noted above (i.e., to contact Sponsors and/or charities to confirm details of nominations as necessary. Email addresses will not be used for any other purpose.
16. All communication regarding the dates for the nomination and selection processes and eventual chosen charities will be via The Swan weekly newsletter email and associated social media channels. Where information cannot be provided in full via these methods, additional information will be included on this webpage.

If you have any queries or need any help please contact the Project Lead on charity@theswanwindsor.co.uk