become our Charity of the Year
Updated 2 Nov
Our Charity of the Year application is now closed. We have received lots of applications and will begin the process of sorting through them to shortlist some for an employee vote. We will contact the successful charities in due course. Thank you to all the charities that took time to apply.
We are delighted to announce that applications to be our Charity of the Year 2022 are officially open!
Every year we work with a local charity, or a national charity which supports local people, to help raise awareness of the charity within our workforce, our customers and people who live and work in the areas served by our network. We look for a charity which is able to partner with us and provide their expertise to help us raise funds and awareness as a joint enterprise.
the benefits of being our charity
- Fund raising – we aim to fund raise around £10,000. The biggest fundraiser of our year is our annual Open Day which attracts thousands of people and is in aid of our charity. Sadly due to the pandemic we have had to cancel the last two Open Days but we are hoping to hold one in 2022. We also support any events organised by the charity.
- On-bus publicity on our fleet of more than 150 buses. We carry around 66,000 passengers every day – that’s 24.1 million people every year so you get lots of exposure with our customers.
- A design made by your charity on the sides and rear of one of our generic buses - a mobile advert that will be seen around the town and beyond!
- Promotion on our website and social media. Our website will include a link to the charity on our home page. We will promote your events through our Twitter & Facebook accounts.
who can apply?
We need applications from the charity themselves, so if you work for a charity just follow the instructions in the how to apply section.
Unfortunately we cannot accept applications from individuals who do not work for the charity directly.
We are open to most charities, but there are some criteria that need to be adhered to. Obviously your charity should be fully registered with the Charity Commission and have a charity number. You should be able to support a number of events throughout the year and have a single contact who can work with us throughout the year.
For a full list of the criteria, please download the PDF.
You can also find an information sheet here.
How to apply
We need applications from the charity themselves, so if you work for a charity, the easiest way is to simply fill in the electronic form below.
If you would prefer to do a paper application, you can download the PDF form here. Fill out the form and then send the application to Charity of the Year, Reading Buses, Great Knollys Street, Reading, RG1 7HH or via email to [email protected]. You can also request a Word Document version by emailing the same address. .
Unfortunately we cannot accept applications from individuals who do not work for the charity directly.
We are open to most charities, but there are some criteria that need to be adhered to. Obviously your charity should be fully registered with the Charity Commission and have a charity number. You should be able to support a number of events throughout the year and have a single contact who can work with us throughout the year.
The closing date for applications is 31 October 2021.