Swiss Re’s UK charity policy
The charitable year runs from 1 January to 31 December inclusive.
Applicants must be a UK registered charity and must complete an application form. They can apply to be Charity of the Year, apply to receive a charitable donation, or both (the forms are available on the Swiss Re public website).
The deadline for both categories is 31 August each year. Applications missing this date will need to reapply for the following year.
If employees have a favourite charity they would like to see considered for either category, they should contact them directly and encourage them to apply using the appropriate forms.
The following types of charity will be supported:
- international aid
- care and research for people with illness and disability
- children and youth
- environment
- social care and welfare
The following types of charity will not be supported:
- political or quasi political organisations;
- “campaigns for justice” / fundraising for costs of legal proceedings
The annual budget will be divided among the various charities as follows:
- GBP 25 000 for Charity of the Year
- the remainder in donations of between GBP 2 500 and GBP 10 000 per charity
- all donations will be made by cheque
Variations to the above will be at the discretion of UK Communications.
Please note: we will consider any charities that approach us directly or will match employees where they are directly involved in raising money for a specific, UK registered charity that involves them participating in a physical activity (ie, running, walking, abseiling, etc). Where we are asked to sponsor events, contribute towards costs or match charitable donations which fall outside of these categories, the money from the charity fund cannot be utilised.
However, individual divisions/departments are at liberty to fund these from their own budgets. The only proviso would be that if the Swiss Re name was to be used in any way, UK Communications would need to give approval first.
1. Application process for Charity of the Year
If a charity has been selected as Charity of the Year previously, they can not be selected again within a four year period but can still be eligible for a charitable donation.
The selection process commences in September/October of each year when UK Communications will e-mail all employees, requesting they vote for a particular charitable sector (as per above categories).
Once the sector has been chosen, UK Communications will inform all employees and they will also be asked to nominate any charities they would like to be considered as Charity of the Year within the chosen sector. Those charities falling outside of the chosen sector will still be considered for a charitable donation.
Applications will then be assessed by UK Communications from which six charities will be invited to attend a 15-minute meeting. Here, they will put forward their reasons to be selected as Charity of the Year .
A shortlist of three charities will then be e-mailed to all employees asking them to vote for the Charity of the Year.
The charity which receives the most votes will then be announced as Charity of the Year by mid December, ready to begin as Charity of the Year the following January.
What we look for
It is important for a charity to be able to present its cause/case for support in a clear and simple way that will enable our employees to relate to it.
Experience of corporate partnerships is a preferable requirement. We will also look for support and pro-activity from the charity’s side, in engaging employees with events etc.
What we can offer
- Cheque for GBP 25 000 presented in January
- Various fund raising activities/events throughout the charitable year, to be agreed and managed jointly
- Support at chosen charity’s annual function (eg, taking a table at a fund raising ball)
- Volunteering potential by Swiss Re employees
- Unsuccessful applicants will automatically be considered to receive a donation (as set out in section 2)
2. Application process to receive a donation
All applications will be assessed by UK Communications and only successful charities will be notified by mid December each year. Should you be unsuccessful, please do not be discouraged from applying again the following year. Charities can receive repeat donations in consecutive years.
