How You Can Support The Bluetits
Some people think we are a charity and some people think we are solely a commercial business, the reality is that we are somewhere in the middle!
We are a Social Enterprise
A charity brings in money, usually through donations, which it uses to cover the cost of running the charity, the staff salaries, rent and overheads and the work that they do for their community.
A social enterprise brings in money mostly through commercial activities, however just like a charity this money is used to cover the cost of running the social enterprise, the staff salaries, rent and overheads and the work that they do for their community.
Just like a charity our organisation doesn't have any shareholders or directors that are making money. In fact our directors currently volunteer most of their hours.
What this means is that although we do make money, all of that money goes towards keeping our Bluetit Community thriving. Things like supporting our superstar army of over 200 volunteers, putting on events, running the website and creating safety information to educate, inform and keep people safely enjoying the water.
Most of our team have been volunteers since the start and in the last year we have been working on our sustainability which includes having a core team who are paid for the time that they give. Although in reality most of our team are hybrid and do volunteer work too at events, photo shoots, filming and lots of other things. We do though have a small team of 8 part-time workers.
If you love The Bluetits as much as we do and you have benefitted from joining us then we’d love your support. Here are some of the ways that you can support us. It doesn’t even have to cost you anything...
Share our social media posts
You can find us on Facebook and Instagram where we share stories of Bluetitting along with safety information, news and new Bluetit Goodies. Sharing our posts helps us to reach more people so that they too can enjoy the water.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Every couple of weeks or so, we send out a newsletter - a Bluetit Bulletin if you will! You can sign up for this below.
Join our Social Swim Community
Head to our map, find your flock and head along to one of the social swims. No membership fees, it's free to join AND you get a coveted free Bluetit badge from your local admin after you join a swim. Joining our community, attending and sharing swims is what our community is all about. Even if you're not ready to swim, coming along means you'll be making friends and supporting your community.
Help start a group in your area
Volunteer admins are at the heart of our organisation - if there isn’t a group in your area and you’d be interested in starting one, learn more and get in touch here.
Join a Bluetit Challenge
Every year we run a winter and summer challenge. We pride ourselves on keeping the challenge entry fee low cost at just £5. Our challenge community on Facebook is one of the friendliest spaces we know. Why not join our latest challenge, challenge yourself and make new friends in the process.
Buy your Bluetit Kit
We sell a growing range of lovely Bluetit Merchandise. All profits we make from these sales go back into the organisation so we can keep supporting our flocks around the world. Learn more about Where The Money Goes!
Donate
Although we aren’t a charity we are a social enterprise which means that the money we make goes back into the organisation and helps us to pay our small team, create safety resources and support our flocks.
A proportion of the money we make also goes towards training. In the last 12 months we part funded training for 22 Bluetits to become qualified open water swim coaches and start their own businesses. These swim coaches will be offering swim lessons and introductions the Bluetit way to our community.
