Charity Nominations for 2025-2026 are now Open

Since we opened the Club in 2017, we are thrilled to have raised over £90,000 for local charities, thanks to the wonderful support of our members and staff. 

Each summer, we invite our members to select two charities for the Club to support over the coming 12 months. Over the past year, we’ve raised funds through a variety of events, including two cake and coffee mornings, a spinathon, and most recently, our Summer Ball. In addition to these, several smaller fundraisers and all proceeds from our social guest pass fees have contributed to the total raised.

The last year has flown and it’s now time to ask: who you would like the Club to support for 2025-2026?

Our charity process is as follows:

• We ask for nominations from our members during July. Only one nomination is needed for the charity to be included on our short-list. Charities must meet the nomination criteria, which are listed below.
• The list of all nominations is sent to all members at the end of July, and we ask you to vote during August for the charities you want us to support over the next 12 months.
• The two charities with the most votes are selected for the Club’s support.

Charity Criteria:

The main two points are that the charity must be either:

• A local (to Bedfordshire) charity. By “local” we mean the charity supports people within the local area of north and mid-Beds (within about 10-15 miles of the Club).

and/or

• A charity involved in sport and/or fitness.

There are also some other points/criteria to note:

• Charity number must be submitted at the time of voting.
• The nomination must be for a charity with a registered Charity Number (e.g. it cannot be a CIC).
• Mainstream or privately funded schools cannot be nominated; however, schools supporting special needs children can be nominated as long as they can provide a charity number.
• If the charity is a local/branch division of a national charity, the national charity will need to provide in writing confirmation that funds will go to this local branch/division and that this will not have any negative impact on other funds that the national charity shares with this local branch/division.
• Nominations need to be from a person with an active adult Club Towers membership.
• Each member can nominate up to two charities.
• Our staff team can also nominate and vote.
• Once a charity has been supported by the Club, it cannot be nominated again for 5 years. The charities currently excluded on this basis are:  Bedfordshire Sands, CHUMS, the Tibbs Dementia Foundation, The MS Therapy Centre, FACES, Elisabeth Curtis Riding Centre and Sue Ryder Hospice, St John’s School and the 2024-2025 charities the Bedford Blues Foundation and the Primrose Car Service.

Nominations are now open and should be sent to [email protected] by midnight on the 25^th July. All adult members can nominate up to two charities.  Please send through the charity number when nominating.

After the closing date for nominations, a list will be circulated in early August of all the nominations that meet the above criteria and members will be asked to vote for their top two. Members on our waiting list can nominate and vote.  Charities only need one nomination to make the shortlist. The votes are what makes the difference for selection.

Any questions, please do send them to [email protected].