Supporters
About us
The Communications and Public Service Lifeboat Fund (The Lifeboat Fund, for short) is commited to helping the Royal National Lifeboat Institution save lives at sea. The Fund is a public service charity, and proud to be the longest-serving supporter and one of the biggest single contributors to the RNLI. The Fund is registered with the official regulators as a charity which fundraises throughout the UK. You can view our constitution here.
Who we are
We are The Lifeboat Fund. We are a charity that exists for one purpose: to help the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Over many years we have done this by raising money to pay for new lifeboats, refurbishing lifeboat stations and boats, and buying crew kit, equipment & training for RNLI volunteer lifeboat crews and lifeguards.
Why we do it
Volunteer lifeboat crews, stand ready to go on ‘shouts’ 24/7, often at night and in all weathers, to help people in distress. We want to help, and since The Lifeboat Fund began, its lifeboats in the RNLI fleet have saved over 4700 lives.
Who supports us?
- The Lifeboat Fund is an official charity of the Civil Service. It also receives valuable support from employees of the Royal Mail and British Telecom.
- It benefits from giving by current and retired staff members and from legacies.
- Civil servants throughout the UK organise fundraising collections, run marathons and cake sales etc, and promote The Lifeboat Fund and its beneficiary, the RNLI.
- Supporters also use payroll and pension giving to help this life-saving cause.
The name of our charity
A group of civil servants raised money from their colleagues to buy the first lifeboat back in 1866 and formed the Civil Service Lifeboat Fund. This later became the Civil Service, Post Office and British Telecommunications Lifeboat Fund (CISPOTEL).
The title of the charity changed in 1969 when the Post Office left the Civil Service, and again in 1983 when British Telecom did likewise.
In 2002 when the Post Office changed its name to Consignia, the Fund changed its title to the Communications and Public Service Lifeboat Fund, or The Lifeboat Fund for short. Consignia was renamed Royal Mail but we are proud to retain our name of The Lifeboat Fund.
Freedom of Information
Submitting a request for information
If you would like to submit a request for information you can write to us or email us.
In common with many other organisations that are not covered by the Freedom of Information Act we will consider your request for information as if we were covered. This means that we will release the information if we hold it, unless one of the provisions under the Act applies and we determine that complying with the request would not be in keeping with the public interest.
We will respond to your request within 20 working days, either providing the information or explaining why we cannot provide it.
Disclaimer
Terms and conditions
This website is maintained by The Lifeboat Fund secretariat and hosted by the Scottish Government.
Disclaimer
The Lifeboat Fund website and material relating to its information, products and services (or to third party information, products and services), is provided ‘as is’, without any representation or endorsement made and without warranty of any kind whether express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security and accuracy.
We do not warrant that the functions contained in the material contained in this site will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected, or that this site or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or represent the full functionality, accuracy, reliability of the materials. In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including, without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damages whatsoever arising from use or loss of use of, data or profits arising out of or in connection with the use of The Lifeboat Fund website.
Hyperlinking to The Lifeboat Fund website
We do not object to you linking directly to pages on this site and you do not need to ask permission to do so. However, we do not permit our pages to be loaded into frames on your site. The Lifeboat Fund pages must be displayed in the user‘s entire browser window.
Hyperlinking from The Lifeboat Fund website
We are not responsible for the content or reliability of any website we link to and do not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them. We aim to replace broken links to other sites but cannot guarantee that these links will always work as we have no control over the availability of other sites.
Virus protection
We make every effort to check and test material at all stages of production. It is always wise for you to run an anti-virus program on all material downloaded from the Internet. We cannot accept any responsibility for any loss, disruption or damage to your data or your computer system which may occur whilst using material derived from this website.
Donate
The Lifeboat Fund’s only purpose is to support the life-saving work of the RNLI. The RNLI is an independent charity, and does not receive any funding from the UK Government. Its volunteer lifeboat crews and lifeguards can’t save lives at sea without support.
The menu on the left of this page describes all the ways you can donate.
You can also donate through online shopping via Amazon Smile and Give As You Live.
Charles Dibdin
Charles Dibdin, The Lifeboat Fund's 51st lifeboat, went into service on 13 November 2009 at the New Brighton Lifeboat Station, Merseyside. The lifeboat is an Atlantic 85 rigid inflatable lifeboat and was named after Charles Dibdin, one of the founders of The Lifeboat Fund in 1866 who later went on to become RNLI Secretary.
Sgt. Bob Martin
Sgt. Bob Martin, The Lifeboat Fund's 50th lifeboat, went into service on 4 December 2008 at the Poole Lifeboat Station, Dorset. The lifeboat is named in memory of Sgt. Bob Martin, a Chelsea Pensioner who raised £200,000 for the RNLI. Sgt. Bob Martin is an Atlantic 85 rigid inflatable lifeboat.
Stranraer Saviour
Stranraer Saviour, The Lifeboat Fund's 49th lifeboat, went into service on 5 June 2008 at the Stranraer Lifeboat Station, Scotland. The lifeboat is a D-class. She carries a crew of 3 and is used primarily for surfer/swimmer incidents as well as assisting in cliff incidents where the casualty is near the water. The very nature of her work requires a swift response, and the lifeboat can normally be afloat within five minutes of the call going out.