Our Charity’s Promise

We promise not to waste your donations. We will spend your money where it is most needed and we will operate to the highest standards of ethical conduct.  

Our Christian beliefs underpin the way we deliver services to the merchant seafarers and their family who come to us for help and they define the sort of charity we are.

Every penny you give to the Sailors’ Society will help us realise our vision – replacing the isolation of merchant seafarers with a sense of belonging.

With a very small administrative team running our organisation, much more of your money actually goes to providing the welfare, pastoral and spiritual support, education support and financial assistance for needy seafarers and their families, rather than being spent on a large administration. 

Our service promise

We're a registered charity and we conduct ourselves according to the rules and governing principles of the Charity Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Charity Commission.

These principles are reflected in our service promise: 

• We do not charge for our welfare and ministry services. These are free, impartial and confidential where appropriate.
• We make our service accessible to all merchant seafarers who need it, irrespective of rank, nationality, gender, faith or none. No matter how simple or serious a seafarer’s situation seems when we learn of it, we will provide support and counsel through empathy, understanding and emergency assistance - never being judgmental or apportioning blame.
• Our response will be tailored to the circumstances of the individual seafarer or seafarer’s family, providing as much time as is needed and with appropriate support wherever and whenever we are able and can afford.

Our ethics 

Our reputation is critical to being among the leading maritime ministry charities in the world, being valued by the people who need our help and being trusted by the shipping industry. This means we need to operate with the highest standards of ethical conduct.

The principles that govern the behaviour of our charity and employees are reflected in our Values and our Code of Conduct. The combination of these codes provides guidance for employees through the many difficult issues that confront them on a daily basis.