Voluntary and Community Sector Partnership Windsor and Maidenhead

Connecting, empowering and celebrating our community organisations.

The RBWM Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) Partnership brings together charities, community groups and organisations from across the borough to share ideas, strengthen connections, and grow together. Our mission is simple:

  • Support and empower VCS organisations.
  • Create meaningful collaboration.
  • Provide a space to learn, connect and inspire.
  • Grow our collective impact for residents

We host in-person forums each year, open to all VCS organisations and focused on topics relevant to the voluntary sector. 

These free sessions provide information and resources to help strengthen organisational capacity, enabling groups to better support their members and local residents. 

We also deliver special events throughout the year, including a Volunteer Fair and our annual Awards ceremony

2026 dates

VCS Partnership Steering Group

The VCS Partnership is led by the following organisations who each bring their own expertise to the group.

1. WAM Get Involved (Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead)

WAM Get Involved was set up in 2014, to promote greater community involvement across the Royal Borough. The team works across Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead to build capacity within the Voluntary Sector, providing a monthly e-newsletter with local and national information, a funding website, updated weekly, governance support, a volunteering platform and training, which includes the Volunteer Passport.

2. RBWM Communities team

The RBWM Communities team works across the borough to empower residents, strengthen local networks, and support a thriving voluntary and community sector. As part of the VCS Partnership Steering Group, the team brings partners together, helps coordinate shared priorities, and ensures that community voices shape local decision‑making.

3. Windsor and Maidenhead Interfaith Forum

The Windsor and Maidenhead Interfaith Forum contributes to strengthening community cohesion across the borough, promoting dialogue, understanding, and shared action between local faith communities. Through its involvement in the VCS Partnership Steering Group, the Forum supports collaborative work that brings diverse voices into conversations about local priorities and community wellbeing.

4. Berkshire Community Foundation

Berkshire Community Foundation plays a key role in strengthening the voluntary and community sector across the borough by supporting local groups with funding, capacity building, and insight into community needs. Through its contribution to the VCS Partnership, BCF helps ensure that organisations have access to clear guidance on funding opportunities, effective grant applications, and emerging priorities within the local funding landscape.

5. Adult Learning, Windsor, Maidenhead and Slough

Adult Learning across Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead plays a key role in supporting residents to build skills, confidence, and pathways into further learning or employment. The service designs and delivers a wide range of community‑focused courses, including English, ESOL, Maths, and Health and Wellbeing, ensuring that learning opportunities reflect local needs and promote inclusion. 

Highlights from 2025

VCS Partnership Awards  

The VCS Partnership Awards celebrate the exceptional contribution of local volunteers and community organisations across Windsor and Maidenhead.

2025 winners and highly commended nominees were:

Volunteer of the Year

  • Winner: Kirsty Northam.
  • Highly Commended: Jeremy Crame, Alma Beacon.
  • Highly Commended: Simon Allen, TVPS.

Young Volunteer of the Year

  • Winner: Leon Fernandez‑Lemplaine, Busy Buttons CORE Charity – Windsor.
  • Highly Commended: Alexander Wood, Achieving for Children.

Group of the Year

  • Winner: ABC to read (Assisting Berkshire Children to Read).
  • Highly Commended: The Baby Bank.
  • Highly Commended: Number 22 Community Counselling Services.

View the VCS Partnership Awards Photographs

The second VCS Partnership Awards 2026 are now open for nominations. Help us celebrate the individuals, groups and organisations making a positive difference in our communities. Nominations close on Monday 12 October 2026, and the awards ceremony will be held in December 2026.

Make a nomination

Organisations interested in sponsoring the Awards are invited to contact the RBWM Communities Team via: Volunteer@rbwm.gov.uk.

For further information, please contact us:
Address

Communities team
Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead
Town Hall, St. Ives Road
Maidenhead
SL6 1RF
United Kingdom