Frequently Asked Questions 

Why are you asking for donations?

We are a charity - and are seeking donations to put down a deposit for the loan to buy The White Swan premises outright for a range of uses. This is more than a pub - in fact the pub isn't the main purpose, the pub will generate a profit which we can use for a programme of youth music and arts activities and community space. Every penny from the remaining profits, will be invested back into the community.

A deposit you say? Why are not asking for the whole amount?

We have split the whole campaign up into a number of phases. Naturally being within a London Borough, the market rate to buy such a premises is more than we felt the local community could bear on it's own. That's why we have worked on a business plan looking at the long term commercial viability, as well as exploring a range of other funding routes, such as business loans, mortgages, grants, sponsorship, lottery wins you name it, to cover the rest!

The first stage of the campaign is to raise a deposit in order to secure a business loan, and to ensure we collect donations in a compliant way, we are partnering with the well known platform 'Crowdfunder' to facilitate this phase of the campaign.

 Why are you changing the type of crowdfunder campaign now - you always said this Crowdfunder was ‘All or nothing’??

 When we set up the Crowdfunder, we took advice about the types of campaign we could run, and we decided that an ‘All or Nothing’ approach was best suited to create some urgency and help us raise money quickly. Crowdfunder has always been very clear that the agreements they have with their payment processors mean they cannot hold donations indefinitely. So we are at a crossroads where Crowdfunder must shortly either release the money to the WSMA or refund the original donors. 

What will happen to my money under the ‘Keep what you raise’ approach?

 The same as before. Money that has been kindly donated will go towards the efforts to buy the White Swan premises to restore the pub and create a music and arts hub for the local community. The aim remains to raise a deposit in order to secure additional funding like a commercial mortgage to buy the premises outright. However, running a charity and a campaign properly comes with ongoing costs. Whilst all  the Trustees and volunteers’ time has been donated, some necessities like printing leaflets, hosting the website or professional services like conveyancing need to be bought. As much donated money as possible will go towards purchasing the building, but some will go on essentials that we’re not able to get for free.

So under ‘Keep what you raise’, can I request a refund on my donation?

For any new donations made after February 26th when this change took place, no refunds will be processed. For donation pledges made before that, we hope you still believe in what we are trying to achieve, but if you decide you would like your donation returned, then you are able to trigger that yourself on the Crowdfunder site  until March 31st.

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Steps to refund

- Go to the Crowdfunder login page

  https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/user/login 

- If you already have an account, enter the username and password and click 'Sign in'

- If you didn't create an account, click 'Sign in with magic link'

- Enter the email address which you used when you made your donation

- Click 'Send magic link'

- Go to that email inbox and click 'Create your account'

- You will arrive on the 'My Pledges' page on the Crowdfunder page

- Find the pledge for ‘Let’s Buy Our Swan’ 

- Click ‘Cancel pledge’

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But if the worst happens and you’re unable to buy the White Swan, what happens to my money then?

The trustees are committed to this campaign for the long haul. Similar community buy-outs often take years to succeed. However, while fully committed, we can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to buy the White Swan, or that - if we do - some unforeseen event might force its closure.

If the campaign or charity were ever brought to an end, any remaining funds would be passed to another charity. Any decision like that would only be taken after consulting supporters.

Trustees cannot profit from funds raised by the campaign, a principle is written into our governance documents.

Do you still think you can make the target?

Absolutely. It may take us longer than we initially thought but we don't believe we've drained the well dry. Comparing our campaign to similar ones also shows that we're very much on track so far.

Do you think you are the right organisation to continue this campaign?

We believe so. As much as anything the aim of the Crowdfunder was to prove that as an organisation, the WSMA is ‘credible’. It’s important for the current owners of the pub to see that we are serious buyers. It’s important too for the local community to see us as a trustworthy organisation that will follow through on our promises. To also be credible in the eyes of the law, we’ve instituted and abide by the correct governance and procedures at all times. So the campaign has necessitated a number of supporting activities to be undertaken behind the scenes, such as defining the group’s legal structures, getting a bank account, and working with HMRC to ensure we can accept gift aid and so on, and if we were to walk away, any other group picking this up would have to go through all that again

What about a share scheme or other ways to invest, beyond donations?

We intend to launch a share scheme and details will follow shortly. But it might be unrealistic to expect the full deposit to be shouldered by the community and as we've had direct feedback that people and even companies would be attracted by the opportunity to invest in the future of the White Swan, we need to develop a realistic, legally compliant proposition. This will take time - and negotiations around investment can't be rushed!

So to sum up, what is the  approach?

• We will continue the campaign past March

• We have changed the campaign from 'All or Nothing' pledges towards the target to 'Keep what you Raise' direct donations to help cover the operating costs around running a campaign, and pay for professional services connected with negotiating a building purchase.

• We have extended the Crowdfunder deadline until the end of March to allow anyone who pledged money under the ‘All or Nothing’ approach to get a refund if they don’t agree with the new approach, or disagree with us making this change.

• We will launch a second Crowdfunder as soon as possible that is based on an investment model, most likely as a share scheme

• We will continue to seek larger donation and investment opportunities to compliment the generosity of the local community