A Fundraising Update

Fundraising for the Westonbirt Project is an interesting role in these times of austerity. I’ve had several responses to funding requests along the lines of, “Many thanks for your application. It looks like a terrific project, but….”

There are lots of reasons why donors are unable to fund any projects at this time; many smaller trusts have had to consolidate their financial positions after seeing their stock portfolios crash; some have changed their funding priorities to support charities hit by public spending cuts, particularly in the education sector and there are others who really would like to support us, but simply don’t have the money at the moment.

However, it is not all doom and gloom. We have had a £30,000 pledge from the 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust which will be used to build new ha-ha walls along the edge of the Downs, using craftsmen to train a small army of volunteers. We have also managed to entice a previously generous donor back to the Arboretum in a couple of weeks to learn more about the project and see the proposed sites for the new Welcome Building and the Walkway.

Communications from the larger trusts have indicated that their giving capacity has not diminished, so I will continue applying to them over the next few months and expect some substantial support to be forthcoming by the spring.