Record £3,403,960 donated by National Garden Scheme
Melanie May | 30 November 2023 | News
2023 was a record year for the National Garden Scheme with £3,403,960 donated to the charity’s beneficiaries, through open days at 3,389 gardens across the year.
The lion’s share, £2,475,000 goes to nursing and health charities including Marie Curie, Macmillan Cancer Support, and Hospice UK. The money raised has also gone to garden and health beneficiaries like Maggie’s and Horatio’s Gardens, support for gardeners through charities such as English Heritage and the Professional Gardeners’ Trust, and to community garden projects.
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Commenting, National Garden Scheme Chairman Rupert Tyler said:
“As the nation’s health and social care system continues to battle with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and with deeply embedded systemic challenges, the contribution of the charities that we support has been increasingly vital. Their reach and impact, in cancer and end of life care, in community health and nursing and in particular areas such as people living with Parkinson’s, is immense and we are proud to be a major long-term supporter of them all.”
The National Garden Scheme relies primarily on the income generated by admission at its garden gates and through the sale of plants, teas and cake. Additional income streams include fundraising events such as online talks, garden parties, and commercial partnerships.
Commenting on these activities, Chief Executive George Plumptre said:
“The enormous contribution by our garden owners and volunteers was added to by other fundraising activities in 2023. A special gala fundraising event at Broughton Grange in Oxfordshire raised over £41,000, and our fourth year of the Great British Garden Party, giving the opportunity for anyone – whether they open their garden or not – to have an event with friends or family and raise funds for the National Garden Scheme, generated £25,000.”
2023 also saw key funding milestones including half a million pounds donated to Horatio’s Garden and a pledge to provide a further three years of funding for horticultural related assistance for soldiers, veterans and their immediate families delivered through the Army Benevolent Fund.
Plumptre added:
“We know that the long-term continuity of our funding year on year is very unusual, and our beneficiaries have emphasised that this is a key quality in the support we are able to give to them. It is something of which we are enormously proud. By way of an example, 2024 will see us mark 40 years and over £19 million of funding for Macmillan Cancer Support.”
The National Garden Scheme will see the opening of over 3,500 gardens across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands in 2024, and the charity will also return to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show with a show garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith and fully funded by Project Giving Back.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.