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DONATE™ delivers local community impact
Natural England worked with DONATE™ from 20th Feb to 29th May 2017 to raise funds for the restoration of Bergum Wood next to the Stiperstones National Nature Reserve, Shropshire (see easydonate.org/NENG001)
The challenge
Natural England needed to raise £12,000 for the restoration of Bergum Wood in Shropshire, but had a limited audience and wished to reach a broader donor base and maximise their fundraising opportunity by providing donors with an easy way to make non-cash donations.
The campaign
DONATE™ provided Natural England with a variety of mobile fundraising resources to raise funds including both text and mobile/web. Friends and supporters could give in a number of ways:
- £5 by texting NENG001 to 70970 which supports 5 square metres / 250 bluebells and a holly bush
- £10 by texting NENG001 to 70191 which supports 10 square metres / 500 bluebells and 2 holly bushes
Or by going to www.easydonate.org/NENG001, supporters could give any amount including
- £50 to restore 50 square metres, 2,500 bluebells, 10 holly bushes, 2 hazel trees and 1 oak tree
The result
120 donations totalling £6,644.00 plus Gift Aid of £807.75 totalling £7,451.75 raised through DONATE™ and a single offline pledge of £5,000.
- Text accounted for 30 (25%) of donations with an average donation (incl. Gift Aid) of £8.60. 33% of text donors added Gift Aid
- Web accounted for 90 (75%) of donations with an average donation (incl. Gift Aid) of £79.74, 72% of web donors added Gift Aid
Delivering impact
Community Impact
a) Has this campaign brought the community together?
“The initial fundraising campaign gained good support from the local community, but the real impact will be felt as the restoration commences. In the restoration phase of the project we will be running events on the site such as acorn collection and tree-planting to really help get the local community involved and feel part of the new wood.”
b) Has DONATE™ helped you achieve community impact that you might not otherwise have achieved?
“DONATE has helped us to reach a wider audience than we might have been able to reach on our own. We have a good strong core of local supporters, but by working with DONATE we have managed to unlock new ways for them to support our work, and tell their friends about what we are doing.”
c) What might the future impact be to the community of this community fundraise?
“By helping us to fund the purchase and restoration of the wood, the local community will benefit from a wonderful new asset for recreation and nature conservation. We hope that the wood will encourage the community to explore the outdoors and learn about nature and conservation on their doorstep.”
Environmental Impact
a) How will the funds raised improve the local environmental impact / access / ecosystem
“The existing site is a barren conifer plantation that is dark and shady and doesn’t support a great variety of wildlife and plant species. The funds raised will enable us to fully restore the site to upland oak woodland with a carpet of bluebells in the spring months. Once restored, it will support a wide range of native plant and animal species, such as bats, tree pipits, pied flycatchers, dormice and speckled wood butterflies.”
Natural England comment:
“DONATE has allowed us to maximise our fundraising results. The DONATE team provided their guidance on how to make an appealing ask, and the platform and technology allowed supporters to make donations from their phones. Additionally we have run a number of email, social media and postal campaigns using the various DONATE services to collect donations. Within 4 months we raised £7.5k through DONATE and with the £5k from a local charitable trust, reached our target of £12,000. We really liked the flexibility and user-friendly aspects of the DONATE product and service and will definitely use it again.” Simon Cooter, senior reserve manager, Natural England
For more information how your charity can make use of this new technology please contact hello@nationalfundingscheme.org
