Fundraising & Donations

Donate

Every year we have to raise over £250,000 to keep our activities running. Community fundraising is really important to us and we have a number of fun and simple ways you can get involved to help people with a disability access and enjoy the countryside.

The simplest way to make a donation is via our fundraising page on Virgin Money Giving, just click on the link below:

Five men sitting closely on a bench smiling

A man and a woman on a bench smiling. The woman has her thumbs up.

Your donation will help with the following:

£7 will buy us a new OS Map to find new routes for our walking groups

£10 buys us a new set of gardening gloves for our conservation group members

£20 buys a walking pole to help steady our members on hikes

£55 pays for a pair of binoculars for use on our bird watching trips

£250 pays for our community allotment project for one year

£500 allows us to replace worn out conservation tools each year

£3,000 buys a new tandem

£8,000 funds a nature conservation work party for one year

£43,000 purchases a fully accessible minibus

Two women holding a large bat box that they have made

Gift Aid

If you are a UK tax payer you can gift aid your donation, allowing us to reclaim the basic tax which you have already paid and giving us an extra 25% at no cost to you! This additional income really does make a huge difference to Open Country. This is collected automatically on any Virgin Money Giving donations, alternatively you can download a Gift Aid form here.

Here are some other ways you can give to Open Country:

Take on a fundraising challenge

Many people choose to fundraise for Open Country by taking part in challenge events such as running marathons, long distance walks and parachute jumps. If you are interested in doing a challenge on behalf of Open Country then please contact us. We will be happy to support you with sponsorship forms, help with setting up an online Virgin Money Giving page and coverage for your fundraising event.

Or how about becoming a Fundraising Volunteer or assisting at our fundraising events? This could involve helping on a tombola stall, at a coffee morning, running a supermarket collection day or joining our Fundraising Committee.

A man and a woman on bicycles by the sea high-fiving

For more information about fundraising for Open Country or joining our Committee contact our Fundraising Officer, Ian at ian.savage@opencountry.org.uk

Play the Local Lotto

You can play the Local Lotto and help raise money for Open Country. Tickets cost just £1 per week and have a 1 in 50 chance to win a prize each week, with a top prize of £25,000! That’s a better chance of winning than the National Lottery or the Health Lottery! 60% of ticket sales will go to good causes – 50% to Open Country and 10% to a fund supporting all good causes in Harrogate District. Click here for more information and to sign up. Good luck!

Declutter & Donate

We have created a ‘virtual charity shop’ and we would love you to sell your goods for us! Virgin Money Giving has partnered with trade-in site Ziffit, so now you can donate books, games and DVDs from the comfort of your home and donate the money to Open Country. For more information about how it works click here.

easyfundraising

Did you know that whenever you buy anything online – from your weekly shop to your annual holiday – you could be raising free donations for Open Country with easyfundraising?

There are over 4,000 shops and sites on board ready to make a donation – including eBay, Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com and M&S – and it won’t cost you a penny extra to help us raise funds.

All you need to do is:

1. Go to https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/opencountry/ and join for free.

2. Every time you shop online, go to easyfundraising first to find the site you want and start shopping.

3. After you’ve checked out, the retailer will make a donation to Open Country at no extra cost to you whatsoever!

There are no catches or hidden charges and Open Country will be really grateful for your donations.

Thank you for your support.

AmazonSmile

AmazonSmile is a simple way for you to support Open Country every time you shop, at no cost to you. AmazonSmile is available at smile.amazon.com on your web browser and can be activated in the Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones. When you shop AmazonSmile, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added benefit that AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to Open Country.

Watch our handy video which shows how to get started:

Regular Giving

A regular gift will help us continue our vial work and allow us to plan ahead! By setting up a direct debit you can choose how much and how often you wish to donate. Through the Give As You Earn scheme (GAYE), people are now able to donate to Open Country through the Self Assessment Tax Return. The scheme allows all or part of any rebate which is due to them to be given to Open Country or any other participating charity. Anonymous donations can also be made. For more details, please visit: www.gov.uk/payroll-giving

A group of school children standing next to a minibus with a lady in a wheelchair and her assistance dog

Leaving a Legacy

Leaving a gift to a charity such as Open Country is a way of making your memory live on through the work we do. If you or a loved one has benefitted from our services, you may wish to consider leaving a gift to us to ensure that we can continue to reach out to more people. There are several ways in which you can do this:

Leaving a gift in your Will
Setting up a remembrance fund or funeral collection
Tributes or ‘in memory’ gifts

We understand that remembering our charity is a very personal gift and we would love the opportunity to tell you more about our projects. For more information about leaving a legacy click here for our leaflet.

Why support Open Country?

We believe that everyone, irrespective of ability or disability, should be able to access the countryside and enjoy being in nature, both for its intrinsic value and for the wide range of well-being benefits. Nature can offer us all solace and time to unwind, refresh and refuel, which can often greatly improve an individual’s mental health.

The activities we lead also encourage social interaction between members and help improve self-esteem. These benefits address the significant and widespread issues felt by disabled people such as social isolation and loneliness. Our outdoor activities also encourage a more physically active lifestyle through countryside recreation like walking, cycling and conservation work, all of which help disabled people to lead a more fulfilling, healthy, and active lifestyle.

A man standing in a garden with a big smile

In order to offer these activities in a safe and effective way, we need to raise over £250,000 every year. We are indebted to the individuals, schools, clubs and companies who work hard each year to fundraise for us, and by doing so also raise awareness of our important work. We are always keen to hear from anyone who wishes to support Open Country, so please get in touch. Any contributions are greatly appreciated.