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:

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

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.

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

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.