NFU Mutual Charitable Trust delivers £500k to UK rural causes
14th August 2024
The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust has announced its first round of donations for 2024, totalling more than £500,000 and supporting 11 rural causes across the UK.
This is the first of two rounds of funding that will be delivered across the year, NFU Mutual confirmed.
The trust expects overall donations to reach at least £1m by the end of 2024. Its work forms part of NFU Mutual’s £3.25m charitable giving pledge to support its members and their communities during 2024.
The organisation said that the latest round of funding will help to deliver a range of initiatives, including rural poverty relief, helping small farming businesses to thrive, educating and mentoring young people, and supporting mental wellbeing.
Making a positive impact
The donations will be available immediately, allowing the organisations to continue to provide their crucial support services, the trust confirmed.
Applications for the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust’s November round of donations are now open, and the closing date is 4th October. Full details can be found on NFU Mutual’s website.
Jim McLaren MBE, chairman of NFU Mutual and the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust, said: “NFU Mutual is committed to making a positive impact for our members and wider society through our charitable giving programme.
“We are very proud to be championing the work of these great causes through the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust.”
The Royal Countryside Fund, a charity that empowers family farms and rural communities to survive and thrive, will be using their donation of £75,000 to aid their work with Farm Support Groups across the UK.
Keith Halstead, executive director at The Royal Countryside Fund, explained how the trust’s donation will be making a difference: “This incredibly generous grant from the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust will help The Royal Countryside Fund improve the lives of thousands of farmers across the UK, who are supported by our Farm Support Group network.
“We will be able to increase the capacity of groups within the network to deliver more vital services and support to those in need. We would like to say a huge thank you to the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust for helping us provide this crucial support that so many within farming communities depend on.”
NFU Mutual Charitable Trust donations
The organisations set to benefit from the donations are:
- Addington Fund
- Farms for City Children
- The FCN
- Gareth Raw Rees Memorial Scholarship
- NFU Education
- Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust
- Oxford Farming Conference
- Royal Countryside Fund
- RSABI
- Samaritans
- Wales Federation of Young Farmers Clubs
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