We chatted with Sue Thomson, Senior Fundraising Manager & Farm Discovery Coordinator at The Country Trust.
“In 2023 we received a large grant from the Benefact Group to support our Farm Discovery Programme and have worked closely with the Benefact Group and Lycetts teams over the subsequent twelve months. The grant has enabled hundreds of children to access the working countryside, learn where their food comes from and have opportunities to meet farmers and other rural workers, providing aspirations for future careers, and fuelling imagination and communication.”
“More recently I was kindly invited by Lycetts to attend a Benefact Group Fundraising forum at Lycetts’ offices in Newcastle. It was so great to meet other fundraisers from so many different organisations. There was so much expertise, passion and creativity in one room as we discussed our charity’s challenges as a group; it was so inspiring. Since the event I have followed up on potential sources of funding suggested by the other delegates and changed my approach to bid writing. The keynote speaker, Andy King, shared how to find, shape, and tell stories in a way that connects donors emotionally to the Country Trust cause, and this has become a core element to our funding applications.”
One story Sue shared on the day was about a little boy from Byker who visited a Northumberland farm with his classmates earlier this year. “Are we in France?” he asked, when he got off the bus. This mystified Sue, who was leading the visit, but apparently, he had seen an electricity pylon for the first time on the bus journey, and thought it was the Eiffel Tower!
Sue explained, “This isn’t unusual. Many children we work with rarely leave their immediate communities. I met another child from Gateshead on a farm visit, whose school is only a mile from the River Tyne. He got really distressed and tearful when we were walking across a little footbridge on the farm. He told me he had never been on a bridge before, and was absolutely terrified, which is heartbreaking considering how close he lives to the many bridges over the Tyne. By the end of the day he was full of confidence and joy after his big adventure. He even decided he wanted to be a farmer when he grew up!”
Sue concluded, “We want every child to have the chance to discover through first-hand experience where their food comes from, visit working farms, grow and nurture food from seed, harvest and cook it. To reap the benefits for their language and literacy, for their social skills and physical wellbeing, to experience the sheer joy of running across a field, getting muddy, and exploring wide open spaces, to see possibilities for themselves in the future. And through all this, to understand that beneath their feet and all around them is a miraculous life support system, which is directly affected by the food we eat, and that their actions matter.
“That is why the support of the Benefact Group, not just financially, but in training, ambassadorship and networking opportunities like the Fundraising Forum are so important to our work. We are so grateful for the help of others, and I shall never forget to thank donors seven times now (as recommended by Andy at the Forum), to make sure they feel fully appreciated.”
You can read more about our Movement for Good larger grant to The Country Trust here:
https://benefactgroup.com/movement-for-good/beneficiaries/the-country-trust-2/
For more information about The Country Trust, please visit their website: