Fund Raising Ideas

Fund raising.

The Bowland Tourism Environment Fund has been successful in getting grants from the Regional Development Agency and Awards for All in the past, but its main income is based on donations.

HMRC has recognised BTEF as having charitable status so taxpaying donors can provide an extra 25% by completing a Gift Aid declaration – see download pdf.

All the Forest of Bowland maps and leaflets are available free of charge. Visitors are usually willing to make a small donation to BTEF in recognition of the value of this information. Participants on Festival Bowland events (especially where there is no, or a small, charge are invited to make a donation.  Collecting boxes are available contact mike.pugh@lancashire.gov.uk 01200 448000

BTEF has raised money through the distribution of Forest of Bowland pin badges and continues to offer the collecting boxes for small cash donations to tourism operators.

 BTEF would like to expand the work with local visitor-oriented businesses to run Visitor Pay-back schemes. This is where the business invites its customers to include a donation with their payment for goods or services. This works best when the donation is linked with a specific project in the vicinity. For example, the Three Fishes Restaurant at Great Mitton (part of the Ribble Valley Inns group) invited their diners to contribute 20p each towards the Tramper for Hire project.

Here are some suggestions for you:-

  • Suggest an optional donation added to the cost of a stay
  • Or an optional  donation on to the price of meal or a cup of tea

Craig Bancroft and Peter Robinson present a big cheque for £8,000 to Trustee Ann  Shaw for the Bowland Tramper Project, raised over a year by inviting diners to donate 20p each. (February 2012)

  •  If you lend out maps, guide books or binoculars ask for a small donation.
  • Sell the Forest of Bowland Badges (see above)
  • Organise a specific event to publicise your business and raise funds for BTEF

If you have any ideas for inovative visitor payback schemes please let us know.