About

On March 1st we launched this ‘Farmyard Fundraiser’ aiming to raise £30,000 in 30 days.

The response has been incredible, with hundreds of people donating and, incredibly, after only thirteen days we reached £30,000! Huge thanks to everyone who has already donated and shared. We'll keep this specific campaign running until the end of March, to see how much we can raise.

We chose the target figure, as this financial year (ending 31st March) has been particularly challenging and we were forecasting a significant loss, we actually need more than £30,000 to break even, but this felt like a more achievable target to aim for.

The forecasted loss was partly due to falling income, as donations were lower and there are less grants available to apply for, but also due to rising costs. In addition to increasing utility bills, we've also been hit with a huge uplift in animal care costs. For example the price of hay has risen over 70% in the last six months, largely due to the difficult growing conditions last summer. So the essential feed, bedding and routine medical treatments now costs us £37,000 each year, just over £100 every day.

Last year we celebrated our 50th birthday and the huge impact we've achieved in three main areas: creating community, improving people's health and wellbeing and educating all about farming and food production. We engage thousands of people every year as shown in our annual report: www.surreydocksfarm.org.uk/sdf-annual-report/

To ensure we can survive going forward, we have made changes that will help in the new financial year:

- We gained grant funding from Southwark Council to install 39 new solar panels in December, which should reduce our electricity costs in 2026

- We were given pro bono support through British Land to upgrade our internet, so we now have donation stations for visitors to give by card around the site and our farm shop till doesn't keep dropping out!

- Sadly we've also had to make changes to project delivery and reduce staff hours

These changes will help, but we'll still need your donations and support as we move into a new financial year! It's a challenging time for charities, so we appreciate any support you can give... so we can stay open for everyone.

If you can help but would rather donate in a different way, do get in touch (details below) as we can also include 'offline' donations to this campaign and gladly welcome donations via cheque, cash or bank transfer too!

Contact: Gemma, Farm Manager via manager@surreydocksfarm.org.uk

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