Support us Support Our Work Support Our Work Thank you for caring about Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood and their wildlife and heritage, and the work of the Bradgate Park Trust. The Bradgate Park Trust is a charity, that was founded in 1928 when our benefactor Charles Bennion purchased Bradgate Park from the Grey family and gave it in Trust for the benefit of local people and visitors. It takes an enormous amount of work and money to look after these precious historical and ecologically important open spaces and to ensure we stay open and free to enter for all. No legacy was left - so each year the Trust has to raise the funds to keep running. Support us! There are many ways individuals, groups and businesses that care about the environment, wildlife and historic landscapes of Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood can support our work. Gifts and donations, whether it be time, goods, or money, no matter how big or small, help us to not only to care for these open spaces and provide daily access, but to also to innovate and develop new and exciting ideas for the delivery of our charitable purposes. Your future support could help the Trust achieve remarkable things. We know we have accomplished much, but there is still so much to uncover and share for visitors' enjoyment in the future. Help conserve Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood for generations to come. Donate You can make a donation to the Trust online via the Donate buttons on this website, either as a one-off gift, or by monthly regular direct debit giving. Some people prefer to donate by cheque. This can be posted to our Estate Office at the Park. If you are a UK taxpayer we can recover Gift Aid on online and cheque donations and increase each donation's value by 25% (40% for higher rate tax payers) at no extra cost to you. If you are visiting Bradgate Park you can donate using the donation boxes, at our main entrances, Memorial Wood, in our Tearooms and Visitor Centre. Fundraise for the Charity Many people want to help raise funds for the Charity. Whether you wish to hold a sponsored event, run a bring-and buy-sale, or take on a challenge event such as running a marathon, there are all sorts of ways you can help. Bushby Lions Club are one such supporter. They hold an annual sponsored walk on the Park to raise funds. This has supported new picnic benches, including wheel chair accessible ones at the Deer Barn Tearoom and uniforms for our educational volunteers. Grants and Foundations Support from charitable trusts and foundations is crucial to the Trust’s work. It enables us to make a real and significant difference in what we do, particularly our work with education and communities. We actively seek funding that fits with our objectives, and value working in partnership where possible with our grant-makers. Such support can allow us to develop new projects and opportunities for our visitors. Examples of how we have worked in this way include our partnership with the Rotary Club of Leicester to raise funds to open the Visitor Centre in 2016, grants from the Big Lottery Fund to purchase our free-to-hire mobility scooter for less mobile visitors and support from local and national Masonic charities to develop the popular Memorial Wood. It costs £3,300 a day to keep the Park and Swithland Wood open. Each of the 400 deer have to be given supplementary feed in winter, when grass is scarce, at a cost of £25 per animal each year. Disposing of waste left by visitors costs £100 a day. For each acre of the Estate it costs £350 each year to care for the natural and historic heritage. Leave a Gift in your Will Many of our visitors have a lifelong relationship with Bradgate Park. Gifts in Wills help support a huge range of wildlife, heritage conservation and educational projects across the Estate. A legacy is therefore a gift that will help our work to care for the countryside and share an understanding of this heritage for generations to come. To help you find out more about legacy giving we have provided more information here where you can also downloaded a copy of this booklet, or you can request a copy by post. Donating in Memory If you wish to remember a loved one, the Trust has established a Memorial Wood. This is a place of quiet reflection, with benches and a sculpture centre point. Plaques can be purchased which can be personalised with dedications. Unfortunately, within the heritage landscape we can not assist with dedicated trees or benches. The Trust has a leaflet for Memorial Wood and more information is available on this website. Corporate and Organisational Support There are a number of local and national companies that already support and work with the Bradgate Park Trust. There are many ways your business or employer can support us, through fundraising, donations or volunteering. Further information and examples of how your business can support the Trust can be found here. Whatever the size of your organisation, the Trust will work with you to create a partnership tailored to your needs. The Trust also has a Corporate Membership scheme. Download more information about how businesses can become a Corporate Member of the Trust below. Why do we need your support? When established, the running costs of the Trust were met by both Leicester City Council and Leicestershire County Council. No financial gift was left to the Park to pay for future care. Nowadays the budget for maintaining the Estate is approximately £1.2 million a year and the Charity has to raise over 95% of this itself through events, grants, donations, pay and display parking, sales of Estate products and at our Tearooms and shop. The Trust’s charitable purposes, simply put, are to maintain and improve the Park for the benefit of the public and to promote education and an appreciation of the environment. Each year we work to understand more about these landscapes, working with others to uncover more about past residents, the varied natural heritage and to share this knowledge with others.