Flourish Fund

Chalk downland with fragrant and pyramidal orchids at Fackenden Down, photo by Beth Hukins

Photo by Beth Hukins

Flourish - start making a bigger difference today.

Flourish makes your money work hard, so that wildlife in Kent thrives.

Charles and Joanna Pope tell us more about why they support Kent Wildlife Trust.

Flourish Fund logo

Donate £500 or more if you can, to Flourish and your money will work hard to release large amounts of additional financial investment.

Flourish supporters have helped Kent Wildlife Trust secure significant funding from other providers so that together we can achieve great things for Kent’s wildlife. Flourish gifts have also helped the Trust to purchase land extending our reach across Kent, enabling habitats to prosper and creating wildlife corridors for species to thrive.

How do I support Flourish?

Through an annual Flourish donation, you can either support Grant Applications or Land Purchases or both, the choice is yours.

Supporting Grant Applications

Many of our projects are too large to be funded by Kent Wildlife Trust member donations alone, so we often approach other financial providers and grant-giving bodies.

If you choose to support large grant applications that we submit to other grant-giving agencies, your donation can be used as partnership funding to access substantial grants and investment from other providers. In other words, your generous gift of £500 (or more if you can) will unlock more funding.

Heather Corrie, who is a Flourish fund supporter explains here how it works:

Heather Corrie Flourish Fund Supporter

Heather Corrie, Flourish Fund Supporter

"The larger funders usually ask us to put in around 10% (sometimes more) of the project total. So, in this example, my £2,000 which I have donated could unlock £18,000 grants. Then, if the project is eligible for gift aid and because I am a UK taxpayer, Kent Wildlife Trust can also claim a further 25% from the tax authorities increasing the cash it receives to £2500.

Also, given I am a higher rate taxpayer eligible for higher rate tax relief, I am also able to claim back 20% of the original donation (£400) at the end of my tax year. So, in this example, I have actually spent £1600 cash which has allowed the Trust to access well in excess of that. A win-win situation! My £2000 donation is not enough on its own to fund a project, so we get together in the Flourish Fund and form a club."

Supporting Land Purchases

Your Flourish gift can help to purchase, extend and improve our nature reserves. Supporting the land purchase option means that your gift is ring-fenced to support Kent Wildlife Trust purchase land.

 

Family outdoors, photo by Thomas Alexander

Photo by Thomas Alexander

Flourish Achievements

Flourish supporters have helped to lever in thousands of extra pounds for Guardians of the Deep and Magpie Bottom.

A considerable part of my life has been spent in a coastal area, so I have good reason to value the marine habitat myself. I am delighted that my contribution to the Flourish fund helped to secure the funding from the Heritage Lottery fund for Guardians of the Deep.
Flourish supporter
Common seals, photo by Russel Miles

Common seals, photo by Russel Miles

Guardians of the deep

Flourish donations helped to secure £446,000 Heritage Lottery funding for Guardians of the Deep; a three-year project that aims to engage communities, businesses and visitors by raising awareness of marine habitats and promoting an active and ongoing guardianship role to protect them for the future. 

Magpie Bottom, photo by Ray Lewis

Magpie Bottom, photo by Ray Lewis

Magpie Bottom

Flourish also helped to secure the purchase of Magpie Bottom, a stunningly beautiful landscape near Sevenoaks, comprising a valley bottom and steep sides of a dry chalk valley.

Fragrant Orchid at Fackenden, photo by Gareth Christian

Fragrant Orchid at Fackenden, photo by Gareth Christian

Start making a bigger difference today.