Fundraising

Our fundraising began as soon as we received development funding towards the project from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) in 2011. We have raised over
£2 million to date and have a shortfall of £685,000 which we need to raise in the next few months as our match funding to apply for a multi-million HLF grant in early 2013.

We have been pleased with the support we have received so far from charitable trusts, individual benefactors and statutory funds. The Sir John Fisher Foundation led the way with a major grant, followed by substantial grants from the Wolfson Foundation, the Garfield Weston Foundation and smaller grants from several other trusts. The Rural Development Fund has supported the development stage and we have recently been awarded a conditional allocation of £1.25 million from the Regional Growth Fund. More applications are in progress and we anticipate further grants in the coming months.

Individual donors have been very generous and we have received many large donations and pledges and look forward to securing more personal donations in the near future. The fundraising campaign is now being launched to the public and we hope that anyone who is interested in the project will make a donation, however small or large. All our donors are personally thanked and the larger donors will be permanently acknowledged on donor boards in the new Museum.
The support of trusts and private individuals in the coming months will be crucial to us reaching our target in time to apply to the HLF.

Sue Marsden
Campaign Director