Even if you don’t live in a rural area, the countryside is of vital importance to all of us. Here, we find out what the Fund has done to help, since its inception
What is the Prince’s Countryside Fund?
The Prince’s Countryside Fund gives grants to projects that support the people who care for the countryside. Their mission is to secure a sustainable future for our countryside by supporting the UK’s rural communities, British agriculture and the wider rural economy.
They tackle five key issues:
Rural isolation
Low farming incomes
Decline of rural communities
Lack of access to training
Disconnect with the countryside
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What have they done for us?
Since 2010 The Prince’s Countryside Fund has provided grants to help...
126 rural communities by improving service provision. Their funding has supported rural transport schemes, set up village shops, supported 50 village pubs to ensure they remain part of the community and developed business units for locals.
2,346 farm businesses through funding projects that work directly with farmers to improve efficiency. They also support projects that offer farmers the opportunity to diversify and generate new income streams.
489 rural enterprises through their support of innovative rural business projects. These range from starting a charcuterie business to supporting kitchen table enterprises run specifically by rural women.
2,022 young people by supporting projects offering training opportunities. They have supported apprenticeship programmes, funded training days and paid for transport to access training.
25,800 individuals to improve their understanding of the value of the countryside.
9,000 children have been given access to farms or learning about farming in school.
The Fund has given over £600,000 in emergency funding to the Farming Help charities, providing immediate financial support in times of crisis like the recent poor weather in 2012/13.
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Efficiency
The Fund is managed by Business in the Community, an existing charity of which The Prince of Wales is President. Over 90p of every pound donated is given in grants directly to projects that they know can make a difference.
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Partnerships
They are supported by 23 companies via a brand licensing agreement. The following companies pay a fee to use the PCF logo as a marketing tool: Asda, Barbour, Barclays, Booths, Countrywide, Coutts, Dairy Crest, Dovecote Park, Duchy Original, Ginsters, HSBC, Hunter, Jordans, Ryvita, Land Rover, Lloyds, McDonald’s, Marks & Spencer, Moy Park, Musto, Pepsi Co, Strutt & Parker, United Biscuits and Waitrose.
The Prince’s Countryside Fund has given £3.3m in grants since 2010.
Projects supported by The Prince’s Countryside Fund have helped 52,000 people since 2010.
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A few facts from the Prince’s Countryside Fund about our green and pleasant land:
80 per cent of the land area of the UK is farmland
70 per cent of our drinking water comes from the UK’s upland areas
Every year 19.3million people visit the countryside
Without a subsidy, most farms would make a loss
60,000 new entrants are needed into agriculture over the next decade to sustain the industry
600 village shops are closing each year
Over 800,000 households live below the poverty line in rural areas
13 per cent of 16-18-year-olds in rural areas are not in education, employment or training
In the next 50 years we will have to produce more food than we have in the last 10,000 years
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To donate to The Prince’s Countryside Fund please go to www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/archant
