National Trust – Fundraising from Europe Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Phil Lakin, European Grants Manager 24th January 2013

1. Context of Fundraising in the NT

2. EU funding: How Much? Where From?

3. Case Studies

4. EU funding 2014-20: Opportunities and Challenges Ahead

5. Any Questions?

Context of Fundraising in the NT …

The National Trust in 2011/12:

– Spent £240m on routine Property Operating Costs;

– A further £68m was spent on Property Conservation Projects (includes £28m spent on ‘Coast & Countryside’ Projects);

– Membership income accounted for £130m;

– Fundraising total income was £89m at a cost of £3m;

– The largest sources of fundraising were: Legacies £44m; Grants £32m; Appeals and Gifts £12m;

– Total NT expenditure was £435m. This includes £10m on acquisitions with the bulk (£9.3m) on ‘Coast & Countryside’

NT Income 2011-12

Rents8%

Catering10%

Legacies10%

Enterprises13%

Membership subs 31%

Grants 7%

Investment income7%

Admission fees5%

Appeals & Gifts3%

Holiday cottages2%

Other property income 2%

Hotel income2%

Other income0%

NT Fundraising Department

There are approximately 40 FTE fundraising staff across the Trust comprising:

15 Regionally located Fundraising and/or Grants Consultants offering advise and support to local portfolios of Trust properties;

25 Specialist Fundraising Staff based in 4 Teams (Legacies, Major Donors, Charitable Trusts and Grants) at the Central Office offering advice & support to the Consultancy and leading on national projects/advocacy;

This includes 1.0 FTE European Grants Manager.

EU funding: How Much? Where From?

2011/12 was a fairly typical year for Grants fundraising.

Of the £32.3m raised from Grants, approximately £16.9m (52%) came directly & indirectly from Europe comprising:

- £2.9m Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Pillar 1 Direct Payments

- £6.7m CAP Pillar 2 Rural Development Programme (RDP)

- £6.6m European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

- £0.7m LIFE+ Nature & Biodiversity

NT & EU Funding – Examples & Case Studies

The £16.9m from the EU was awarded through numerous individual grant applications submitted under the following Programmes.

- CAP Pillar 1: Paid direct to the Trust as a farmer. We directly manage circa 20,000 Ha of land for conservation & access;

- RDP: Agri-environment Schemes (Entry Level & Higher Level Stewardship etc). All have public access options/requirements;

- RDP: Main Grants for non-Agri-environment projects;- RDP: LEADER – locally allocated RDP funding. includes diversification, rural

tourism & heritage/access projects;

- ERDF: regional Competitiveness & Employment programmes supporting economic growth and investment projects;

- ERDF: Interreg Programmes supporting transnational solutions and joint action on solving common challenges;

- LIFE+ Programme for nature and biodiversity projects (includes WFD & ecosystem services);

- Other Programmes: Lifelong Learning (skills, exchanges) and Framework Programme Seven (research).

NT & EU Funding – Examples: RDP Agri-Environment

- Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire. Following the purchase of the historic Estate parkland (funded through the Heritage Lottery Fund), we used Higher Level Stewardship funding to revert arable land to traditional parkland. We created public access to the parkland for the first time and also used HLS options to restore structures in the park including an imposing obelisk

- High Peak Estate, Derbyshire. We have and are using HLS to bring the Blanket Bog dominated SSSI into favourable condition. This has also improved physical access to the site.

NT & EU Funding – Examples: RDP Main Grants

• 1 South West Cycle Partnership. This multi-partner project is sharing a £1.0m RDP grant to improve cycling facilities, routes and marketing across the South West. It includes two NT sites.

• Upper Booth Campsite New Shower & Toilet Block, High Peak, Derbyshire. Located near Edale, the environmentally sensitive new facility was part funded by a £90,000 RDP grant. This has enabled the campsite to expand and safeguard jobs.

NT & EU Funding – Examples: RDP LEADER

•Hardwick Stableyard Development, Derbyshire. Located in the Bolsover & North East Derbyshire Local Action Group area, £100,000 (50%) was awarded towards a new state-of-art environmentally friendly Visitor Centre. This serves as a central hub for all visitors to Hardwick Hall, Gardens and the Parkland and also acts as a signposting facility for other local countryside recreation and heritage sites.

•Box Hill Walks, Surrey. The creation of four self guided trails to orientate visitors around the estate. Free leaflets and downloadable version available via the internet.£22,800 (100%)was awarded by the Local Action Group.

NT & EU Funding – Examples: ERDF Regional Competitiveness

• Stackpole Rediscovered Project, Pembrokeshire. The redevelopment and enhancement of the residential centre on the south west Wales Stackpole coastal estate to enhance use by disadvantaged and educational groups. £1.6m (30%) of ERDF awarded towards this £5.3m project. It has facilitated the creation and safeguarding of jobs and additional tourism spend in the local economy.

•Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre, County Antrim. Development of a major landmark visitor centre at Northern Ireland’s only World Heritage Site and its most visited rural attraction. Enhances access to the coast, coastal path and acts as a signposting facility for other recreational and heritage facilities. Northern Ireland Tourist Board grant of £9.25m (50%) of which £6.125m was from the ERDF.

NT & EU Funding – Examples: ERDF Interreg

•Climate Proof Areas, Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire. Working in partnership with Dutch, Swedish and German partners, the Trust reverted arable land to fenland, extending the Wicken Fen Nature Reserve. Wicken Fen is of importance both for nature conservation but also for outdoor recreation. Circa £350,000 (50%) of funding from the Interreg North Sea Programme was awarded.

•Living with a Changing Coast, Studland, Dorset. A partnership of 9 organisations from France and England are collaborating this project. It seeks to communicate with visitors, residents and businesses the changing nature of the coast and the challenges and opportunities this presents. The Trust was awarded £125,000 (50%) from the Interreg Manche Programme.

NT & EU Funding – Examples: LIFE+

•MoorLIFE Blanket Bog Restoration, High Peak, Derbyshire A partnership project delivering substantial biodiversity & ecosystem services benefits through the restoration of upland blanket bog. This will also deliver significant access benefits. The total grant was €5.02m (75%) and the Trust will receive about €750,000 of this.

•Alde-Ore Estuary, Orford, Suffolk A joint RSPB & NT bid to restore habitats and access to the National Nature Reserve at Orford Ness, a shingle spit off the Suffolk coast and also to nearby Havergate Island. The total grant was €1.2m (50%) and the Trust will receive about €475,000 of this.

EU funding 2014-20: Opportunities and Challenges Ahead

The EU’s proposals for the next 7 years include the following opportunities for funding countryside related projects:

Simplification and harmonisation of EU rules and procedures. This will include the value of volunteer time as match funding;

Increased and ring-fenced funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation works;

Increased funding for LIFE+, LEADER and Interreg;

Key emphasis on shifting to a low carbon economy.

EU funding 2014-20: Opportunities and Challenges Ahead

Some of the challenges include:

Greater concentration and targeting of funding on priorities that deliver growth, innovation, skills and which reduce unemployment and social deprivation;

No minimum spend of RDP on agri-environment schemes (currently 80%);

Channelling of ERDF through Local Enterprise Partnerships which tend to have a strong urban focus;

CAP budget is likely to be reduced as an easy option to scale down the EU’s overall budget.

Delay in agreeing the overall EU budget and questions on the UK’s future role in the EU.

EU funding 2014-20: Next Steps

The Government is currently holding an informal consultation on its proposed ‘Common Strategic Framework’. This will set out its priorities for spending nationally allocated EU funding.

DEFRA and the Devolved Administrations are drafting their respective Rural Development Programmes.

All the consultations should be complete by mid 2013 to allow the European Parliament time to pass the required legislation.

Delays mean that the new funds will not probably be available till early 2015. This raises questions about continuity of funding once the current programmes close in December 2015.

Any Questions?

Presentation by:

Phil Lakin MInstF(Cert),European Grants Manager,

National Trust, Heelis, Kemble Drive, Swindon. SN2 2NA

E: phil.lakin@nationaltrust.org.uk. T: (+44) (0)1623 456948M: 07787 321 922