We Did It – Thank YOU So Much!
We are overjoyed and deeply grateful. After three weeks of tireless campaigning and unwavering support from thousands of incredible people like you, we have made it! With your help, we’ve raised more than £500,000. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Against all the odds, we’ve succeeded in saving Calvert Exmoor, and it’s all thanks to your generosity and belief in our centre.
Every donation, every share, every interaction with our social media posts, has made a difference. Whether you are one of our many individual supporters, a business, or a Trust or Foundation, your contribution has been vital. We are incredibly grateful to every single person who has helped make this campaign a success.
As we outlined below, we are moving forward with bold plans to diversify our income streams and secure a sustainable financial future. We are fully committed to making the necessary changes to strengthen our charity for the long term. With these new strategies, we are confident that we can continue to provide the exceptional experiences that so many of you know and love at Calvert Exmoor.
The success of this campaign also means that bookings are now OPEN! Getting back to providing life-enhancing breaks and activities has been the driving force behind our efforts, and we’re thrilled to be able to continue welcoming you to our centre. Whether you’re a returning guest or visiting for the first time, we would love to hear from you. Continuing to use our facilities is the best way you can help support us and ensure our future. Please phone 01598 763221 between 9am and 6pm every day to enquire.
We have decided to leave the fundraiser open for now. As a charity, continuous donations are what enables us to thrive. For those who wish to continue supporting us with additional donations, you can do so on the Crowdfunder or donate directly through our website. Every contribution, no matter the size, helps us keep delivering life-changing experiences.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who has been part of this incredible journey. We couldn’t have done it without you!
From the Calvert Exmoor Team
ORIGINAL CAMPAIGN TEXT
Why Calvert Exmoor faces closure unless the fundraising target can be met?
The threat of imminent closure is because we are running out of money in the bank and predict we will not have enough to see us through 2024.
There are several reasons for this. To operate, we depend on income from bookings, donations from the public, plus grants from trusts and foundations (such as the National Lottery).
Our grant incoming over the last 18 months has been excellent and we’re proud of our achievements, but this money can only be spent in specified ways and can’t be used elsewhere. Donations from the public have always remained steady, for which we are very grateful, however these fundraising incomes aren’t enough to run the centre.
It’s mainly booking income that allows us to operate, and since the Covid pandemic this money has dwindled and has not been able to grow. In the last four years our operating costs have increased significantly whilst income from bookings hasn’t.
It’s understandable that guest numbers are lower than pre-2020 levels. Our quality of breaks naturally decreased because of Covid, the lockdowns, social distancing rules, and our sudden lack of income. Which, understandably, put people off booking.
Likewise, many of our guests have found it harder to come and visit because money is tight, especially in households with disabilities. Financial support for people with disabilities has been cut or has not kept pace with inflation.
The result has been that our income has not matched the cost of running the centre. Therefore the money pot continues to decrease and we are at a critical point where the funds aren’t available to run the centre and our accessible breaks in their current form.
In 2019 and early 2020 we developed a strategy to diversify our activities to generate additional income. This included obtaining planning permissions for self-catering lodges and pods together with some staff accommodation. Since then we also have in place plans for bunk-bed accommodation for large school groups.
The Covid pandemic delayed development while we dealt with the immediate challenges, and now the funds to make future dreams a reality simply don’t exist.
The appeal total of £500,000 is broken down like this:
- £150,000 to invest in 5 bunkhouse accommodation pods, operational by February 2025, for use by mainstream schools for educational activity trips and other groups to generate a substantial new income stream.
- £200,000 to make up our income shortfall for the 2024 season and continue to operate through the autumn and winter months into 2025.
- £150,000 to provide us with the confidence and funds to re-structure how we operate; to continue and develop our fundraising team; to develop new markets and activities to enhance the range of activities and guest experience; and to establish partnering arrangements with other organisations to maximise the use of the excellent facilities and site.
Ultimately, £500,000 buys us the time to put into effect and further develop plans as part of our diversification strategy so that we are not dependent on guest revenue and fundraising alone. This will enable us to generate much more income to support our core charitable activity. Without these funds staff redundancies would need to take place, breaks would be cancelled, and the future of the centre would continue to crumble, leaving no choice but to close the doors for good.
We felt that we could not launch an appeal of this nature any sooner; it had to be a last resort. Closure became a frightening possibility when a loan and grant application from the Social Investment Bank for £300,000 was turned down in July.
We believe that with the appeal we have a way forward to a sustainable future so that we can continue to support and enhance the lives of the disability community, one of the most disadvantaged sections of society. We hope that you can understand and we wholly appreciate everyone’s comments and efforts.
An additional quote from our Centre Director, that has been sent to the press and previously displayed here:
“To put it bluntly, we’re running out of cash to see us through the coming quieter season. We’ve successfully raised restricted funds over the past 18 months which has enabled us to invest significantly in improving the centre and the quality of our offer. We’ve brought in new accessible bikes, new canoes, a new accessible horse carriage, refurbished the sensory room, introduced new rafts on Wistlandpound Reservoir, opened an outdoor crate stack area, and have so many more wonderful plans for the future.
“Meanwhile, it’s been reported that the South West tourism sector has been hit especially hard this year, and we’re seeing the same trend. There’s been wet weather issues and increased competition from overseas travel. Plus the costs of running the centre have risen sharply due to inflation. Essentials like food, fuel, maintenance, and wages have all become more expensive, putting a strain on our finances.
“We want to spend to improve and if we can raise the cash and invest in new accommodation to diversify our target markets, we will survive long into the future. Yet, with rising costs, impacted bookings and the current cost of living crisis, we have hit the point where we must decide; close the centre or find a way to introduce an additional large amount of money to bridge the winter season and fund key goals. We exhausted all other grant and loan avenues, so have decided to go for crowd fundraising and I truly hope we achieve it, for the sake of our guests both current and well into the future.”
Please contact fundraising@calvert-trust.org.uk with any questions.