The Fiona Barker Memorial Fund

We are immensely proud to host The Fiona Barker Memorial Fund.

Following Fiona’s death her family established a fund to help with Countryside Learning’s work. Currently, over £55,000 has been raised by the fund. A proportion of this has been used to enable almost 13,000 children from 350 schools across the country to take part in our Countryside Classroom Programme.

Give as you Live

Simply sign up to Give as You Live and choose Countryside Learning as your charity. Browse the 4000 stores taking part. Visit the store via Give as You Live and if you make a purchase then Give as You Live will make a free donation to us.

To sign up and for further details click here

Gift Aid

Countryside Learning can reclaim over £2,100 in Gift Aid tax – this will help pay for the cost of running a Countryside Classroom day where up to 300 children experience “Country Life” often for the first time. Please help us to make this figure even bigger. It is very simple, when making a donation providing you are a UK taxpayer, you could boost your charitable donations just by giving in a tax-efficient way.

We appreciate that tax has its complexities and can be difficult to understand. If you are unsure about anything, please don’t hesitate to contact our Chief Executive Gary Richardson or speak to your own tax expert or contact HMRC on their website https://www.gov.uk/

You only need to make a declaration once. We will keep this declaration as your enduring permission to claim gift aid tax relief on all donations you have made in the previous four years, the current year and any donations you might make to us in the future. Please remember to let us know of any changes to your tax status, including changes to your name and address.

Set up a Standing Order

Arranging a Standing Order with your bank enables you to give a regular gift to our general fund. Regular giving enables us to plan our future commitments and helps reduce administrative costs. Download a Standing Order form Regular Donation Form and if you want to Gift Aid your donation please download the form.

By payroll giving

Talk to your employer to see if you can give to the Countryside Learning through a Payroll Giving scheme. It is an extremely cost-effective way to give to charity. For example, a monthly gift of £20 costs a regular taxpayer only £15.60 (for higher-rate taxpayers this figure decreases to £12).

By donating Shares

Giving shares instead of money can substantially reduce your Income Tax bill. For example, if you are a regular taxpayer, a gift of shares worth £1000 would give a £220 reduction on your bill. If you a higher rate tax payer, your bill would reduce by £400. There is also no Capital Gains Tax to pay.

By leaving a Legacy

By pledging a legacy, you are guaranteeing your support for the work of Countryside Learning. If you would like to talk to us about leaving a legacy, please contact Gary Richardson.

By giving a few hours of your time

We always welcome volunteers. Whether you feel your skills could be utilised best in one of our education days, by helping one of our regional offices, or by lending a hand at one of our fundraising events around the country, do get in touch. Even if you have only a few hours each year to give, your time is greatly appreciated. Join our bank of volunteers and you could help make a very real and tangible difference.