Why our fundraising is crucial
The West Yorkshire MS Therapy Centre is a registered charity that needs to raise over £130,000 a year for running costs alone and from 2016 we'll need to cover the rent as well!
The centre does not recieve any funding from either the government or the NHS. It relies entirely on fundraising and donations.
However the support we have received in the past from our supermarkets can no longer be taken for granted.
With supermarket chains across the country reviewing the availability of their premises to host charitable fundraising, our regular, frequent and very successful store collections look likely to be severely curtailed in the future. Indeed some of the collections that we had planned for 2016 have now been cancelled by the retailers.
Many of the large chains of supermarkets including the "Big 4" cite reasons such as customers feeling pressurised and over demand from charities for events amongst other complaints. The recent phenomena of professional charity fundraisers and "Direct Debit" fundraising have all added to the conclusion by some retailers that charitable activities need to be curtailed or at least significantly reduced.
This affects not only ourselves but also the large national charities as well. The difference being that we rely heavily on the income provided by the collections to maintain our centre, around 10% of our income came from this source last year. Not only that, but importantly it also provides a means of talking to members of the public about our centre and its therapies which raises awareness and that can only be a good thing!
If you can help or suggest more venues, we'd be happy to hear from you.
Some of the most substantial income comes from donations either personal or from private or commercial enterprise. If you think your employer would be interested in making a donation or sponsoring us in some way please contact Joanne Goodwin, our manager.
There are several simple ways in which you can donate, for instance you can donate by phone or internet.... see more
