Farming charity RSABI aims to grow support to help plug coronavirus funding gap
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A CHARITY which helps people in Scottish agriculture has launched an ambitious bid to recruit support to help plug a major funding gap caused by coronavirus.
RSABI wants to attract 500 new businesses and individuals to join its Supporter Scheme.
This year the charity is unable to hold its annual Great Glen Challenge fundraising event, which last year raised £53,000.
To help fill the gap in expected income, RSABI is launching the #RSABI500 campaign encouraging regular giving to the charity, starting at just £2 per month.
Chief executive Nina Clancy explained: “The Supporter Scheme is always hugely important to RSABI, generating regular income which helps us to meet demand for our services.
“This year, with the loss of income from the Great Glen Challenge, the Supporter Scheme is more important than ever. From just £2 a month, you can make a real difference to someone from the agricultural community who is struggling.
“We’re helping around 25 to 30 new clients every month, and with economic uncertainties and Brexit on the horizon we expect demand for our services to increase in the coming months.I’d urge people and businesses to sign up as a supporter and help us provide vital services to people in the industry.”
Chairman Ewan Pate hopes the 2021 Great Glen Challenge will be bigger and better than ever. He said: “We’re disappointed to announce we won’t be able to hold the Great Glen Challenge this year due to the pandemic.
“It’s always a great day with teams from across the agricultural sector competing and raising a fantastic amount of money for us. We look forward to welcoming regular competitors and new teams to next year’s event.”
There are three levels of the RSABI Supporter Scheme ranging from a minimum £2 per month or £25 a year which covers the cost of six helpline calls, providing vital support to someone in the agricultural community.
It also has business and corporate level programmes which help fund case officers helping farmers unable to work after an accident or illness, making sure that the farm can continue and the family are not struggling.
More information can be found here or by calling 07746 677 423.
