The rural insurance branch of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU Mutual) has announced that its Charitable Trust collected donations amounting to more than £1 million in 2022.
This funding goes towards a range of initiatives for 25 different organisations that specialise in projects ranging from rural poverty relief, helping small farming businesses to thrive, educating and mentoring young people, and supporting the UK’s air ambulance network.
The organisations that are set to benefit from the donations are:
- Air Ambulances UK;
- FareShare;
- Farming and Forestry Aid;
- Farming Community Network;
- Farms for City Children;
- Farmstrong Scotland;
- Gareth Raw Rees Memorial Scholarship;
- Leukaemia Educating and Fundraising (LEAF);
- Mental Health Innovations;
- National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC);
- NFU Education;
- Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust;
- Open Farm Weekend, Northern Ireland;
- Oxford Farming Conference;
- Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI);
- Royal Highland Education Trust;
- Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RSABI);
- Rural Support;
- Samaritans;
- Scottish Association of Young Farmers’ Clubs;
- The Prince’s Countryside Fund;
- The UK Sepsis Trust;
- Wales Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs;
- Young Farmer’s Clubs of Ulster.
NFU Mutual Charitable Trust
The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust is an independent charity set up by NFU Mutual in 1998 with the aim of supporting other charities and organisations working in the interests of agriculture, rural communities and the countryside.
Since its inception, the trust has distributed donations totalling more than £7.6 million to other charities and organisations.
The trust said its donations for 2022 amount to more than £1,021,000.
In a bid to support the humanitarian effort in Ukraine, during 2022 the trust gave a donation of £150,000 to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Ukraine Appeal.
Jim McLaren MBE, chairman of the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust, said: “We are seeing extraordinary efforts by communities across the UK to support and show solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
“This devastating crisis has touched everyone and people are desperate to help.
“Some of our farming members will have worked alongside Ukrainian colleagues on British farms and are deeply concerned for their Ukrainian friends and their families.
“As a mutual, we support the issues that are important to our members and we hope our special donation of £150,000 to the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal will help further the incredible support shown by farmers across the UK.”
Samaritans also received donations from the trust, and has received a total amount of £225,000 between 2020 and 2022.
Samaritans said this helped support its response to the impact of the pandemic, including reaching those most and risk and those in rural communities.
During 2021 and 2022, the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust also donated a total of £250,000 to FareShare, the UK’s biggest charity fighting hunger and food waste.
The charity said the trust’s donations would provide 600,000 meals to people in need around the UK.
