Why does Calvert Kielder need to fundraise?
Running an outdoor activity centre in the middle of Kielder Forest is pretty special. There’s the fresh air, the beautiful surroundings, the boats, the climbing, the sailing, the laughter and the opportunity to try something new. But there’s also the small matter of keeping everything running!
Boats need cleaning and maintaining, equipment needs checking, buildings need heating, vehicles need looking after and activities need qualified instructors to make them happen. Add in accommodation, catering, housekeeping and our specialist care team, and you’ll begin to get an idea of what it takes to run Calvert Kielder. And that’s before we’ve even made the tea!
So, here’s something you might not know about us. Calvert Kielder is a charity, and fundraising plays a vital role in keeping everything we do possible.
We're a little different from your average holiday provider
We’re an award-winning charity based in Northumberland’s beautiful Kielder Water & Forest Park. We’re also the UK’s only CQC-registered residential outdoor activity centre offering 24-hour respite care.
For more than 40 years, we’ve been providing accessible outdoor adventures, residential breaks and specialist support for people with disabilities, children, adults and their families.
Today, we welcome well over 7,000 visitors every year. That’s a lot of people making memories, discovering new abilities, building confidence and enjoying experiences they might never have thought possible.
But running a centre like ours is quite different from running a conventional holiday business. We have specialist care responsibilities, accessible facilities, adapted equipment and a team of dedicated people who make sure everyone can enjoy their time with us.
Don’t visitors pay for their stays?
They do, and we’re really grateful that they do! The fees our visitors pay cover around 80% of the cost of running Calvert Kielder. That’s a significant contribution and we work hard to make sure we’re making the best possible use of every pound.
But it leaves a gap.
We could look at increasing our prices to cover more of our costs, but that would risk making breaks unaffordable for some of the very people we exist to support. Families who have children or adults with disabilities can already face additional financial pressures, and we don’t want the cost of a break to become yet another barrier to enjoying time away together.
We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to experience adventure, make memories and enjoy the benefits of spending time outdoors, regardless of their circumstances. That’s where fundraising comes in.
So, what does fundraising actually pay for?
Quite a lot, as it happens! Fundraising isn’t simply about keeping the lights on (although that’s rather important when you’re running a residential centre!). It helps us do all the things that make Calvert Kielder such a special place.
It helps us:
- Keep stays affordable: Helping to bridge the gap between what visitors pay and the actual cost of providing their stay.
- Maintain our facilities: Looking after our accommodation, accessible facilities, buildings and grounds so everyone can enjoy them.
- Provide equipment and activities: Maintaining and replacing the specialist equipment, boats, vehicles and resources that make outdoor adventure possible.
- Support our people: Helping us provide the specialist care, support and expertise that many of our visitors need.
- Invest in the future: Improving our facilities, developing new opportunities and making sure we can continue to welcome more people in the years ahead.
In short, fundraising helps us keep doing what we do, do it well and make sure more people can benefit.
Every little bit really does help
One of the lovely things about fundraising is that it doesn’t matter whether someone gives £5 or £5,000. Every donation contributes to something bigger.
It might help maintain a piece of equipment, contribute towards the cost of a subsidised stay or help us improve a facility that visitors will enjoy for years to come. And when lots of people come together to support us, those individual contributions add up to something pretty wonderful.
We’re incredibly fortunate to have supporters, trusts, businesses, community groups and individuals who believe in what we do. Their generosity helps us keep the doors open, the activities running and the opportunities coming.
