Thank you so much for your incredible generosity - getting us almost to our target in just three days - what an amazingly fabulous supportive community we have.  We promised this appeal would close when we reached the target, which is the hole in the budget we needed to fill.  That means the main donate button has now disappeared from this page. If you still would like to give to help us take care of Warley Woods then please follow this link:

Make a donation

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This is, without doubt, an appeal with a difference.  We’d normally ask you to join the Trust, or make a donation to an appeal to make something new happen.  We’d normally try to enthuse you with joy about the difference your donation will make.

With this appeal, we just want to be honest and to ask for your help. 

Council Cut

Most people will know that we have been in discussion with the Council in recent years because they intended to cut the grant they give us to a maintain Warley Woods.  At the moment we seem to have avoided a major cut, but they are still cutting 10% for the second half of 24/25 and a further 10% in the following year.  Who knows what happens after this.

We understand their need to cut, even if we don’t like it, but the problem is, we want to provide the same service as we always have done.  We want to keep up the same high standards that helps us achieve Green Flag Award each year and we want you to vote Warley Woods one of the UK’s favourite parks.  In fact we want Warley Woods to get better and better.  Some of us saw where cutting budgets got Warley Woods in the 1980s and 90s and over the last 20 years the Community Trust, with your help, has changed that neglect into positive and sustainable improvements.  We don’t want to go backwards.  That’s not what this charity is here for.

Inflation and covering increasing costs

As you will know from your own lives, inflation has been very high, and this has impacted on our own costs of course – costs of materials, increases in the minimum wage and our energy costs have risen like everyone’s.  Year after year, we have been working to cover these costs with increases in our own fees and charges and with new initiatives like our new lottery.  We’ve done this.  It’s what we call sustainable financial management.  We will do these things in 2024-25 too.

The hole in our budget 

But we now also need to plug the gap the Council’s reduction in grant support causes to our budget.  We said we’d be honest.  This is not a crisis; yet.  We will not fail as an organisation if we don’t raise these funds, but we want to raise them, because we refuse to let standards drop.  We don’t want to make cuts if we can help it.

You might wonder “don’t they have savings” and we do, our reserves, and this is why the Council thinks it is OK to cut the grant.  But responsible organisations don’t use reserves to pay for day to day expenses.  That is a slippery financial slope.  As you know from your home bills, you don’t want to use savings for electricity bills or council tax and nor should the Community Trust.  Savings are hard earned and are for crises, replacing big ticket items and for special things – for you that might be a holiday, for the Trust our new building development, a mower, or resurfacing the driveway.  We always strive for a balanced budget every year and we think that is right and we don’t want the Council’s decision to force us to do something we don’t think is in the best interest of Warley Woods and its Trust.

Our honest appeal for support

So this is an appeal specifically to make up that loss of income.  It is a limited appeal and if, hopefully when, we reach that target, then this appeal page will accept no further donations this year.

After reading this you may prefer not to give to this appeal but before you click away, please consider other ways you might help instead such as asking friends if they are members of the Trust, or volunteering at an event.  We are exceptionally proud to be taking care of the only large public park in the UK managed by the community that use it.  We absolutely cannot do what we do without you.  Whatever form that takes.  Thank you.