We’ve just been awarded £86,500 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for our ‘BEST’ project – ‘Botanical Education: Sustainable and Thriving!’ It’s all about improving our future sustainability.
Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the grant will enable the Institute to increase its fundraising activity and trial new methods of bringing in income, so that it can continue its important range of plant-related educational work into the future. The project will start soon and continue for 18 months.
The new grant will build on the successful activities of two recent projects funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, during which the SLBI refurbished its lecture room and historic herbarium, developed a new website, introduced digital interpretation and welcomed a wide range of visitors to its events – including many school children. The new project will help to ensure that these activities and resources can be maintained into the future, through increasing and diversifying the Institute’s sources of income. Until now, the Institute has relied very much on grants and on a number of committed individual members, but it now recognises the need to diversity its income – from general donations, legacies, merchandise etc. The grant will also support the SLBI’s trustees in their general good governance, and will allow new opportunities for volunteering.
Commenting on the award, Marlowe Russell, SLBI Trustee, said: “We are all delighted to have received further support thanks to National Lottery players and for such an important project. We have already made huge developments at the Institute using previous National Lottery grants and are looking forward to making ourselves much less grant-reliant and much more sustainable – so that our work can continue for another 100 years!”
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Using money raised by the National Lottery, we Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk.
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