Your fundraising update
The title may have given it away… Double Matched Day last Friday was a massive success. Our target was ambitious and we hoped to raise £15,000 by midnight. Not only did we hit this by mid-morning, it didn’t stop there. With your support, we raised the truly incredible sum of £25,056.39. The words Thank You barely start to express our gratitude. We are completely blown away by your generosity. We would also like to thank the Greenham Trust and the Good Exchange for their help on the day. Whether we know who you are or whether you have chosen to stay anonymous (we don’t get your details), thank you.
Our thanks go beyond everyone who gave last week. We have been fortunate to have received a lot of support from so many people since the pandemic began and every penny is being put to good use.
There is no question, this year (and probably the ones to follow) will be financially difficult. It is estimated that the charity sector will lose in the region of £11bn in the next few months. I will be honest, I don’t even know how many zeros that is. Charities of all sizes are affected and the Berkshire MS Therapy Centre is no different. We expect a financial deficit of approximately £100,000 this year alone.
Over the next few months, the next few years, we face a lot of uncertainty. We are doing all we can to make sure we can continue to provide the support our MS community needs without too many compromises.
We know many of you are struggling too. If you are having financial concerns and need to pause your donations, please make sure you do. As Peter Kay put so wonderfully earlier this year at Comic Reliefs Big Night In: ‘If you can give something, good, if you can’t don’t worry, you’ve enough on your minds.’
Due to your support – whether it is a one-off donation (on Double Matched Day or any other day), a regular standing order that helps us better plan our work or a fundraising event – we are still here thanks to you.
Our fundraising programme will look very different in the coming months and there are many questions we still don’t have answers for. We thank you for your patience whilst we continue to work things out. The newest addition, the first-ever BARKshire MS Therapy Centre Virtual Dog Show, will be coming soon so get perfecting your tricks (and your dog too!). Don’t worry the cat show will follow, so get snapping.
Thank you for all your help at this very challenging time, we simply couldn’t do it without you.
Sam, Kirsten, Tracy and Yvonne
Your fundraising team
