Julia Rausing Trust announces £1.5 million grant to the National Garden Scheme’s Community Garden Grants programme

Above: Hundreds more community garden projects, like St Paul’s Community Group, Bristol pictured here with the National Garden Scheme’s Su Mills on completion of their project, will be funded through the generous grant from the Julia Rausing Trust

PRESS RELEASE
Monday 4 November, 2024

The Julia Rausing Trust is pleased to announce a £1.5 million grant to the National Garden Scheme for their Community Garden Grants programme.

In 2011, the National Garden Scheme set up its Community Garden Grants programme, which forms part of the charity’s wider Gardens and Health Programme. The Community Garden Grants programme focuses on support for community groups to create or improve gardens for the benefit of local communities, many of which play an important health and social welfare role through providing community orchards, food banks and settings for local GP social prescribing.

The funding for the Community Garden Grants programme will aid the development of community garden projects with a purpose focussed on demonstrating the health benefits of gardens, and gardening, not only to health and wellbeing, but also to the environment and communities surrounding them.

Simon Fourmy, Director of the Trust, said: “The Julia Rausing Trust is pleased to announce a £1.5m grant to the National Garden Scheme, supporting its Community Garden Grants programme. This funding will not only aid multiple gardening projects across England, Wales and Northern Ireland but will also provide greater access to green spaces, and the health benefits of gardening, to the surrounding communities. These were important causes to Julia Rausing and this grant ensures her legacy and philanthropic vision continues.”

George Plumptre, Chief Executive of the National Garden Scheme, commented: “Everyone at the National Garden Scheme is absolutely thrilled to be receiving such a generous donation from the Julia Rausing Trust. The amazing level of support that it will give over a number of years will ensure that our Community Gardens programme flourishes and directly benefits a huge number and variety of people, their communities and their collective wellbeing. We know that gardens were very close to Julia Rausing’s heart, as were community-based projects, so this donation will ensure that a strong, and lasting legacy, grows from her quite remarkable philanthropic generosity.”

Applications for 2025 Community Garden Grants, the first to be funded by the Julia Rausing Trust, closed on 28th October. Successful applicants will be notified in spring 2025.

For more about the programme and some of the 400 gardens already funded by the National Garden Scheme click here

About the Julia Rausing Trust

The Julia Rausing Trust has been established in memory of the late British philanthropist Julia Rausing, who died in 2024.

Julia Rausing co-founded The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust in 2014. She was widely known for her unwavering commitment to philanthropy and her impactful contributions to a wide range of UK charitable causes. She was instrumental in building the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust into one of the largest philanthropic funds in the country, donating £400 million to causes across Health, Welfare, and the Arts, primarily within the UK.

In October 2024, it was announced that The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust, would become known as the Julia Rausing Trust from 2025. The two trusts have been bought together to honour Julia Rausing’s memory and build on her philanthropic legacy. The Julia Rausing Trust will donate £100 million to charities and organisations each year making it one of the largest charitable funds in the UK. This is double the average amount given through the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust, meaning more funding will be available for UK charities and organisations.

https://www.juliarausingtrust.org