The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust has announced its first round of donations for 2024, totalling more than £500,000 for 11 rural causes across the UK.
This is the first of two rounds of funding which will be delivered across the year, with the Trust expecting overall donations to reach at least £1m by the end of 2024.
This latest round of funding will help to deliver a range of initiatives, including rural poverty relief, helping small farming businesses to thrive, educating and mentoring young people, and supporting mental wellbeing.
Organisations set to benefit from the donations include the Addington Fund, Farms for City Children, NFU Education, RSABI and Oxford Farming Conference.
Others include Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust, the Gareth Raw Rees Memorial Scholarship and Wales Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs.
The donations will be available immediately, allowing the organisations to continue to provide their crucial support services.
Jim McLaren MBE, chairman of NFU Mutual Charitable Trust, said: “NFU Mutual is committed to making a positive impact for our members and wider society through our charitable giving programme.
"We are very proud to be championing the work of these great causes through the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust.”
The Royal Countryside Fund, a charity which empowers family farms to thrive, will be using their donation of £75,000 to help Farm Support Groups and ensure they can continue providing a vital service to their local communities.
Keith Halstead, executive director at the Royal Countryside Fund, explained how the Trust’s donation will be making a difference.
"We will be able to increase the capacity of groups within the network to deliver more vital services and support to those in need," he said.
"We would like to say a huge thank you to the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust for helping us provide this crucial support that so many within farming communities depend on.”
The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust is one of the main ways the UK’s leading rural insurer NFU Mutual provides charitable donations.
Its work forms part of NFU Mutual’s £3.25m charitable giving pledge to support its members and their communities during 2024.
Applications for the Trust’s next round of donations are now open, and details can be found on NFU Mutual’s website.
