FARMING charities have benefited from donations from the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust last year.

At the end of 2020, the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust donated a further £235,000 to support ten UK charities.

This takes the Trust’s total donations to £1,092,500 in 2020, with 20 organisations receiving funding over the year.

The increased donations were made possible by an additional £750,000 pledge from leading rural insurer NFU Mutual, aiming to help charities maintain resilience during the pandemic.

So far this year, the funding has helped to support a range of initiatives, including projects that tackle isolation, support mental health and wellbeing, and enrich young lives through agricultural education and innovation.

The charities set to benefit from the latest donations are:Addington Fund; LEAF Education; National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC); Open Farm weekend NI; Prince’s Countryside Fund ; Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (R.A.B.I), RSABI; Rural Support; Samaritans and YFCU .

The donations have already been made available, allowing the charities to continue to provide crucial support services after difficult year which has seen many of their usual fundraising activities cancelled.

Lindsay Sinclair, Group Chief Executive of NFU Mutual, said: “While many fundraising events have had to be side-lined this year, the demand for these charities’ services has grown. We want to help them meet that need and build resilience for the future, maintaining practical and emotional support for our communities at a time which is proving especially difficult.”