I had a fascinating email from Lily Brownjohn who is the secretary of Kenilworth Allotment Tenants Association. She explains some ways they raise money for the benefit of the association that benefits everyone. Fund raising is never easy for allotments but this shows a couple of great ideas that many could profitably copy.
Recycling
It started with a recycling corner within the site shop. She says;
I realised after a few years that I didn’t actually use all the assortment of tools that I had acquired. Some were inherited with the old shed that came with the plot. Some had been donated by helpful and sympathetic Allotment neighbours when I first started, and other tools had been thoughtfully bought by family and friends for birthdays and Xmas presents.
One year, I had a real clear out of surplus items and I took them up to our shop and priced them up at say £2 for a hoe, £4 for a gardening fork/spade etc etc. Needless to say they absolutely flew… and I realised that although these were small fry in the land of ‘profit’, they were pure profit – no outlay
And what’s more, they helped all the newbies out, without them having to spend a fortune on new tools for their newly acquired gardening hobby. Since that day, when I re-let plots, I always remove any useful tools left behind by the outgoing tenant and take them up to our shop where they sell for a few bob!
Sheds & Greenhouses
She then took things further;
Before much longer, I decided to ask new tenants for ‘donations‘ for our sheds and greenhouses (which new incoming tenants were more than happy to pay) a small price to pay for assets on site. I generally ask an average donation price of £40 for a shed, and £60-£80 for a greenhouse, depending on size. Just look at new prices of those same items these days!
Apart from that it seemed totally unfair that a new tenant could be just handed these items for free with their plot, and other new tenants got plots with absolutely nothing on them.
She concludes by explaining that this has made many hundreds of pounds over the years. This has strengthened the association’s bank balance considerably. The tenants also benefit by having great assets on their plots at minimal cost. It’s a win win situation all round.
These ideas might not be applicable to all sites but they’re well worth thinking about at least.
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