Major Gifts, Trusts and Foundations

Thank you for your generosity

We are always looking to improve our services, our care, our facilities and to be at the forefront of the most pressing issues and developments in equine care. Additionally, our running costs to deliver these important services continue to rise. As a result, we rely wholly on the generosity of our supporters to fund everything we do, so it is true that we simply couldn’t exist without these donations.

As part of our continual improvement programme, as well as the rolling programme of running costs, including feed, bedding, vets’ bills, equine dentist and farrier bills, there are many opportunities to make a significant difference to our work by choosing to fund these projects or one-off items. We are committed to working with you on an individual basis and will always provide regular updates as standard on how your contribution helps us to make a difference to lives of foals, horses and ponies, as well as any other work which has received direct funding.

Supporters of the Sanctuary

We are so grateful to every supporter, but wanted to take the opportunity to say a very public thank you to a few of our Major Gift and Trust supporters:

  • The Rose Animal Welfare Trust have been staunch supporters of the Mare and Foal Sanctuary for a number of years now, but we were overwhelmed with their most recent donation of £10,000 in November 2022. This donation, will be such a huge help in helping to alleviate some of the burden of our running costs, including feed, bedding and care bills. We are so grateful to be a recipient of their support and would not be able to deliver our care without them.

  • Thank you to The Hobson Charity, who awarded our charity a significant grant during the COVID pandemic and have previously supported us with the an award to contribute to our veterinary costs, medication and treatments.

  • Dedicated to building and supporting long term happy and healthy relationships between animals and humans, the Pets at Home Foundation have been supporting us since 2017 and donated an astonishing £90,000 towards the cost of the build.

  • Also a part of the Mare and Foal Sanctuary family since 2017, The Ivo Trust is such a staunch supporter of animal welfare charities and donated an amazing £50,000 towards our appeal.

  • Set up in memory of the late Mandy Thornton by her daughters, we were so honoured to receive a £50,000 donation in her memory towards our appeal. We were also so delighted to welcome Mandy’s daughters and granddaughter to Coombe Park in 2022, where they were able to groom some of our horses and see the site for themselves.

  • We were so proud to not only be nominated, but actually be a winner at the 2022 SEIB Insurance Brokers Giving Awards. We were the lucky recipient of a £7,000 donation at the event, which was attended by our Director of Fundraising and Communications, Dawn Vincent, and our Chief Executive, Sarah Jane Williamson. We are so grateful to everyone at SEIB, which is part of the Benefact Group.

  • Following a generous £5,000 donation from the Mrs D M France-Hayhurst Foundation, we were so happy that Penny Sanders, one of the trustees, was able to visit Coombe Park in late 2022 and see the site where the build will take place, as well as meet some of our ponies who will be happy inhabitants of the new barn!

  • Another trust who has been supporting us since 2017, The Petplan Charitable Trust generously donated £5,000 towards the build and we are so grateful for their continued support.

  • Fiona Crawford Horse & Dog Photographer supports the Mare and Foal Sanctuary through regular photoshoots to promote our work, and her photos can even be seen in our annual calendar.

    “I am a professional horse and dog photographer based in Devon, working for compassionate owners who want to celebrate their pets through my photographs. I have supported the Mare and Foal Sanctuary since 2013 using my photography to help the sanctuary tell their story.

    “I think the Mare and Foal Sanctuary shows us hope. No matter what horse or pony crosses their path, no matter what condition or reason for this, the sanctuary provides love, support and knowledge.”

    Fiona Crawford Logo

Major Gifts

We are so grateful to all of our supporters, but we must give special mention to those who are able to make significant contributions, either to specific projects or to our running costs more generally.

We have lived experience of how horses have made a difference to our lives, and we know how to make a difference to other people’s lives through horses. By developing a sanctuary that is shared by horses, ponies and people, we will ensure that more people will find their lives enriched through our work.

We are always happy for representatives/individuals to visit our sanctuaries around Devon to see what we do first hand and understand more about the work we do. If you would like to speak to us about arranging a visit, more information about any of our projects or running costs, or making a donation, please contact our Fundraising Manager, Stewart Molyneux, by e-mail on [email protected] or by phone on 01626 247941.

Two ponies at Upcott Park

More ways to support us

Latest appeal

Find out more about our latest appeal and how you can support us.
Read more

Fundraise for us

We couldn’t do what we do without the fundraising efforts of our generous supporters. Find out how you can get involved.
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Leave a gift in your will

By deciding to remember us in your Will, you’ll enable us to provide a sanctuary for life to horses and ponies.
Read more