Project Giving Back (PGB) intends to continue its support of gardens for good causes at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2025 and 2026. Expressions of interest for 2025 funding can be submitted via the Project Giving Back website from Friday 22 September to Friday 3 November 2023. All gardens supported by PGB are repurposed in permanent locations around the UK after the show as ongoing legacies for the causes that inspired them.
September 18, 2023
Speaking at the opening of the 2023 Gardens For Good Causes Exhibition at the Garden Museum in London, Project Giving Back’s CEO, Hattie Ghaui, said: “I am thrilled to confirm we will be supporting even more gardens for good causes at RHS Chelsea Flower Show until 2026. As we move into our third year of funding, it feels like PGB is still in its adolescent years and we wanted to give it time to mature into adulthood. We know from having to turn down some incredibly strong funding applications over the past couple of years that there are so many wonderful stories waiting to be told. We’re all excited to see how the creativity of charities, designers and wider garden teams continues to unfold and look forward to welcoming more partnerships into the PGB family.”
Established in 2021 to provide financial support for UK charities to share their stories on a global platform, the grant-making charity originally pledged to fund 42 gardens at the Royal Horticultural Society’s world-famous event in 2022, 2023 and 2024, with an investment of around £12m. The overwhelming success of the scheme has inspired its anonymous Founders to commit to a further two years of funding, with an extended target of supporting 60 gardens.
Clare Matterson, Director General of the RHS, said: “We are delighted that the founders of Project Giving Back have decided to extend their support for a further two years. This continued generosity demonstrates how having a garden at our world famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show offers a valuable platform like no other for a whole range of organisations. We look forward to continuing to work closely with Project Giving Back to bring the charities’ messages to life through the power of gardens.”
PGB Chair of Trustees and RHS Vice-President, Rosie Atkins, said: “Our focus in the final two years of PGB will be on funding gardens intended to be repurposed in UK locations not yet covered to date. We are particularly interested in hearing from charities and designers who can deliver garden plans for Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, East Anglia and the North East of England. We also hope to have supported a full range of charitable purposes over our five years of funding, and will place emphasis on any gaps as we consider future applications.”
Expressions of interest for 2025 funding will open for submissions on the PGB website on Friday 22 September and will close 3 November 2023. Only applications from established charity/designer partnerships will be considered. A long-list will be drawn up and reviewed by the PGB panel in early November with successful long-list applicants invited to submit a written brief and moodboards by 18 December 2023.