I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all those who came to our first ever fundraiser at Goodwood for your support; and to encourage all those who couldn’t make it not to fear: if all goes well, our plans are to repeat next year at another venue, and perhaps overseas, so as to be fair to those of you who live further afield from UK.
Goodwood was a joint fundraiser between Enonkishu Conservancy and Wild Philanthropy. Enonkishu Conservancy is a 6,000-acre private concession just north of the Maasai Mara, and acts as a buffer zone between the wilds of the Maasai Mara and the pastoral farmlands of southern Kenya, which could otherwise encroach. It supports itself – and therefore the health of its rangelands – on a combination of tourism revenue, a sustainable livestock enterprise, and a series of conservation-based certified training programmes.
As Enonkishu’s international partner, part of Wild Philanthropy’s responsibilities is in raising awareness and funds for the conservancy, to which, I’m pleased to report, the event at Goodwood contributed rather spectacularly, raising GBP 70,000 – a sum that exceeded our expectations. You can read more here in the Goodwood Enonkishu fundraiser report.
The evening was made up of cocktails and carousing. Those that attended also had the opportunity to partake in a guided tour around Goodwood House. The London Essentials, who are a five-piece function band that have played for the likes of Prince Charles, George Clooney and Richard Branson, were playing in, on and around the tables of every guest at the fundraiser. When all was said and done, the prizes, which included pieces of art work and Kenya helicopter safari holidays, were all auctioned off for a handsome sum.
As I mentioned before, whilst we have donated many a safari to worthy fundraisers in the past, this is the first we have organised and hosted ourselves. I’m sure it will be the first of many, so do keep your eyes and ears open for more information on where our next one will happen.
On which note, I’d just like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in organising the fundraiser, to everyone from Goodwood, Enonkishu and the Wild Philanthropy team, and to everyone who came to the night, and were so generous with both their time and money. I am extremely grateful to all of you. Thank you all so very much.
For more information on the work of Wild Philanthropy or Enonkishu, or to join us on a Conservation Journey, please email info@Wildphilanthropy.com and we’d love to start the conversation.
All images and video by Simon Morris