Date: 28 Apr 2004
Time: 14:41
Despite considerable success achieved in the short period of time, by a small and dedicated team of staff, the UK’s Air Ambulance Foundation has been unable to establish itself as a viable, self-sufficient charity.
“We have not been given the unanimous support of the regional air ambulances, as was anticipated,” it told www.air-rescuetelk.com “We have has also found that individual public, corporate and charitable trust/foundation donors are reluctant to support what they perceive to be a wholly Government funded emergency service, which receives no direct funding from Government, and as a consequence core funding has dropped below a level that the Trustees regard as safe and reliable.
“It is with considerable regret that the Trustees have taken the decision to cease fundraising activities. It is their intention to work with the Charity Commissioners to suspend new activities with immediate effect and to find a like-minded charity that is willing to hold the dormant charity. If this is not possible the charity will close.”
The UK’s Air Ambulance Foundation (AAF), formerly NAAAS, was re-launched one year ago as a charity to support, and work with, the eighteen regional air ambulance organisations. Its primary objectives are to raise money to help less financially able regional air ambulances; to enable the formation of new air ambulances in regions where none exist; to campaign for support from central Government and to promote the role of air ambulances at a national level.
Approaches to the Community Fund, previously the National Lottery Fund, have encountered the ‘criteria trap’ whereby the service provided by air ambulances is universal and does not specifically provide support to their strict ‘individual’ areas of support.
It should be emphasised that the regional air ambulances from their diverse backgrounds, remain fully active and responsible for their individual fundraising at local level.