Friends Update
Dear D Friends
Tracy Cullen ith baubles and tinsel a distant memory , and
W spring eagerly anticipated along with daffodils and snowdrops , to name but a few , another year is upon us and with it some changes to our membership scheme and general administration . We know from your feedback just how important The Alnwick Garden charitable programmes are to you ; indeed these are a core value of our Not-For-Profit status and their gradual expansion and success are a source of great pride to us . As we look ahead , this very success tells us that our costs in sustaining these programmes will rise substantially , not least because recent cutbacks in the nation ’ s infrastructure are creating needs that simply will not be met from other directions .
In this situation , we are taking steps to safeguard our programmes and ensure that we never have to ration the numbers who can benefit from them , raise the ticket price disproportionately , or ( worst case ) shut activities down due to a lack of money . Having looked at membership schemes of comparable national attractions we have fine-tuned our offering , but we are still at the forefront of family value for money .
Thanks to our IT system we are now able to link all of your expenditure to your individual membership record , much as many business do through their loyalty cards . We hope , therefore , to be able to offer you in the future a membership package that reflects your contribution to the financial security of The Alnwick Garden and its charitable programmes . Finally , we are considering replacing our printed bi-annual Friends Magazine with a digital version . We know that a very high proportion of our Friends are internet and email users and hope that you will find this an acceptable , environmentally friendly and cost-effective way of receiving your Magazine . Please let us know if you cannot receive the magazine in this format .
We thank you , as always , for your continued support and I hope you will have another delightful year enjoying the beauty of The Alnwick Garden .
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