Chelsea Flower Show seeks new charity sponsors after £23m donor funding ends
The Chelsea Flower Show is seeking new charity sponsors after a philanthropic initiative that funded more than £23m worth of show gardens confirmed this year will be its last.
Project Giving Back, established by two anonymous donors in 2022, has paid for 63 gardens at the Royal Hospital grounds in Chelsea, allowing charities to present large-scale installations at one of London’s most prominent horticultural events. Its organisers said the charity would be wound down after this year’s show.
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Read the full reportThe decision leaves the Royal Horticultural Society facing a gap in charitable backing from 2027 onwards, after a period in which philanthropic funding replaced corporate sponsorship that declined following the financial crisis and pandemic.
In recent years, charities including Asthma + Lung UK, the Children’s Society, the Eden Project and Parkinson’s UK have used show gardens to raise awareness of their work. The initiative also helped shift the tone of the event towards ecological planting, with a stronger emphasis on native species and habitats designed to support pollinators.
The Chelsea Flower Show has historically relied on a mix of corporate and private funding. Investment firm M&G served as headline sponsor for more than a decade until 2020, while Range Rover has since taken on the lead sponsorship role. The Royal Horticultural Society said the show remains its largest fundraiser and continues to attract organisations seeking the international platform it provides.
Project Giving Back’s final contribution will be a farewell garden designed by James Basson of Scape Design. Inspired by Mediterranean landscapes, it will feature sandstone formations and drought-tolerant planting, reflecting how garden design in Britain may adapt to warmer summers in the coming decades.
Organisers said the project had demonstrated how charitable funding could reshape the purpose of show gardens, allowing them to highlight social and environmental causes alongside horticultural design.
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[Image Credit | RHS]
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