Causes: Is the credit crunch squeezing the National Trust?

The National Trust is an important and valuable institution. It looks after sites of historic interest in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It rules on important decisions like the Druid Keiller battle.

The National Trust raises money in a few ways. It collects money directly at some locations. However, as the credit crunch bites, people travel less and visit those protected and managed locations less. As a result, the National Trust collects fewer donations.

Another key way the National Trust raises money to help protect some of the most important buildings and landscapes in the UK is through memberships.

There are a number of membership levels;

• Individual: Standard: £46.00 Direct Debit: £34.50
• Joint: Standard: £77.00 Direct Debit: £57.75 (That’s two adults living at the same address)
• Family Group: Standard: £82.00 Direct Debit: £61.50 (That’s two adults living at the same address with children under 18)
• Family One Adult: Standard £62.00 Direct Debit: £46.50 (One adult with children under 18)
• Young Person: Standard £21.00 Direct Debit £15.75 (aged 13 – 25)

You can sign up for any one of those levels online*.

If you re-read that list you might notice how generous and quirky the Young Person option is. It’s less than half the price of an Individual.

We might ask why a 24-year-old should pay less than half the rate 26-year-old pay. We might also wonder why a 13-year-old would be roaming around without an adult (and there’s one adult and child pass). Children under 5 tend to go free.

Simply put – the Young Person pass seems to be a bit of an expensive loophole for the National Trust.

Until the credit crunch this might have been a quirk rather than a bother but this week The National Trust communicated to some of its partners that they no longer wished them to promote the Young Person pass.

Is this a sign that the National Trust would prefer people to offer a little more help in these tricky times by signing up for the full Individual Pass?

There are signs that the cheaper Young Person pass might soon be phased out entirely. The page that once described the Young Person pass in detail has been removed from the site. This is a recent change, it may be due to the planned removal of the pass or simply site maintenance.

The Young Person pass is still available online* at the time of this article being posted.

In Pure Spirit

Please be aware that In Pure Spirit works to promote the National Trust – one of the reasons we’re aware of the uncertain fate of the Young Person pass.

Do you think the National Trust is worth supporting? We do. It is a shame it is being hit by the economic downturn like this. We would like to see more people taking local holiday breaks, visiting the National Trust’s fantastic locations, saving money over an expensive holiday abroad and also helping to protect Britain’s unique history and culture.

Disclaimer: Links marked with stars* are revenue links.