How You Can Help

Do you have a passion for The Yorkshire Dales National Park? Do you care about our special qualities, the landscape, the wildlife, and the local communities of the Dales?

If you do, then please consider making a donation to help us continue to care for this unique and special place for generations to come.

Make a Cash Donation

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority is partly funded by a Government grant. But this only provides 50% of the total amount we need to keep up the work we do. 

We are continuously looking at different ways to make up the shortfall, but one way that YOU can help us do that is by making a donation, which in turn will make a real difference to EVERYONE who lives, works and visits the Yorkshire Dales National Park! 

So, how do you do that?

You can choose to support the ongoing repair and maintenance of the footpaths on the world renowned Yorkshire Three Peaks.

Three Peaks

Other Work

Or you can make a donation to support all the other vital project work the National Park Authority does on the ground. Just click on the button below to see the current donation options which are administered on our behalf by the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust.

Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust

The Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust is a small charity doing big things to support the people, landscape and wildlife of the Dales.

Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority enjoy a long and incredibly successful partnership, with a shared commitment to work together for the good of the National Park. As well as helping to raise funds for the work of the National Park Authority (see above), the Trust also runs and funds many other local projects helping to conserve and restore habitats and create new native broadleaf woodlands.

All this work is delivered in partnership with local people and supports a sustainable rural economy, working in an enabling way to provide funding and support that’s helps people deliver their own projects that benefit their own area and communities. This includes engaging and inspiring young people to care about the Yorkshire Dales through a range of events, educational activities and Rural Apprenticeships.

To find out how you can get involved and make a lasting difference to the work of the Trust, visit www.ydmt.org or call 015242 51002. Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) is a registered charity, number 1061687. If you’re a UK taxpayer, this has the added benefit that you can make your gift(s) worth 25% more under the Gift Aid scheme.

Other ways to help

We have many opportunities beyond simply giving money. Perhaps you’d like to do something a bit more hands on, or you would like to contribute in some other way? There are other ways to get involved.

Buy a gift

Take home that perfect souvenir or give a fantastic gift from the Dales. Our shops offer everything to make your visit a memorable one with maps, books, clothing, local produce, toys, crafts and more. Call in at our National Park Visitor Centres or shop online from the comfort of your home.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park is honoured to have within its boundary the spectacular mountains Pen-y-ghent, Ingleborough and Whernside, collectively known as the Three Peaks. Walking up all three of them on the 25 mile route that links them together constitutes the famous Three Peaks challenge. Have you done it recently or are you still at the planning stage? The Three Peaks merchandise available in our shop is exclusive to the Three Peaks Project and all funds raised through its sale go to the project.

Give time

Looking for a more hands on way of getting involved? There are many ways in which you can make a contribution.

We have a healthy and very active volunteer community that in 2016/2017 contributed over 6,200 days to helping to look after the National Park. Become a Dales Volunteer or join a local conservation group. Join in and get involved in anything from footpath repairs to wildlife surveys. Giving just a little of your time can have a big impact. We would particularly like to hear from new volunteers in those areas that joined the National Park in August 2016.

If you are interested in the history of the Yorkshire Dales and would like to help in the running of the Dales Countryside Museumthen becoming a member of the Friends of the Dales Countryside Museum might be just the thing for you.

Alternatively, you might be interested in providing advice on improving access within the National Park. If so, there may be an opportunity to volunteer to serve on the Yorkshire Dales Access Forum (YDAF).

Finally  you may feel you have something to offer as a Member of the Authority working on our ‘board’ to ensure the Authority fulfils National Park Purposes and does so in a way that best reflects the special qualities of the Park. For the different routes to becoming a Member visit ‘How to become a Member’.

Give passion

If you care about National Parks as strongly we do, you may want to make your voice heard. On a local basis the organisation called Friends of the Dales works to address key issues in the National Park and at national level the Campaign for National Parks works to champion and protect our most precious landscapes.

Corporate partnership

As well as the association with the much loved Yorkshire Dales Brand, working with the National Park Authority offers your business a range of benefits: access to a large audience through our digital and print channels; coverage of your work with us through local, regional and national media, accentuating your environmental credentials; through to opportunities for team-building volunteering activities.

Every individual sponsorship or partnership package will be tailor-made to meet your business objectives and level of investment. For an opportunity to demonstrate to customers, clients, employees and stakeholders that you are supporting work that makes a difference to the environment and to people’s lives, please see more details on our Corporate partnership page.