Many people have asked about the donation aspect of the registration fee. Here’s a short explanation.
Our show is a fund raiser for the Friends of St John the Baptist, Capel. Your donations pay for the organisation of the show, the security, first aid, insurance etc. In other words all the necessary things that are needed to make it happen. After costs, all proceeds go towards the upkeep of our 12th Century Church.
We are here to raise money for this good cause. As such your donation (i.e. an amount chosen by you that you freely give to us) is unrelated to the value of the service we provide. This being a donation means it is also non-refundable and it enables us to reclaim tax (through Gift Aid) if you allow us to do that.
We have set a minimum donation of £7.50 in 2017. It had been £5 for the 10 years before that. Effectively, taking account of inflation, a minimum donation now is not that much more in real terms than 10 years ago. In the past we’ve even had the option of not donating anything at all, even giving away commemorative plaques. Effectively this meant a loss to us and was simply not sustainable.
The entry fees to the show for visitors are set independently and are more or less governed by market pricing (i.e. it is compared to other show fees in the area and feedback from visitors). The entry price is for the Capel Show and thus covers both Car & Bike Show and the Horticultural Show. These fees are also not donations.
We hope that you will continue to support us by donating freely in the spirit of ‘fund raising’