Today we share the difficult news that we have made the decision to cancel our campaign to bring WISH to Eden Cafe in Witney.

Though our will and desire to see WISH at Eden Cafe in Witney is still very strong, we must face some hard realities about the campaign and its chances of success. We have consulted with financial experts and some of our funders around this decision, and share here how we have come to this decision.

Our reasons for ending the campaign are summarised below: 

  1. It’s not the right time. We’ve been running a reactive campaign, rushing to meet the deadlines when our team was busy with other events.  This was because we felt a great opportunity was at our feet and we should try for it. It’s still a great opportunity, but for us it’s not the right time. 
  1. Preserving our most precious resource. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are moving our core Climatarian Kitchen out of the only home it’s ever known in Kidlington. You can read more about this in our blog. It’s not feasible to handle that transition and also expand elsewhere at the same time. We do not want to risk burning out our brilliant staff and also want to make sure adequate care is given to this huge adjustment. 
  1. There’s no appetite for investment. Although our projections for the Cafe still indicate a few minor changes would predict significant financial improvement, we’re struggling with investors. Some of our wealthiest partners have explained that while they may be recession proof, they are not inflation proof.  Across the board local expansion plans are slowing, and with that, so is investment in work like this. 

We are deeply saddened to make this difficult decision. However, out of respect to our potential donors and to the owner of Eden Cafe, we must make this decision knowing that we will not receive the match funds we had hoped. 

We feel the best thing to do is be honest that this plan is no longer realistic rather than continue to pour resources into a campaign that simply is not supported by “the crowd” that have the most resources to give. 

Thank you for your belief in this cause, and we wish only the best for this amazing local resource moving forward.