DESPITE stepping up fundraising efforts on carnival day and 50,000 revellers descending on Cowley Road, organisers have revealed less than £8,000 was donated at the event.

Cowley Road Works, the charity which puts on the annual street parade, must raise £130,000 every year to cover the core costs of running the carnival.

Hopes were high that £20,000 of this could be raised from carnival-goers as they enjoyed Oxford’s biggest street party earlier this month.

Teams of the city’s estate and letting agents were even recruited as part of an extra push and were out all day on July 1 armed with collecting buckets to try to persuade people to ‘give a pound to keep carnival around.’

But donations have remained stubbornly low, with volunteers pulling in just under £8,000 – not even half the original target.

The total was even slightly down on last year when £8,300 was raised.

New carnival head Micaela Tuckwell, who before the parade said she believed the £20,000 goal was ‘achievable’ admitted organisers were ‘a little disappointed’ to fall so far short.

There were fears raised last year by previous carnival boss Johannah Aynsley that if donations did not improve ‘carnival may be a thing of the past’.

But Ms Tuckwell said the team remained optimistic, adding: “We are certainly not disheartened and are already planning Carnival 2019 for July 7.

“We have plenty of fundraising activities planned for the rest of the year, starting with the Carnival Mini World Cup on Sunday afternoon, kindly sponsored by The Baron Bar on the Cowley Road.”

Trustee Mark Crampton-Smith, who is also College & County letting agents’ director, spearheaded the latest funding drive.

He said: “Lots of people were stuffing notes including £20s into the buckets, but if everyone who could afford it donated just £1 for their day packed full of activities, entertainment and fun, this would go a long way towards securing our annual costs.”

Mr Crampton-Smith added although the average spend at carnival is £25, many people who attend have ‘no idea’ how much money it takes to pay for event management and staging, safety, security and clean-up.

Funding has long been a struggle for the carnival, which has in the past been forced off Cowley Road and into South Park due to a lack of cash.

Those who want to help make up the shortfall can donate via secure.thebiggive.org.uk/charity/view/8212