§We are looking forward to receiving pitches from projects ideas that deliver the following outcomes:
• Help to tackle inequalities in our borough.
• Work with communities to support those in need.
• Support the unemployed back into the workplace and facilitate opportunities for residents to enhance their skills.
• Prevent homelessness and rough-sleeping in the borough.
• Develop strong and safe communities.
• Improve the mental and physical health and wellbeing of local communities.
• Set out to reduce carbon emissions, energy consumption and waste.
• Revive Guildford town centre to unlock its full potential.
• Protect and enhance our natural and built environment
• Invest in and maintain the local facilities we rely on for these activities to take place
• Promote the borough’s arts, heritage or culture
To get started, create your project on Spacehive and get your project verified. You will then submit your pitch to the Guildford Community Fund via the Spacehive platform and launch your campaign.
To be considered by the council for a pledge, you should:
1. Launch your crowdfunding campaign on Spacehive bythe fund deadline
2. Showcase local support for your project in the form of backers.
Pitches to the fund will be considered typically 6 weeks after the fund deadline. If successful, you will receive a pledge towards your live crowdfunding campaign. The Spacehive team is on hand to share lots of advice on how to run a brilliant crowdfunding campaign.
Join the Spacehive team at our next upcoming workkshop for more information (see News & Events page) and read the steps below to learn how to get involved.
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1. SHARE YOUR IDEA + ATTEND A WORKSHOP
Complete our Project Idea Form as soon as possible to tell us about your idea and register for a workshop (see News & Events tab for more information).
2. CREATE YOUR PROJECT ON SPACEHIVE
Create your project page on Spacehive which will match you to the fund name. You are encouraged to create your project early, to unlock support from the Spacehive team.
3. GET YOUR PROJECT VERIFIED
The project costs and necessary permissions will be checked by Spacehive's verifiers before you begin crowdfunding. Submit early to ensure you’re verified before the deadline. Verification takes an average of four days where project creators have the relevant documents to hand.
Before you submit for verification, make sure that you have:
Proof of permission (e.g. event license, council agreement, landowner consent). Read more about permissions.
Evidence of costs (e.g. building work quotations, links to online shop listings)
Evidence of any funds that you have received for this project that you would like to have shown on your campaign (e.g. grant agreement, scan of a cheque, bank statement).
4. LAUNCH YOUR CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN AND PITCH TO THE FUND
Once verified, launch your crowdfunding campaign, no later than 29th March. Ensure you have submitted your fund pitch by the deadline too, to be considered for a pledge from the council.
Please note: the council will not be the first organisation to pledge to your project and will first want to see community support and backing, in the form of pledges from local people towards your campaign.
Start by getting lots of small pledges from the community to show local support for your project. This will help unlock bigger pledges.
Please note: a typical crowdfunding campaign should not exceed three months.
5. ASSESSMENT AND PLEDGE
The council will review all projects typically 6 weeks after the deadline and successful projects can expect to receive a pledge of up to £10,000 (max 50% of target) during their live campaign. For example, a £10,000 campaign could get up to £5,000.
6. HIT YOUR TARGET AND DELIVER YOUR PROJECT
You need to hit your target in order to receive the funds you raise. Please allow up to three weeks to receive funds once your campaign ends. Once you deliver your project, you can update your backers by completing a colourful impact report on Spacehive.
To learn more about crowdfunding on Spacehive, visit the Help Centre.
Eligibility for Guildford’s Community Fund depends on the status of the applicant and type of project.
The following organisations are able to apply:
Registered charities
Community groups
Social enterprises
Non-profit organisations
Community Interest Companies
Schools - Schools and religious organisations may only apply if the project will have a demonstrable benefit to the wider community and not just the school’s students or congregation.
Town & Parish Councils
The project must be a discrete, deliverable project that takes place in the borough of Guildford for the benefit of our residents.
Funding is designed to support projects and not solely for ongoing costs. New projects and those with an element of additionality will be looked upon favourably.
Projects contributing significantly to the Council’s priorities and desired outcomes will be looked upon favourably.
Project creators are able to apply more than once a year for funding if they wish, but the total pledges available will remain at £5,000 or 50% of the target across that year.
We cannot fund projects created by:
Individuals
Private companies
Public bodies
However, these groups may wish to support projects from eligible applicants.
We encourage individuals with ideas to work with local groups to create their projects and pitch for funding.
For feedback on eligiblity and for support to get your idea ready for crowdfunding, share it with the Spacehive team via our Project Idea Form.
Disclaimer: The Council is happy to accept and consider pitches from projects to both the Guildford Community fund (revenue projects) and the Community Infrastructure fund (capital projects) – the Council will take a view on whether they pledge from one or both funds dependent on the nature of the project pitching.
The Guildford Community Infrastructure Fund - Capital projects (UKSPF) offers capital pledges to community groups to create, adapt or improve community facilities including green spaces that will impact and benefit all for years to come.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus
Groups across Guildford can pitch for up to £25,000 to support capitalprojects. Guildford Borough Council (the Council) will fund and support locally led projects across the borough courtesy of the UKSPF giving communities the opportunity to deliver exciting projects that have the backing of the community and the Council.
This programme supports capital costs only.
Typically, eligible projects can expect a pledge of up to up to a maximum of £25,000 of capital grant funding towards your project or a maximum of up to 50% of the crowdfunding target.
The Council is looking for projects that restore a sense of community, local pride and belonging, especially in those places where these have been lost. This includes communities in both rural and urban areas of the Borough.
The Council would like to encourage larger capital projects such as the purchasing of equipment for youth groups, educational groups, support groups, sports teams, etc. and projects to refurbish public and community spaces such as village halls or sports clubs, for example kitchen updates, energy saving improvements, level access improvements, shower room and toilet refurbishments, garden improvements such as landscaping and tree planting, which would all benefit many people in the community.
The Guildford Community Infrastructure fund is to support capital projects/costs only.
Eligible projects can expect a pledge of up to a maximum of £25,000 of capital or a maximum of up to 50% of the crowdfunding target.
Disclaimer: The Council is happy to accept and consider pitches from projects to both the Guildford Community fund (revenue projects) and the Community Infrastructure fund (capital projects) – the Council will take a view on whether they pledge from one or both funds dependent on the nature of the project pitching.
All projects seeking a pledge will be expected to complete a set of questions when pitching to the fund to determine the eligibility of their projects. The pitch is where you explain why your project deserves a grant from the Council. Follow our video here.
The Council will consider these responses to determine if a project is eligible. Projects will also need to demonstrate that they have local support for the activity proposed prior to pitch assessments, 6-8 weeks after the deadline. This will be through pledges offered on its spacehive campaign. You are therefore advised to start your campaign as soon as possible. Projects are also able to upload funds raised offline and upload funds raised pre-campaign to evidence existing support. Find out more here.
Projects will need to evidence both fund eligibility and local support to be considered for a pledge by the Council.
Pledges:
The Council will consider these responses to determine if a project is eligible. Projects will also need to demonstrate that they have local support for the activity proposed prior to project assessment, 6-8 weeks after the deadline. This will be through pledges offered on its spacehive campaign. You are therefore advised to start your campaign as soon as possible after the deadline. Projects are also able to upload funds raised offline and upload funds raised pre-campaign to evidence existing support. Find out more here.
Projects will need to evidence both fund eligibility and local support to be considered for a pledge by the Council.
Eligibility for the Guildford Community Infrastructure Fund (UKSPF) Capital Projects depends on the status of the applicant and type of project.
The following organisations are able to apply for a pledge:
Registered charities
Community groups
Social enterprises
Non-profit organisations
Community Interest Companies
Schools - schools and religious organisations may only apply if the project will have a demonstrable benefit to the wider community and not just the school’s students or congregation.
Town & Parish Councils
The Community Infrastructure Fund cannot support:
Private companies
Statutory service providers
Groups proposing projects with a political affiliation
Individuals (the fund is for organisations with legal status only)
Permissions
It is the project creator’s responsibility to ensure that all necessary permissions or licences are in place at the verification stage of the campaign process. If the applicant does not own the land or building that the grant relates to, the owners’ informal permission must have been obtained when an application is submitted and formal agreement must be confirmed before any funding will be paid.
For any queries about the programme or support from the Council please contact: Geraldine Lambrechts (Policy Officer, Organisational Development – Strategy and Performance) Geraldine.Lambrechts@guildford.gov.uk
Disclaimer: The Council is happy to accept and consider pitches from projects to both the Guildford Community fund (revenue projects) and the Community Infrastructure fund (capital projects) – the Council will take a view on whether they pledge from one or both funds dependent on the nature of the project pitching.
