The Crowdfund Kent Public Health Fund is worth an incredible £135,000, ready to support projects that make a real difference in Kent. Eligible projects can receive up to £10,000 in pledges, covering up to 65% of your crowdfunding target! If your project is based in the Kent County Council area, this is your chance to bring your vision to life.

In order to get a pledge, groups need to show broad community support for their projects by attracting pledges and comments onto their campaign page.

Note that the funding available and the objectives of the fund have changed, before applying please check that your project meets these new criteria. To see the types of projects we are interested in funding, see the funds page.

Key information

This programme is not intended to fund capital cost items (see eligibility for further details). Where capital projects are developed we will only look to use our funds to contribute towards the activities that are to be delivered as part of the project.

This funding is also not intended to fund one-off or large scale annual events, all projects must be able to demonstrate a tangible and sustainable legacy.

To be eligible for this fund your project must be of benefit to the wider community.

Crowdfund Kent is designed to help new ideas get off the ground, therefore we cannot fund the same projects more than once. Organisations who have run a successful campaign and received a KCC pledge are welcome to apply again but any subsequent projects must be distinct from the initial project.

Fund Objectives
We are looking to support projects that meet at least ONE of the following objectives:

1. Supporting Families and communities so children thrive
Projects focusing on this objective may include:

• Projects with a focus on support and activities for families where there are issues with mental health concerns for parents and/or children. We would particularly be interested in projects with a “whole family” approach and services designed to help families enjoy activities together and support one another. 
• Projects that provide early intervention and education on the importance of healthy eating and fitness to improve long term improved health and wellbeing, including weight loss/management programmes and tackling inactivity. 
• Projects to help develop parenting skills and/or tackle loneliness in new and young parents. 

2. Supporting People to explore the use of creativity to improving mental health
Projects focusing on this objective may include:

• Projects that focus on destigmatising mental health conditions through artistic expression and provide an opportunity for people to learn new skills as a form of art therapy. 
• Projects that work with those at risk of suicide or self-harm led by using art and creativity interventions as effective coping strategies.
• Projects that look to increase access to creative hobby.

To be eligible for this fund your project must be of benefit to the wider community.

Who can apply:

• To be eligible, your group must be constituted in some way, 

• have a group bank account where the account is managed by at least two unrelated and authorised individuals in your organisation

• be a not-for-profit organisation designed to deliver benefit to the community (and not designed to create a profit/dividend for shareholders).

Who can’t apply:

• Individuals are not eligible for this fund.

• Schools including independent schools are not eligible for funding.

• District and parish councils cannot directly apply for funding but can officially partner with a local community group who would apply for the funding. The district and parish council can offer support and can be involved in the delivery of the project, but the community group must lead on the project.

See below for more information.

What can't we fund:

• Projects supporting private interests / profit making organisations.

• Projects excluding any particular groups in society or those with protected characteristics.

• Proposals from political groups.

• Projects that are part of a campaign or promote particular religions/faiths/political ideologies not considered to be inclusive

• We are not able to fund Statutory provision, Local Authority teams or Council projects.

• We cannot fund capital projects, the purchasing of property and buildings, the building of extensions to existing premises or annual rent / utilities costs.  We may consider small adaptations, where there is a tangible community benefit from the proposed improvements, and they meet the objectives of the fund. KCC reserves the right to review all project costs and make decisions on a case-by-case basis. 

• We cannot funds events or festivals.

Eligibility Criteria

1. This is a Kent County Council programme. To be eligible your organisation must be registered/based within the Kent County Council electoral boundary and that your project will be within the Kent County Council electoral boundary area.

2. Your group needs to have a governing document, such as a constitution – This sets out the name and purpose of your organisation. It should also cover how it will work. So, things like how people join, how your committee will work, and when you’ll have meetings.

3. Your group must have a bank account in your organisation’s name (as written on your constitution or governing document) – You’ll also need to make sure that at least two unrelated people are needed to transfer money from the account.

4. Your organisation cannot be set up to create profit for shareholders. Community Interest Companies and Community Interest Organisations are deemed eligible for this fund as their activities generate revenue which in turn fund activities that deliver community benefit.

5. Capital elements cannot be funded. Please be aware that the fund you are applying to is mostly Revenue and that the council cannot pledge towards non-revenue items. See link below for advice: https://help.spacehive.com/hc/en-us/articles/14965731612701-What-is-the-difference-between-capital-costs-and-revenue-costs-

6. Please be aware that the fund cannot be used to support projects for physical changes to buildings or capital improvements.

If you have any questions regarding this, please email [email protected]

The deadline for the current funding window is the 25th February 2026. This involves having your project page created, your pitch completed and your project verified by this date, ready to start your crowdfunding campaign. 

See how to involved below.

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Note that the funding available and the objectives of the fund have changed, before applying please check that your project meets these new criteria. To see the types of projects we are interested in funding, see the funds page.

Eligibility criteria is available in the sections below.

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1.    SHARE YOUR PROJECT IDEA

Share your project idea here at your earliest convenience. A member of the team will be in touch to provide you with the necessary information and support you may need to help get your project started.  

2.    PROJECT PAGE AND PITCH

Create your online project page which will match you to the Crowdfund Kent Public Health fund. Here Kent County Council will ask you some additional questions about your project. 

3.    VERIFICATION

The project costs and necessary permissions will be checked and verified. This involves checking quotes for all the major items and if you have land owner permission for your project.

You must be in verification with all your permissions and costs in place by the deadline of the 26th of February. 

4.    CROWDFUNDING

Start by getting lots of small pledges from the community to show local support for your project. This will help unlock bigger pledges.

5.    PLEDGE

Kent County Council will review all project campaigns roughly 3 weeks after each deadline and successful projects can expect to receive a pledge shortly afterwards.

6. HIT YOUR TARGET AND DELIVER YOUR PROJECT

Please note that the county council will not be the first organisation to pledge to your project and will want to see community support and backing, in the form of smaller pledges from local people, before they pledge to your campaign. 

Crowdfund Kent gives residents with project ideas the ability to attract funding from their communities, the council, local businesses and foundations - all through one portal.

The programme brings people across the district together through locally led ideas that our communities want to help make happen. You can pledge as little as £2 towards a project you want to bring to life. 

Crowdfunding also offers businesses a different and exciting way to support local projects, by pledging to a project you can deliver your corporate social responsibilities, contribute to the social value of your organisation and better engage with your community. Businesses can pledge to any project in the same way an individual would do.

Check out projects fundraising now as part of Crowdfund Kent here. To keep updated on new projects, upcoming events and funding opportunities, please contact [email protected] or click the yellow 'Follow' star at the top right of the page.

The Kent Volunteer Partnership is funded by a grant from Kent County Council to develop volunteering across Kent. The grant has helped develop the Kent Volunteers website, and enhance the local volunteering offer across the county.

With more than 3,000 charities, community and sports groups across Kent and Medway, finding volunteers can often feel like a struggle. That’s why Kent Volunteering was launched – to help you find the amazing individuals who want to support your cause.

You can register your volunteering roles on Kent Volunteers’ fully secure, easy-to-use CRM and make your opportunity stand out. To sign up please click here.

If you’re thinking about using volunteers in your organisation Kent Volunteers can provide advice and assistance, check out their free resources for organisations here.

We have included some of the most common questions below. If your question is not included here, please visit the Spacehive help centre at https://help.spacehive.com/ or email Spacehive on [email protected]. 

If you have a specific question about the Crowdfund Kent programme, you can email Kent County Council on [email protected]

Are there any fees to use Spacehive?
Spacehive do not charge a fee to register your project, however, Spacehive does charge a success fee if projects successfully reach their fundraising target. There are also transactions fees. All fees are included within the project budget and clearly displayed. These can be viewed here.

How do people pledge to my project?

People can pledge by visiting your project page on Spacehive.com and clicking the “Back this project” button. They will then authorise a payment to you using Stripe. If your project is not successful all pledges will be refunded to backers. For more information click here - How-do-I-pledge-to-a-campaign-

If people give me cash does this count towards my target?

Only funds raised online count towards your target as we have no visibility of any other funds collected. Ask your supporters to donate online via your Spacehive page rather than sending the money directly to the organisation’s bank account. If this is not possible you can pledge cash to your campaign using the following steps - Can-I-pledge-to-a-campaign-with-a-cheque-or-cash-

When will we get the money we raise?

The pledges from your campaign will be transfered to you after your campaign ends. If you receive a pledge from Kent County Council or the NHS, then you must hit your funding target in order to receive it. Our funding is tied to the specific outcomes of the project so if you don’t hit your target, our pledge will be removed and you will receive the remaining amount. Once you hit your target funds will take up to 2 weeks to arrive in your bank account.

How can I show money or items I’ve already received before crowdfunding?

If you’ve already begun fundraising for your project before coming to Spacehive, you can show any funds raised or items received as pledges on your project page, provided that they are for the same project. Showing that you have already raised funds will help get your campaign off to a good start, as it demonstrates that there’s support for the project and this will encourage others to get behind you.

You can add funds already raised in the costs section of your project page, along with in-kind contributions, and attribute them to a backer who will then show up on your backer list.

In-kind cost items will show as both a cost to the project and a donation – as it’s a good already received – whereas funds raised will show as a pledge towards the project.

Anything raised and added to the project before the campaign begins is not subject to Spacehive's success fee.

To ensure transparency, once you’ve begun fundraising you cannot swap out cost items for additional in-kind donations. You must raise the full target amount that you agreed upon and which Locality verified at the start of the campaign, and all donations must be processed via Spacehive.

This means that if you raise funds outside of Spacehive during the campaign (e.g. cash collected at an event), and want these reflected on your Spacehive page, you will need to find a way to have these funds pledged via the platform. For more information, please see our dedicated FAQ on adding funds raised offline once a campaign has started.

Crowdfund Kent End of Pilot Evaluation

Link to full report – Crowdfund-Kent-End-of-Pilot-Evaluation-Report.pdf

This report provides an overview of the Crowdfund Kent programme two-year pilot, from its launch in March 2021 to October 2022, as we approached the final round of the pilot.

This evaluation focused on providing an update on the end of year one report published in early 2022, including increased feedback from the projects involved who have submitted a final evaluation report as well as updated financial and impact data.

Crowdfund Kent was launched in March 2021 with a fund of £500,000 following initial discussions in 2019. Development of the programme was accelerated by the Covid 19 pandemic where we saw the incredible response from organisations and communities to support each other and respond to local challenges.

For the duration of the pilot, we managed a total of four funding rounds, with the final round launching in July 2022. At the time this report was written that round was still actively running, with projects due for assessment in November 2022.

Since the publication of this report, the programme has been extended for 2024 and 2025.

Crowdfund Kent Year One Evaluation

Link to full report - Crowdfund-Kent-Year-One-Evaluation-Report.pdf

This report provides an overview of the Crowdfund Kent programme at the end of year 1, including the projects backed and financial investment.