There are six steps to making your idea a reality: 

1. PREPARE

We recommended you discuss your project idea with people in the community to gather their thoughts and attract interest before you begin your campaign. It may be that these discussions will alter or shape your project idea, it may also raise alternative ideas. Establishing a clear plan of the costs and resources you may need to deliver your project to include in your project page. You may also want to give some thought into how you will crowdfund, for example will you offer incentives or run fundraising events. Tell Spacehive about your project via this form and we'll feed back with guidance on how to get started.

2. PROJECT PAGE

You need to create a project page on Spacehive here. This is your pitch to gain support and funding from the crowd and the City Mayor. Remember to explain your project clearly, showcase your passion for the project and highlight how it will have a positive impact within the community.

If your project will require specific materials, skills or volunteer time to make it happen, you can include a wish list on your project page for people to pledge their support.

If your project idea relates to a piece of land please contact the CrowdFund Leicester team on crowdfundleicester@leicester.gov.uk to express your interest before you begin this process. A member of the team will be able to advise whether the land is available or whether this is a more suitable location.

Remember, you can also provide incentives for pledges on your page to attract pledges, so if you could offer a reward in return for a pledge amount be sure to include it.

Don’t be afraid to ask CrowdFund Leicester or Spacehive for feedback on your page before you go live for any help on ensuring it is the best it can be to attract support!  

3. CROWDFUND LEICESTER 

When you have created your project page it will automatically be matched to any relevant Spacehive programmes and funds - please ensure you review the fund eligibility criteria before pitching. To be matched to CrowdFund Leicester, make sure your project idea will be taking place within Leicester for the benefit of local residents!

4. VERIFICATION

Before your project can begin crowdfunding your project must be verified. This is where the relevant permissions and the budget for the project are checked. 

This step is important for project creators and potential backers so they know that the project can be delivered as set out on the project page.

5. CROWDFUND

Get as many people as possible to support your idea, whether in materials, time or cash. It does not matter whether a pledge is worth £2 or £2,000 – CrowdFund Leicester is about engaging people within their community to shape Leicester. The number of pledges you receive will reflect the support and success of your project idea. 

Think about how you will promote your idea to attract pledges, for example will you contact the local media, set up social media handles or hold fundraising events!

6. DELIVER

If you attract enough pledges from the crowd to meet your crowdfunding target, it is time to make it happen! 

Remember, those that have pledged their support to help your campaign are likely to want to see progress on your project being delivered!

You will be required to complete an impact assessment once your project has been delivered to illustrate what you have done.

CrowdFund Leicester runs two funding rounds a year in the Spring and Autumn. 

The Spring 2024 round is now open with a project workshop being held on the 11th of April 10.30am to 11.30am.

In this workshop we will cover:

• Hear about funding available to help make your ideas happen.
• Get advice on creating your project and how to run an amazing crowdfunding campaign.
• Join interactive breakout rooms to access specialised support for your project.

Register for the freee workshop here. 

You will need to have your project fully costed with permissions in place by the Spring deadline of the 22nd of May. 

Not sure where to start? Share your initial project idea with us here so we can support you with the next steps.

CrowdFund Leicester is the City Mayor’s crowdfunding initiative to connect people, communities, businesses and resources. It enables stakeholders across Leicester and beyond to support local groups in turning their ideas into a reality. 

There are a number of funds available to support projects through CrowdFund Leicester and multiple funds can pledge to the same project. 
 

1. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FUND 

The City Mayor is looking to fund activities, initiatives and projects that can make a real difference to the quality of life for communities across Leicester, particularly ones that are normally considered “underserved”, “hard to reach” or “difficult to engage”. 

The projects needs be be innovative and address the general aims of the Public Sector Equality Duty (see below for more information) and demonstrate a genuine need that isn't being met in any other way. This
programme is not a good fit for business as usual projects.

 Through the City Mayor’s Community Engagement Fund, pledges up to £3,000 are available per project, stretching up to £10,000  for very large and ambitious projects.  

For most projects, the pledges will be around 33% of their crowdfunding target. In exceptional circumstances, the City Mayor may pledge up to 50% of your target. Groups therefore need to be aware that you will have to run an engaging crowdfunding campaign and gain the support of the public in order to hit your target. 

If you have an idea that can help the city develop and embed a real sense of shared identity, common purpose and civic responsibility; refresh and renew the City Council's relations with the Voluntary and Community Sector; and enable flexible, imaginative and innovative responses to challenges and opportunities facing the City Council, citizens and communities of Leicester, share it with us. Together we can make Leicester even better!

CRITERIA

To be considered for a pledge from the Community Engagement Fund, projects must demonstrate how the idea isn't being met in any other way and how it will address the general aims of the Public Sector Equality Duty, where certain groups of people with protected characteristics are protected. We have included a list of these characteristics below. 

We would suggest that you go through the list and think about how each group might benefit from your project .

• age

• disability

• gender reassignment

• pregnancy and maternity

• race

• religion or belief

• sex

• sexual orientation

General guidance and examples from other projects

Please note that the elevation of poverty is not enough here - one of the protected characteristics as per the Public Sector Equality Duty must be focused on. 

Examples might include:

• A community garden project to widen paths and add ramps, giving access to wheelchair users (discriminated against because of their disability).

• Setting up boxing sessions for young girls who may have previously felt excluded from the sport (felt excluded because of their sex and religion).

ELIGIBILITY

Pledges will only be made to projects that will be delivered by a constituted organisation. If you are an individual and have an idea you will need to join or form an organisation to develop and share your proposal. Help can be provided with this where necessary. 

Types of suitable organisations can include: 

• Charitable incorporated organisation; 
• Community interest company; 
• Company limited by guarantee;
• Registered charity; 
• Trust; 
• Unincorporated association.

The organisation will be required to:

• Enter into a contractual agreement with Leicester City Council;
• Provide bank details; 
• Provide charity or company number, if relevant;  
• Deliver the project. 

* General note

Food Banks - In general food banks are not a good fit for the programme as there are other departments within the council where more relevant support and funding can be offered. Please email crowdfundleicester@leicester.gov.uk to be put in contact with them. 

Statutes - Projects for standalone statutes are not eligible for the fund but if there are additional community
engagement elements such as workshops with local school children explaining the importance of
the statute, then the Community Engagement fund could be relevant.

Any questions or concerns, complete an expression of interest form and tell us a little more about your project so we can support you with the next steps. 

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2. WARD COMMUNITY FUNDING

Each ward is allocated a yearly budget which can be used to support projects that bring benefits to the community within the ward. These projects can also be crowdfunding as part of Crowdfund Leicester, where the pledge from your local ward can be used to support your campaign. 

If you are interested in applying for Ward communtity funding and feeding it into your crowdfunding campaign, you need to apply seperately. See here for more information. 

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3. Cycling UK

Cycling UK is a national charity focused on breaking down the barriers to cycling and making it accessible to a wider group of people. Organisations in Leicester can apply for grants of up to £3,000 for projects which help adults to start or return to cycling.

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4. CYLE CHALLENGE 

As part of the cycle challenge, one-off grants are available for projects, rides, publicity, training or other events that help get more people on their bikes. 

£300 grants can be included in crowdfunding campaigns as part of CrowdFund Leicester, though if you are interested in applying for a pledge from the cycle challenge, you will need to apply seperately. See here for more information. 

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5. Community Walking Grant Fund

One-off £300 grants are available from Leicester City Council through the Joint Air Quality Commission (JAQU) for projects, that encourage people to walk locally in Leicester. 

These £300 grants can also be fed into crowdfunding campaigns as part of Crowdfund Leicester. The application is completed following the link to the form below and successful projects who are also running a crowdfunding campaign will have a £300 pledge made onto their crowdfunding campaign. 

The scheme is open to city-based groups to promote more people explore the city on foot by walking locally in Leicester.

If your organisation is looking to deliver its corporate social responsibilities, demonstrate social value impact or develop positive relationships with the community then why not join the movement? There's a range of ways you could support project creators to turn their ideas into a reality - from financial pledges, to space, marketing to advice or supply of materials and voluntary time.

Spacehive's Grantmaker App helps automate the process in finding projects that are tailored to the criteria you set and are looking to support! Find out more on how you can become a partner here.

CREATE A FUND  

If your organisation is looking to deliver its corporate social responsibilities, demonstrate social value impact or develop positive relationships then why not create a fund for local groups to pitch their ideas to? 

1. PREPARE

We recommend you speak to Spacehive and the CrowdFund Leicester team to discuss what you are looking to achieve. This way we can facilitate your needs to ensure your fund is created and promoted to reach the right groups.Spacehive's Grantmaker App helps automate the process in finding projects that are tailored to the criteria you set and are looking to support! Think about the projects you would like to support, the criteria and how project creators can pitch to you. Find out more on how you can become a partner here.

2. FUND

Create your online fund for local projects to pitch their ideas to you. Remember you will need to complete the following:

• Fund name
• Fund size
• Maximum pledge
• Projects you’re interested in funding
• Outcomes you’re looking for
• How you will review pitches

3. PITCHES

Projects that meet the criteria of your fund will be matched and encouraged to pitch to your fund. 

4. PLEDGE

Review pitches to your fund and pledge to those you want to make happen.  

PLEDGE

You can pledge your support to crowdfunding campaigns in a variety of ways:

1. MONIES

Successful crowdfunding campaigns are only possible with the support of the crowd. Monies will not be collected from the crowd and released to the project creator unless the campaign target has been met. A pledge, no matter how big or small, will be a step closer to reaching the target set.

You can pledge online from £2 to any campaign.

Online pledges to crowdfunding projects grants our partners, Spacehive, authorisation to take one payment from your bank account if the project successfully hits its crowdfunding target.

2. MATERIAL  

If a project requires materials to deliver a campaign, these will be outlined in their costs or included within a wish-list on their project page. You can pledge materials in kind rather than making a cash donation which will be accounted for and help the campaign move closer to its crowdfunding target. 

3. TIME

If you would like to volunteer your time to help a project promote their campaign or deliver it if they are successful in hitting their crowdfunding target you can pledge this too!

PROMOTE

Get involved with the CrowdFund Leicester movement by encouraging those creative people that you may know to start a project to help make Leicester an even better place! 

You can also promote live campaigns via social media, posters or word of mouth to help project creators reach a wider audience and support from the crowd. 

Please visit the Spacehive Help Centre for quick answers to your questions or email Spacehive on support@spacehive.com

General questions

What is civic crowdfunding? 
Crowdfunding allows anyone with a project idea to share it openly and seek support from the crowd, whether in cash or in kind, to make the idea become a reality. Project ideas may be permanent, for example a playground, or temporary, such as an event, and can include revenue as well as capital costs.

The City Mayor in partnership with Spacehive, the world's first crowdfunding website dedicated to civic spaces, is looking for project ideas that will benefit local communities. Crowd Fund Leicester allows voluntary and community organisations to share their project idea and attract pledges from local residents, businesses and the City Mayor. 

Civic crowdfunding is about bringing people together to shape their community and benefit from it. It allows for people to be involved every step of the way, from having an idea, crowdfunding and delivering the project.  Crowdfunding is all about sharing your project idea to attract interest and support, every pledge counts. Backers can pledge as much or as little as they want and will only be committed once the target funds have been met.

Are there any fees to use Spacehive?
Spacehive do not charge a fee to register your project or make donations.

However, Spacehive does charge a success fee if projects successfully reach their fundraising target. All fees are included within the project budget and clearly displayed.

This success fee of 5% of the total project cost that pays for web site maintenance and for independent experts vetting projects. There are also associated transaction fees, though no transaction fee will be charged for cash or in-kind contributions secured by projects before the start of their online campaign on Spacehive.

What is project verification?
Spacehive verifies all projects to ensure that they are viable before you can proceed with crowdfunding. This will ensure that the potential funders are protected, your project is more likely to succeed and confidence is maintained within the system. 

Project verification is dedicated to ensuring your project is supported and can succeed. Verifiers will assess your project idea to ensure it is viable, your project is properly budgeted with quotes for the main items and that you have all the relevant permissions to deliver it. 

What documents will I need for verification?
This will vary depending on the project, it is important therefore that you find out which permissions are relevant to your project. In the first instance you need an in-principle consent from the landowner to support the project. Various planning permissions and licenses may also be required and could be secured as the project progresses, but you need to be clear in your pitch that these will need to be resolved.

How much should I set as my target? 
Your target funding will depend on your project but remember it will be a set amount that you will need to use to deliver the project.

It is advised that you take considerable time to ascertain quotes for large items or services and check the cost of smaller items with reputable suppliers. It is important to be realistic in how much you will need to set as your target to fulfil the project and ensure you are getting value for money. 

You also need to think about VAT – often not included on quotes, but you will probably have to pay this in the first place even if you are registered to claim it back later.

You should plan some contingency into your budget for unforeseen extras / issues. This should be between about 5-10% revenue depending on the project.

Remember, all of your crowdfunding pledges will act as flexible revenue cash which can be used to support anything in your budget. Backers may want to see a clear plan of where or what their pledge will contribute to. 

What is the difference between capital and revenue expenditure?

Capital refers to funds used to build, refurbish or fit out indoor and/or outdoor structures or spaces. This can include:

• Construction materials, labour, tools and safety equipment
• Fees for architects or designers
• Purchased equipment such as computers, staging or kitchen equipment
• Furniture
• Utilities costs relating to building or creating the project
• Licenses related to building the project
• Skip hire and waste removal

Revenue refers to funds that can be used day-to-day costs. This can include:

• Rent and business rates
• Event costs such as hire of stages, sound equipment or entertainment
• Marketing materials such as posters and leaflets
• Website or social media costs
• Staff
• Utilities costs related to running the project
• Consumables for running the project, such as stationary, raw materials for food and drink
• Maintenance costs

Can I receive more than my target?
Yes, overfunding can be enabled to allow you to receive more than your crowdfunding target if it is reached before the completion date you set.

What happens if I do not reach my target?
If you do not receive enough pledges to meet your target within the specified period, all the pledges will be returned to the backers and no money will be transferred to you, meaning in most cases that the project cannot be delivered. It is advised therefore that you share your idea within the community to get an understanding of whether the project will be supported and is something that will benefit the community. 

How can I pitch my idea to the City Mayor?
Your project page will automatically be matched to CrowdFund Leicester. To receive a pledge from the City Mayor’s Community Engagement Fund your project idea must fulfil the criteria outlined on the fund page. The City Mayor's Office will review your pitch to see whether you are eligible to receive a pledge from the City Mayor. If you are eligible the City Mayor could pledge up to £10,000 to support your project.

If I reach my target how will I receive my pledges?
If you successfully reach your funding target, pledges from the crowd will usually be transferred to you the week after you hit your target. 

If you have received a pledge from the City Mayor whether as a piece of land or cash donation a member from the City Mayor's Office will contact you within 10 working days of hitting your target to highlight how you will receive the pledge. 

Do I have to report on progress?
Yes. It is good practice to keep your supporters updated as you progress with your project. They will want to know how you are getting on and celebrate in the success. If you are having difficulty, the crowd may also be able to help you out.

If the City Mayor has made a pledge to your project it will also be expected that you provide regular progress updates to the City Mayor's Office and keep a record of your achievements. This will be useful if you apply for funding in the future as it will demonstrate that you can deliver a project and the impact is has made. 

What happens when my project has been delivered?
When you have successfully delivered your project you will be required carry out a simple evaluation of your project at the end which shows how you have delivered against your initial ambition, issues that may have arose along the way and lessons you learned as part of the overall experience.

How is my data used? 
Any information collected by Leicester City Council will comply with the Council's Privacy notice (leicester.gov.uk).

I’ve got a food bank project - is this a good fit?
Food Banks are not a good fit for the programme as there are other departments within the
council where more relevant support and funding can be offered.
 

I’ve got a statute project - is this a good fit?
Projects for standalone statutes are not eligible for the fund but if there are additional community
engagement elements such as workshops with local school children explaining the importance of
the statute, then this community engagement element could be eligible.

My question has not been answered:
If your question has not been covered please contact support@spacehive.com