The Ealing Together crowdfunding programme pledges to projects during a specific window of time called a funding round. You can find out more about the Ealing Together Fund in this document and read about the borough's areas of relatively high levels of deprivation in this document. There is other local support detailed in this document.

The Ealing Together Fund will be running a spring funding round with a deadline of 26th April. Along with pledges from your local community, there is an opportunity to get a pledge from the Council of up to £1,500 from the Tier 1 Fund & up to £10,000 from the Tier 2 Fund to help you on your way towards making your idea a reality.

To get started, create your project on Spacehive and get your project verified. You will then submit your pitch to fund name 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 by the fund deadline: 26th April

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 upcoming workshop on 6th March at 12:00 for more information (see News & Events page) and read the steps below to learn how to get involved.

 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 the launch event on Monday 6th March (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)

• Relevant insurances, policies, or qualifications (e.g. organisation constitution, safeguarding policy, certifications)

• 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 BY 26TH APRIL 

Once verified, launch your crowdfunding campaign, no later than 26th April. 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 £1,500 from the Tier 1 Fund & up to £10,000 from the Tier 2 Fund.

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. 

For any additional questions, please contact Spacehive on support@spacehive.com.

There is £50,000 on offer, with a maximum of £10,000 (up to 50% of campaign target) for crowdfunding projects. Groups crowdfunding less complex projects worth £3,000 or less can pitch for up to £1,500 and don't have to provide as much information. This fund can be used for capital items of the project with the pledges from the public covering the non-capital elements. 

Criteria and who can apply?

You can be a community group, mutual aid or volunteer network, charity, tenant or residents’ association, a Town Team or Social Enterprise – or an individual representing a wider interest group, so long as the location you are intending to use is in the London Borough of Ealing.

While you don't need to be a fully constituted group to get involved, you will need to represent a community group and you will need a group bank account. The council cannot transfer funds into a personal bank account. 

What kinds of projects?

There’s support for locally led proposals that:

• Help people achieve their potential by creating volunteering opportunities to learn new skills, or preparing for an apprenticeship, or creating jobs
• Bring people together to celebrate culture and heritage, promote inter-generational understanding, or provide reminiscence activities for older adults
• Improve people’s health and well-being
• Make the borough a greener and cleaner place by reducing the carbon footprint

Past Case Studies
This programme builds on the past few years successful Transform Your Space and Future Ealing Fund crowdfunding projects, which  have been delivered with residents working with support from the council to transform local spaces near them – read their stories and follow their example.

Dig Hanwell Community Hub

Brent Valley Golf Academy

Me and my Southall

Film For All Ealing!

North Acton Community Arts Hub

Saving Ealing Swifts

Borehole for Brentham Allotments

Garden Share Loneliness & Food Poverty

Academy Fields Nature Reserve

Creative Media Development Program  

Southall Park Drinking Water Fountain

Discover Bedford Park with poet WB Yeats

Ealing Writing Trail

OurSouthall Canal Mural

Ealing Unlocked

Ladies Giddha in Jubilee Park, Southall

A Place For All- Southall Community Hub!

You too can submit your idea, get the crowd to show support for your project and the help you need to turn your project idea into reality! As a first step, fill in this expression of interest form so we know you are interested and can get in contact and offer support. 

You can also take a look at dosomethinggood.org.uk or email dosomethinggood@ealing.gov.uk if you have an idea and want to talk with a member of the Community Engagement Team in the council.