We want everyone to have a real stake in the places we live, work or visit. Growing Great Places has been supporting crowdfunding projects led by people in local places across Kirklees since June 2019.

By running a crowdfunding campaign with Growing Great Places, you’ll have the opportunity to involve backers in your project, spread the word and connect with others who care about your local place.

32 Growing Great Places projects had already succeeded in raising over £287,183 in total by Autumn 2021, backed by almost 1,500 local people and business.

Crowdfunding through Growing Great Places is an opportunity for local groups like yours to take a small idea, engage local people and together influence your community’s future for the better.

Successful projects have included restoration and development of natural spaces, creating opportunities for people to access and enjoy the living environment around them. Some projects have encouraged local people to plant, grow, fix and mend. Others have redeveloped facilities to encourage more people to get involved with their local clubs and community groups.

Is it time to find out how your local group can crowdfund and have a growing impact and influence on your community?

We’re interested to hear about projects which positively influence local people and places, helping your community grow stronger. If you have a good sense that your project will benefit people in your community, then it’s probably a project worth pursuing.

Crowdfunding could work well for you if:

• You have a clear idea of what your project is, what it will achieve for your community and a solid plan to make it work.
• You have a story to tell that helps people see why your project will be good for the community and the people it is designed to reach.
• You know from local knowledge and your existing networks that people in your community may well contribute to your project, either by pledging money or spreading the word about it.
• You know how much your project will cost and are clear what the funds raised will be spent on – people like transparency.
• You are being realistic about the amount of funding you’re trying to raise and have given this considerable thought – don’t let over-reaching be your downfall.
• You have a team of no less than three people who can offer different skills – people who can organise, motivate, plan, ‘doers’, someone who understands social media and how to make it work for you. Look at our ‘Tips, tricks and skills’ section for more on this.
• You and your team have the time to drive the project forward and keep momentum – sitting back and hoping it will just happen, won’t work.

If you can answer “yes” to these points, then crowdfunding is probably right for your project.

Friends of Caulms Wood in Dewsbury wanted young people and others to be able to learn within the park. Their new crowdfunded outdoor classroom will give people a space to enjoy nature, learn about the environment and spend more time outdoors.
RAISED: £2,955 from 25 backers.

Holmfirth Repair Café is a monthly repair café set up through crowdfunding by Holmfirth Transition Town (HoTT). The café will people repair their own items by sitting alongside ‘fixers’. Repairs can include clothes, bags and small electrical items.
RAISED: £2,310 from 61 backers.

East Bierley Cricket Club crowdfunded for their Junior Cricket Training Ground, to install all weather cricket practice strips for 5 to 17 year olds. This meant young people could spend more time being engaged and active, even when it wasn’t sunny.
RAISED: £5,857 from 90 backers.

Growing Communities in Golcar helps people (including asylum seekers and refugees) connect with each other and the land by growing vegetables, plants and trees. Sanctuary Kirklees grew support for the project and for a Wildlife Pond through two crowdfunding campaigns.
RAISED: £14,958 from 115 backers

Give… a few words is spreading a little cheer through the power of writing letters. This volunteer run project helps to reduce isolation through words, art and kindness. Sharron’s campaign shows how individuals can get others involved in their project through crowdfunding.
RAISED: £1,632 from 38 backers.
 

You can find lots of other great examples on our Projects page.

We’re interested to hear about projects which make our local places even better – things that are good for local people and help your community to grow stronger. Think about how your project will include different people and will make the most of local energy, skills, assets and creativity.

Whilst there’s some specific criteria for being part of Growing Great Places, the most important thing is that your project will be good for people in your community.

We’re particularly interested in supporting projects that contribute to one or more of the shared outcomes in Our Council Plan 2021 to 2023.

Our shared outcomes are:

• Shaped by People - we make our places what they are.
  ​​​​​​​(this outcome is particularly important to us, because it was created by local people)
• Best start - children have the best start in life.
• Well - people are as well as possible for as long as possible.
• Independent - people live independently and have control over their lives.
• Aspire and achieve - people have aspiration to achieve their ambitions through education, training, employment, and lifelong learning.
• Sustainable economy - we have sustainable economic growth and provides good employment for and with communities and businesses.
• Safe and cohesive - people live in cohesive communities, feel safe and are protected from harm.
• Clean and green - people experience a high quality, clean, sustainable, and green environment.

For more detail on our outcomes please look at Our Council Plan 2021 to 2023.

Kirklees Council are unlikely to pledge towards projects that:

• Help only one individual or a very limited number of people.
• Have, in the current financial year, already received a grant from Kirklees Council for the same project costs that you’re crowdfunding for via Growing Great Places.
• Happen each year and have been funded previously through Growing Great Places.
• Other funding from Kirklees Council, for different items or project costs to those that the pledge will fund, would be viewed as match funding (or complementary funding).
• Do not promote community cohesion.
• Are to be managed by a group or individual who received a previous grant that was not managed satisfactorily.
• Are raising funds for works or equipment already committed, bought or completed.
• Solely or predominantly benefit people who live outside the Kirklees area.
• Overtly or exclusively promote a Political agenda.
• Overtly or exclusively promote a religious agenda.
• Interfere with Kirklees Council business or would be a reputational risk.
• Have unauthorised or significant financial implications for the council, including increased maintenance or resource costs.

Types of organisations who can apply:

We can support organisations who are either an Unincorporated Association, Charitable Trust, Charitable Incorporated Company, Community Interest Company, Community Benefit Society or Cooperative Society.

Town or Parish councils and private or public companies are not eligible.

Individuals and non-constituted community groups can apply for up to a £2,500 pledge to support their campaign. 

Growing Great Places has two funding rounds a year, starting in the Spring and in the Autumn.

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THE CROWDFUNDING PROCESS

1. Make an expression of interest

Complete our Expression of Interest form as soon as possible to inform us of your project idea.

A member of the team will be in touch to provide any support you may need to help get your project started. Don’t worry if you haven’t any knowledge of crowdfunding - we can help with that.

Attending one of our workshops or drop-in sessions will be a great help in shaping the direction of your project, so remember to sign up when you can.

2. Plan your project

Take time to think and plan what’s needed to deliver your project, including the costs associated with it, any permissions or licences you might need and the people who could help your team to run the campaign.

3. Project page and pitch

Create your project page on Spacehive, which will match you to the Growing Great Places fund. Here Kirklees Council will ask you some additional questions about your project.

Follow this handy step-by-step guide when setting up your project. 

We think you’ll manage this easily but remember you can get in touch if you get stuck.

Please make sure your pitch to Growing Great Places is submitted by the deadline: 

4. Get verified

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

If you have any questions about the permissions or licences you might need, please contact: GrowingGreatPlaces@kirklees.gov.uk

5. Crowdfunding

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

Use the Launching Your Crowdfunding Campaign guide to help focus your energy and efforts.

6. Kirklees Council pledge

Successful projects can expect to receive a pledge from Kirklees Council.

Projects crowdfunding as part of Growing Great Places can receive a pledge of up to 50% of their target, up to a maximum of £5,000.

We won’t be the first to make a pledge to your project. We really want to see community support and backing, in the form of smaller pledges from local people, before we consider making a pledge to your campaign. This is because we want to know that your project matters to other citizens.

7. Hit your target and get going

When you reach your target, the money will be collected from your backers and transferred to you, usually within 10 working days from the end of your campaign. If you do not hit your target, no money will be collected from your backers.

You’re running an online crowdfunding campaign, so online promotion and networks are really key.

Dedicate time to learn how social media works – social media will be important to the success of your project. You might be lucky enough that a member of your team is already social media savvy, but what if you don’t? Look out for local opportunities where you can sign-up to learn the basics.

Sharing to your online networks – if you’ve already got a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account, then you’re likely to already have a network of people you can share your project with. Once your project is live on the Growing Great Places website, share it on social media.

• At launch, talk proudly about your project and what you’re trying to achieve.
• Ask people to visit your project webpage to find out more.
• Tell people how they can make a pledge to back the project (even £2 will do!)
• Ask them if they will share your post on their own social media.
• Post regular updates of how your project is going.
• Photos or short videos can be powerful for encouraging people to take a closer look at your project.

Hashtags – that’s one of these # - hashtags are a great way of categorising your project on social media, so that they don’t immediately get lost among lots of other posts. You can use more than one hashtag in a single post if you have the space. Including hashtags that other local people are already using means that more people are likely to see your post.

• Always use #GrowingGreatPlaces in your posts
• Use a relevant geographic place such as #Dewsbury or #Honley
• Use a very local place name such as #LongleyWoods or #NewsomeMill
• Use something descriptive that hints at what your project is about, such as #NatureTrail or #CommunityAllotment

Local groups and organisations near to you – if you’re aware of other groups or organisations in your local place, get in touch with them and let them know about your project. If they’re on social media, they might be happy to share your updates with their own network. Encouraging others to get involved also helps to grow your local partnerships, which might bear fruit in other ways.

Here are some of the most common quesitons below. If your question is not included here, please visit the Spacehive help centre at https://help.spacehive.com/ or email Spacehive on info@spacehive.com or Kirklees Council on GrowingGreatPlaces@kirklees.gov.uk

What is Spacehive?

Spacehive is a crowdfunding platform for ideas that bring local places to life, support and empower communities: everything from sprucing up an allotment, investing in equipment to run a befriending service, to putting on a street party. Kirklees Council have partnered with Spacehive for this programme because of their expertise in civic crowdfunding. 

When will we get the money we raise?

Spacehive operates an all-or-nothing model, which means that if you don’t hit your target, none of the pledges are collected. Once you hit your target funds will take up to 2 weeks to arrive in your bank account.

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 either GoCardless or PayPal. The money they pledge will only be charged after you hit your target. After they are charged the authorisation / Direct Debit mandate is cancelled. Backers are only charged once.

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! 

Are there fees?

Yes - there are usually Spacehive fees of 5% (+1% VAT) on funds raised if, and only if, you hit your target. These fees are automatically added to your campaign target once you enter your costs.

There are also transaction fees of 0.5% for payments made via GoCardless and 3.4% for PayPal. These are estimated at the beginning of your campaign and automatically added onto your total project costs. As pledges are made using one or other of the payment methods, the transaction fees associated with your target will be adjusted.