Key Dates

The next funding round will be opening soon. Keep a look out for key dates and the upcoming workshop. 

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See the below steps for how to get involved. 

1) Create a project page
Head to spacehive.com/create to get started.
You’ll need to register for an account and share your project idea. 

2) Apply for council funds
The Spacehive platform will match you to the council funds available through the programme based on your project location. Here you will need to answer some questions from the council regarding your project. 

3) Get your project verified

Before you can start crowdfunding, your project is checked to ensure all of the necessary permissions and governance are in place. You will need to supply quotes for the main cost items in your project budget. See the help centre here for verification guidance. Remember to add any pre-campaign funds to demonstrate existing support to the project, see the help centre here for guidance.

4) Start crowdfunding
Once your crowdfunding campaign is launched on the Spacehive platform, start raising funds to demonstrate local support. A typical crowdfunding campaign runs for 6-12 weeks. Spacehive offers guidance here to help you achieve your crowdfunding target. If you are successful in receiving a council donation, it will be added to your crowdfunding campaign.

5) Hit your target and deliver your project
Projects must hit their crowdfunding target in order to receive the council donation. Once you hit your crowdfunding target, you’ll receive your funds within a few weeks and you can start delivering your project.

6) Deliver and complete an impact report

Once crowdfunding is complete, deliver your project within six months and complete an impact report on Spacehive. This is mandatory and shares your success with backers and the council.

Support

• For detailed guidance on each step, visit the Spacehive Help Centre

• For any additional questions, please contact Spacehive [email protected]

Council Contact details:

We’re always here to help, whether you want to explore more about how crowdfunding works, talk to us about an idea you have, or about a crowdfunding project you’re currently working on.

The easiest way to contact us is to email:

[email protected]

You can also phone us on the main Kirklees Council number:

01484 221 000

Just ask for the ‘Active Citizens and Places Team’ on the automated switchboard.

Growing Great Places is our main crowdfunding programme, supporting groups, organisations and individuals to set up and run meaningful projects in their community, to the benefit of local people and places.

• Constituted groups: can receive up to £5,000 (up to 50% of crowdfunding target)
• Individuals: can receive up to £2,500 (up to 50% of crowdfunding target)

Where projects receive funding from more than one fund, the overall council contribution is capped at 65% of the crowdfunding target. 

Who can run a project with Growing Great Places?

Anyone who wants to make their community better can run a project with Growing Great Places. This includes:

• Local groups and organisations: Community groups, charities, schools, not-for-profit and other local organisations can start a project.
• Individuals: If you have a great idea to improve your community, you can start a project too!

Who can’t run a project?

• Businesses for profit: Projects aimed solely at generating profit for a business are not eligible.
• Political campaigns: Projects that promote political campaigns or candidates are not allowed.
• Illegal activities: Any project that involves illegal activities or promotes harm cannot be run.

Remember:

Your project should aim to make a positive impact on your community. Whether it's a new playground, a community garden, or a local event, we want to help you make it happen!

Fund Criteria

We are interested in hearing about projects which bring people together to get involved in making your community better. Tell us how your project will involve and include a wide range of local people and will also tap into local energy, skills, assets and creativity.

We are interested in supporting projects that can show how they will contribute to one, or preferably more than one, of the shared outcomes in the Kirklees Council corporate plan.

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 2025 to 2026

People told us they want fun and recreational events, to celebrate local culture and heritage, arts, history and Batley’s multi-faith community – they want events that bring people together and celebrate the local area.

To support people’s ambitions, Batley East and Batley West ward councillors have created the Batley Community Events Fund. This funding pot of £35,000 will contribute to crowdfunded events, with a maximum pledge of £3,500 available for each project, up to a maximum of 70% of the overall crowdfunding target. 

Where projects receive funding from more than one fund, the overall council contribution is capped at 65% of the crowdfunding target. 

Who can apply?

• Anyone who wants to make their community better can run a project with Growing Great Places. Community groups, charities, schools, not-for-profit and other local organisations can start a project
• Individuals and non-constituted groups can apply for a maximum of £1,500
• Both revenue and capital costs can be included.
• All projects must have a wider social benefit and cannot be for profit projects.
• Schools and religious organisations can apply, but the project will have to demonstrate a benefit to the wider community and not just the immediate students or congregation. 
• Projects cannot form part of a political affiliation or cause.

We would prefer to fund open to all, free to access events in Batley East and Batley West, but paid for events will also be considered.

If you have questions, please discuss with Ashley.fothergill.gov.uk

Aim of the fund

The aim of the fund is to deliver outcomes that people have told us they want to see – events that bring people together and celebrate the local area.

Project proposals should consider how they enable:

• Engagement and empowerment of local groups or organisations to be part of delivering a broad, creative event or a series of events in Batley.
• Creating a welcoming community environment for children and families in Batley.
• Creating a town centre that looks and feels attractive to residents and visitors.
• Development of a regular programme of cultural events and family-friendly activities to help revitalise Batley town centre. 

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.

Since launching, over 50 projects have been successfully funded through Growing Great Places, thanks to nearly 3,500 backers, raising over £600,000.

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?
 

Examples of successful projects

• The renovation of The Cabin Pre-school

The Cabin is an established pre-school and wrap-around childcare provider, serving the community to give access to affordable, buildings, childcare for all members of the community. Having replaced an old building, they then needed to renovate the outside space into an area fit for providing engaging activities for children of all ages visiting the pre-school. They raised £10,918 from 22 backers.
 

• Aspire Journeys

Working with older people and schools in Huddersfield, Aspire Journeys is about an exploration of cross-generational creativity, uniting older adults’ wisdom with young minds’ curiosity. The initiative embraces various storytelling forms and pays homage to Huddersfield’s heritage. It is a celebration of stories shaping our identity – a bridge between generations and a legacy weaving through time. They raised £10,585, from 21 backers.
 

• A church fit for the future

Christ Church is an active local hub for residents and parishioners alike. New Mill does not have many community buildings, and they are remote from Huddersfield Town. The Church aims to be free of fossil fuels by 2030 and provide a warm, welcoming and inclusive hub for the community. As part of their initiative to become more environmentally friendly, these funds are for roof insulation which will save 1.3 tons of CO2 per annum. In They raised £7,116, from 24 backers.
 

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

What does Growing Great Places offer, and who is it for?

Growing Great Places is all about helping you to bring people together to get a great idea off the ground in your local place. You might have a little idea that can have a big impact in your local neighbourhood. Or you might need some help growing support for an ambitious project that is just getting started.

We want everyone to be able to have a real stake in the places where we live, work or visit. By running a crowdfunding campaign with Growing Great Places, you will have the opportunity to involve backers in your project, spread the word, and connect with others who care about your local place.

What do we offer to support your crowdfunding campaigns?

Kirklees Council and our partners at Spacehive are here to support you and make sure that your campaign has the best chance of succeeding. We run workshops and advice surgeries, as well as offering online guides and tips for success.

The Active Citizens and Places Team at Kirklees Council are keen to work with citizens and local organisations to make our places even better. Citizens have asked us to do more to recognise and celebrate our unique local places. Through Growing Great Places, we hope to pledge our support to local projects that are clearly backed by their local communities.

How do you find out more about Growing Great Places and other funds?

If you are interested in improving your local place and you want to have a voice in local decisions, Growing Great Places is for you. It is part of our work to grow a stronger local democracy here in Kirklees, from the ground up.

Use the sections below to find out key information about our available funding pots, eligibility criteria, how crowdfunding through Growing Great Places works, the support you can access and how to contact us for help.

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 below 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 most of these points, then crowdfunding may well be right for your project.

If in doubt, get in touch with us.

Tips, tricks and project promotion

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

We’ve provided some advice below, but you can also watch some useful videos from Spacehive: Advice and answers from the Spacehive Team

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.
   

Local groups, 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.

Local businesses – businesses in your local area might take the opportunity to contribute to your project to connect with the communities. Some larger businesses might have a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) approach, which is a way they can give back to the community through various means. This can include volunteering, local fundraising and donations, so it’s worth looking into what businesses are operating in your area.