The H&F Hive is an online crowdfunding platform which brings together local people and resources to make positive changes in their community. If you have a project idea for improving your local area, simply upload it to Spacehive, set your funding target and launch your fundraising campaign to bring your ideas to life!

Spacehive enables you to build visible local support for projects - the more pledges you can secure from the local community, the more likely you are to attract funding and support from local businesses, large corporations, charities and grant giving bodies. However, crowdfunding is about much more than just money. Running a Spacehive campaign is a great way to bring your community together to deliver projects that everyone can enjoy.

 To get started, create your project on Spacehive or share your idea via this short form and the team will be in touch soon. 

The H&F Hive helps crowdfund community projects in Hammersmith & Fulham. As a project creator you can bid for council funding and support to help bring your idea to life.

To align with the council's plans to be net zero as a borough by 2030, we want to support all projects on the H&F Hive to: 

• At minimum, do no harm to the environment
• Where possible, actively contribute towards reducing emissions and restoring biodiversity
   

There are 5 areas for all projects to consider, which you will be asked about when you pitch for council funds available on H&F Hive. These align with the 5 themes in the council's Climate Action Plan:

• Buildings
• Travel 
• Consumption
• Ecology
• Adapting to climate change
   

We’ve developed guidance to support project creators on this collective journey. This was co-produced with Spacehive project creators. Visit this page to learn more. 

H&F Hive 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 borough 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. 

Check out projects fundraising now as part of H&F Hive here. To keep updated on new projects, upcoming events and funding opportunities, please contact support@spacehive.com or click the yellow 'Follow' star at the top right of the page.

Companies, foundations and public bodies interested in supporting projects alongside the Council should also get in touch so we can help get you started.

Is my project eligible for Spacehive?

Projects need to be locally-rooted, tangible, and serve a community purpose.

If you have an idea for a project that can help your local area, then Spacehive is the place to raise funds for it.

It may be something simple and creative such as a street mural, or more ambitious such as repurposing a disused building for community use. 

It could also be for temporary projects, for example if the project is in response to COVID-19 and you are looking to purchase equipment to improve local digital services, set up local food production schemes, or fund emergency response packages for mutual aid groups. 

What's important is that your project is tangible. People who will back your campaign will want to see where their money has gone. 

While it's impossible to cater to all, your project should have local benefit and not just be for a select few to enjoy. Obviously the more people your project appeals to, the more chance you stand of running a successful crowdfunding campaign.

Projects must be in the UK, and can be led by any type of organisation or individual. Please note, being eligible to crowdfund on Spacehive does not necessarily mean your project is eligible for funds available on Spacehive - please check eligibility of the funds you're interested in pitching to. 

Looking for inspiration? Our project archive will give you a flavour of the types of projects that crowdfund with us.

How does the all-or-nothing crowdfunding model work?

You need to hit your target in order to receive the funds you raise. Otherwise you will not receive any.

Spacehive operates an all-or-nothing model, which means that if you don’t hit your target, backers are refunded and you receive no funds. This can seem daunting at first, however we believe that it is to the advantage of project creators.

• It helps you raise more money as backers know you have to hit your target. On platforms where this isn't mandated, there's no urgency and it's common to raise less than the target amount. 
• It’s less risk for everyone. If you need £5,000, it’s not much good having £1,000 and crowd of people expecting you to complete a £5,000 project.
• It encourages people to back you. They know their money will only go towards the project as described on your page, not a half-funded version of it.
• It works. 66% of Spacehive campaigns are successful, which is much higher than the crowdfunding industry standard.

Once the initial funding target has been reached, projects can continue to raise additional funds to make the project even bigger and better. If the project has overfunding enabled, details of how the extra funds will be spent are explained on the project page and backers can choose whether to keep pledging towards those cost items too. Find out more about overfunding here.

What are the fees? Is there a charge?

Anyone can set up a project page for free, and start crowdfunding. We add a 5% success fee to campaigns which is only payable if you reach your funding target.

Anyone can start using Spacehive and create a project for free. To ensure the continuing development and maintenance of our technology platform, the process of verifying projects, and the support that we provide, we apply a 5% success fee to projects* which hit their target with us. 

When you input your project costs, our system will still calculate this fee and it will appear as a cost item in your budget.

For example, if your project costs £100, we will add 5% +VAT to your target, which works out as £106. This will be your crowdfunding target. 

It is important to note that there are transaction fees for accepting electronic pledges which again we calculate for you once you've input your project costs. These are set by Stripe, the external payment provider that you will connect with when you create your project with us. Read our dedicated article on these to find out more. 

What advice do other project creators have for running a successful campaign?

Project creators who have been successful are a rich source of knowledge. Most advise being prepared to sell your idea, having a clear plan to deliver it, going the extra mile to woo big funders, and having a crowd before you crowdfund.

We went out and canvassed project creators who have run successful campaigns, asking them a simple question: what tips would you give to someone who wants to crowdfund a community project on Spacehive? Read their answers here. 
 

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To learn more about crowdfunding on Spacehive, visit the Help Centre. 

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