The Mayor wants to back projects that:

• Celebrate and strengthen the special character of your area
• Respond to a local challenge or opportunity in a creative way 
• Give an unused space a new lease of life 
• Help the local economy
• Give local people lasting skills and opportunities
• Improve environmental sustainability 
• Make everyone in the community feel welcome and involved
• Attract strong support from the community - shown via a spirited crowdfunding campaign and other evidence

This is a fund to support grass-roots neigbourhood improvement and not business ideas or proposals without a clear location / community beneficiary.

Projects could:

• help to make your high street a better place to visit or do business,
• improve or establish a local market,
• give a new lease of life to an unloved space or empty building,
• improve access to healthy and affordable food
• create a beautiful new green space or cultural feature that attracts people to the area

Ensure you read all of the information under 'Get Involved 2019' on our website before pitching to this fund: https://www.london.gov.uk/crowdfunding 

We are really interested in the quality and originality of your idea – why does it respond specifically to a challenge or opportunity in your neighbourhood? We don’t want to pay for Christmas lights, or playground equipment from a catalogue (things that could be anywhere), we want to know why your project is tailored specifically to the needs of your community. 

The best ideas will:

• empower your community
• grow local prosperity
• make a place better, for everyone

We're looking for ideas that show innovation and enterprise and aspire to achieve a wider social good.

1. Create a project page on Spacehive outlining your idea
2. Get matched to our fund and others
3. Pitch for a pledge from funds
4. Your project will be verified to check the costs and permissions
5. Start your crowdfunding campaign (we want to see 100-150 local backers)
6. We'll pledge alongside the crowd - if your pitch to us is successful
7. Hit your target and deliver your project

Projects must:

• Be in Greater London
• Have clear delivery plan and well considered budget
• Be managed by a constituted organisation that represents the local community (if you're an individual, you'll need to partner with an appropriate local organisation)

These types of organisation are OK:

• Local community group acting inclusively to represent a diverse range of local people
• Resident or trader association
• Social enterprise
• Local charity
• Town Team
• Neighbourhood Forum
• Business Improvement District
• School or university
• Business - if acting in the community's interest and delivering a not-for-profit project.

The organisation must take responsibility for delivering the project and:

• Be able to enter into legal contracts with the Greater London Authority
• Demonstrate clear and representative governance arrangements (your mission statement, who you represent, how you conduct yourselves, your membership, key roles and responsibilities etc)
• Provide details of a bank account registered to the organisation
• Provide a charity or company number where applicable
• Demonstrate that you have the capacity (resources) and determination to deliver

We will not fund:

• Local services
• Proposals that could be equally applicable anywhere (such as Christmas lights or standard playground equipment)
• 'Business as usual' activity (keeping things going that already exist or general maintenance)
• Your business idea. This is not a business incubation fund.

Projects will be appraised based on criteria set out on our website: https://www.london.gov.uk/crowdfunding. The level of detail in your pitch should reflect the scale and scope of the proposal.

Not everyone will receive a pledge and we reserve the right not to fund any proposal that does not:

• demonstrate a good strategic fit
• demonstrate that the full scope of what is described will be deliverable for the budget proposed
• represent good value for public money 

Do not expect a pledge from us to complete your campaign - you should have a pro-active fundraising plan independent of a pledge from the Mayor. 

To apply for a pledge from the Mayor, create a project on Spacehive and pitch to our fund. The sooner you post your idea and shape it alongside your community, the better.