The Tower Hamlets Innovation Fund is designed specifically to provide match funding support of up to £10,000 (or a maximum of 50% of an organisations crowdfunding target) to organisations based and working in Tower Hamlets. Organisations would need to crowdfund through Spacehive for the remainder of their target.

The Our Tower Hamlets Programme runs two funding rounds a year, in the Spring and in the Autumn. 

Please follow the below steps to ensure your campaign is launched by the 28th June deadline. 

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Read below process to understand how to get involved.

1.    EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

Complete our expression of interest form at your earliest convenience to inform us of your project idea and knowledge of crowdfunding. A member of the team will be in touch to provide you with the necessary information and support you may need to help get your project started.  

2.    PROJECT PAGE AND PITCH

Create your online project page which will match you to the Our Tower Hamlets Innovation fund. Here Tower Hamlets Council will ask you some additional questions about your project. Spacehive and the council can provide additional support needed to get ready in time. 

3.    VERIFICATION

The project costs and necessary permissions will be checked and verified. This involves checking quotes for all the major items and if you have land owner permission for your project. Aim to have your project verified by the deadline on 28th June so you can launch your crowdfunding campaign right away!

4.    CROWDFUNDING

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

5.    PLEDGE

Tower Hamlets Council will review all project campaigns and successful projects can expect to receive a pledge in early May. Please note that your campaign must be at least 15% funded before Tower Hamlets Council can assess your pitch for funding

6. HIT YOUR TARGET AND DELIVER YOUR PROJECT

Please note that the council will not be the first organisation to pledge to your project and will want to see community support and backing, in the form of smaller pledges from local people, before they pledge to your campaign. 

Click here for more information on the Tower Hamlets Innovation Fund.

To to eligible for this fund your project must be a not-for-profit and your organisation must be a Charity, a Constituted Community group, Community Interest Company (CIC) or Private Enterprise (with no share capital). 

The Tower Hamlets Innovation Fund is designed specifically to provide match funding support of up to £10,000 (or a maximum of 50% of an organisations crowdfunding target) to organisations based and working in Tower Hamlets. Organisations would need to crowdfund through Spacehive for the remainder of their target.

For more information on the assessment process please follow this link -  Tower Hamlets Innovation Fund

We are interested in funding projects;

• from groups who are new to crowdfunding
• which help with carbon reduction (such as greening, sustainability, food waste reduction, behaviour change)
• activities that increase volunteering or training opportunities
• that help build a cohesive community and help reduce isolation in Tower Hamlets
• which deliver cultural or arts based activities that foster community connections
• that encourage the use of new and emerging technologies in delivering the Tower Hamlets Priorities to residents

Projects created on 'Our Tower Hamlets' must also align to the outcomes with the Tower Hamlets Plan 2018-2023

The objective of the plan is tackling inequality by building a strong, inclusive and fair borough and the four themes that is focused on are:

• a better deal for children and young people: aspiration, education and skills
• good jobs and employment
• strong, resilient and safe communities
• better health and wellbeing.

Visit the Spacehive Help Desk to get immediate answers to your questions. You will also find lots of articles and resources sharing best practice tips on how to run a crowdfunding campaign. 

If you have a specific question about the Our Tower Hamlets programme, you can email Spacehive on [email protected].

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Frequently Asked Questions:

Who can apply for the Innovation fund?

To to eligible for this fund your project must be a not-for-profit and your organisation must be a Charity, a Constituted Commmuntiy grorup, Community Interest Company (CIC) or Private Enterprise (with no share capital). 

Your project must also fit the eligibility of the Innovation fund and be eligible for the Spacehive platform. 

Is my project eligible for the Spacehive platform?

Projects need to be locally-rooted, tangible, and serve a community purpose. General charitable giving campaigns or funds to start a new commercial business are not a good fit. 

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. 80% of Spacehive campaigns are successful which is much higher than the crowdfunding industry standard. The success rate increases to over 95% when a partners such as Tower Hamlets council pledges

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. 

If your organisation is looking to deliver its corporate social responsibilities, demonstrate social value impact or develop positive relationships with the community, then getting involved in the Our Tower Hamlets programme could be a great fit. 

There's a range of ways you could support projects - from financial pledges, to offering space, marketing to advice or supply of materials and voluntary time.

If you are interested and want to find out more, email Spacehive on [email protected].