Created by Worcestershire County Council in partnership with crowdfunding platform Spacehive, Crowdfund Worcestershire is a new crowdfunding initiative that provides organisations countywide with a platform to pitch their local project ideas and raise funds to bring it to life.

This programme will become a springboard for locally-led ideas to attract funding more easily, while enabling everyone who cares about their community to contribute - chipping in as little as £2 can help a project on its way to success. 

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

Anyone is welcome to crowdfund on Spacehive, but to pitch for additional funding from the county council, projects should fit one or more of the following themes:

• Food and fuel poverty

• Social isolation and befriending

• Supporting people into employment

• Community capacity building e.g. recruiting volunteers, start up costs for groups, pilot activities etc

• Healthy Communities – activities to improve the health and wellbeing of the local community

The Spacehive team is on hand to share lots of advice on how to run a brilliant crowdfunding campaign. See 'How It Works' below for more information.

SHARE YOUR IDEA

To get started, complete our short form to tell us more about your project idea.

PROJECT PAGE & PITCH - BY 28TH SEPTEMBER

Create your online project page which will match you to the Crowdfund Worcestershire Fund. The council will ask you some additional questions about your project.

VERIFICATION

Your project costs and permissions will then be verified. Have key documents to hand for speedy verification. This may take 1-2 weeks.

ASSESSMENT & PLEDGE - BY LATE OCTOBER

Once ready to be verified, your project will be scored against the council's fund criteria. If your pitch is successful, you will receive a pledge towards your target before you begin crowdfunding - up to 50% of your target, or a max of £10,000. 

Please note, if pitching to other funders on Spacehive, they may want to see evidence of local support for your project in the form of backers towards your crowdfunding campaign prior to assessment. Please check the process for each fund. 

CROWDFUNDING

Following the pitch outcome, launch and run your crowdfunding campaign asap. Aim to hit your target before Christmas 2022. Start with a ‘soft launch’, asking those close to you to back the project, before reaching out to a wider audience. Be sure to access advice from the Spacehive team.

HIT YOUR TARGET AND DELIVER YOUR PROJECT!

You must hit your target to unlock the funds raised and deliver your project as outlined on Spacehive. Once complete, share a colourful impact report with your backers.