Sefton Council

Please note this fund is open twice per year for spring and autumn funding rounds - see the About page for more information on the next deadline.

We welcome new and innovative ways of addressing the Council’s priorities. Please see the Fund Factsheet for more information on the projects that are likely to be supported.

The deadline to pitch your project to the Sefton Crowd is the 23rd March. Projects should help to deliver the priorities of the Council’s Core Purpose. 

There is a £50,000 fund associated with #SeftonCrowd. Create your project idea on Spacehive now for the chance to get a pledge of up to £5,000 towards your target. 

If you have any questions over your eligibility, share your idea with the team here. 

Sefton Community Transitions Fund (Crowdfund) Factsheet

Projects should help to deliver the priorities of the Council’s Core Purpose:

• Protecting the most vulnerable
• Improved health and wellbeing
• Connected communities
• Civic pride and a sense of belonging
• Increase in skills and confidence

We are also interested in supporting projects that seek to directly address climate change, improve local ecology or support local people and communities to address climate change through positive action.

Please see the Fund Factsheet for more information on the projects that are likely to be supported.

Sefton Crowd will be running a spring funding round with a deadline of 29th March. Along with pledges from your local community, there is an opportunity to get a pledge from the Council of up to £5,000 (max 40% of your crowdfunding target, whichever is lower) to help you on your way towards making your idea a reality.

Projects should help to deliver the priorities of the Council’s Core Purpose. Take a look at our Fund Factsheet for more information. 

To get started, create your project on Spacehive and get your project verified. You will then submit your pitch to the Community Transition Fund via the Spacehive platform and launch your campaign.

To be considered by the council for a pledge, you should:

1. Launch your crowdfunding campaign on Spacehive by the fund deadline: 29th March
2. Showcase local support for your project in the form of backers.

Pitches to the fund will be considered typically 6 weeks after the fund deadline. If successful, you will receive a pledge towards your live crowdfunding campaign. The Spacehive team is on hand to share lots of advice on how to run a brilliant crowdfunding campaign.

Join the Spacehive team at our upcoming workshop on 7th February at 12:00 for more information (see News & Events page) and read the steps below to learn how to get involved.
 

1.    SHARE YOUR IDEA + ATTEND A WORKSHOP

Complete our Project Idea Form ​​​​as soon as possible to tell us about your idea and register for a workshop (see News & Events tab for more information).

2.    CREATE YOUR PROJECT ON SPACEHIVE

Create your project page on Spacehive which will match you to the Community Transition Fund. You are encouraged to create your project early, to unlock support from the Spacehive team. 

3.    GET YOUR PROJECT VERIFIED

The project costs and necessary permissions will be checked by Spacehive's verifiers before you begin crowdfunding. Submit early to ensure you’re verified before the deadline. Verification takes an average of four days where project creators have the relevant documents to hand. 

Before you submit for verification, make sure that you have:

• Proof of permission (e.g. event license, council agreement, landowner consent). Read more about permissions.
• Evidence of costs (e.g. building work quotations, links to online shop listings)
• Relevant insurances, policies, or qualifications (e.g. organisation constitution, safeguarding policy, certifications)
• Evidence of any funds that you have received for this project that you would like to have shown on your campaign (e.g. grant agreement, scan of a cheque, bank statement).
   

4.    LAUNCH YOUR CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN AND PITCH TO THE FUND BY 29TH MARCH 

Once verified, launch your crowdfunding campaign, no later than 29th March. Ensure you have submitted your pitch to the Community Transition Fund by the deadline too, to be considered for a pledge from the council.

The council will not be the first organisation to pledge to your project and will first want to see community support and backing, in the form of pledges from local people towards your campaign.

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

Please note: a typical crowdfunding campaign should not exceed three months.
 

5.    PLEDGE

The council will review all projects typically 6 weeks after the deadline and successful projects can expect to receive a pledge of up to £5,000 (max 40% of target) during their live campaign. For example, a £10,000 campaign could get up to £4,000. 

6. HIT YOUR TARGET AND DELIVER YOUR PROJECT 

You need to hit your target in order to receive the funds you raise. Please allow up to three weeks to receive funds once your campaign ends. Once you deliver your project, you can update your backers by completing a colourful impact report on Spacehive. 

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

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

Sefton Crowd is about everyone across the borough coming together to bring local project ideas to life. You can pledge as little as £2 towards a project you want to help make happen. 

Companies, foundations and public bodies interested in supporting projects alongside Sefton Council can contact info@spacehive.com, and we'll be in touch to help get you started.

To be eligible for consideration, your project must meet the following criteria:

• Your project must be eligible for Spacehive, and you must be currently crowdfunding on the Sefton Council Spacehive page
• You represent a registered community group or charity based in Sefton and Sefton residents will benefit from your project
• You must be based in Sefton and your project must promote civic pride by enabling Sefton residents to take a more active role in transforming their local area and/or help to develop resilience within Sefton’s communities.
• You must be able to deliver the project past the idea stage and make it sustainable.
• Your project should deliver outcomes that align to the Council’s priorities

Please note that if you have had a Sefton Crowd successful bid previously you can apply to main Community Transitions Fund after 6 months from the date of the award and can be considered for a Sefton Crowd award again after 12 months.

If you have been successful with a main Community Transitions Fund award you can apply to main Community Transitions Fund again after 24 months from the date of award and can be considered for a Sefton Crowd award after 12 months.