The next funding round
The next funding window is open with a deadline of the 30th of September to have your project ready and to start your crowdfunding campaign.

Free Workshop
Register here for our next free online crowdfunding workshop on Wednesday the 1st of July from 12noon - 1pm

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1) Create a project page
Head to spacehive.com/create to get started.
You’ll need to register for an account and share your project idea. 

2) Apply for council funds
The Spacehive platform will match you to the council funds available through the programme based on your project location. Here you will need to answer some questions from the council regarding your project. The main fund associated with Crowdfund Leicester is called the Community Engagement Fund, where the City Council can donate up to 3,000 to your project. See the tab below for more information. 

3) Get your project verified

Before you can start crowdfunding, your project is checked to ensure all of the necessary permissions and governance are in place. You will need to supply quotes for the main cost items in your project budget. See the help centre here for verification guidance. Remember to add any pre-campaign funds to demonstrate existing support to the project, see the help centre here for guidance.

4) Start crowdfunding
Once your crowdfunding campaign is launched on the Spacehive platform, start raising funds to demonstrate local support. A typical crowdfunding campaign runs for 6-12 weeks. Spacehive offers guidance here to help you achieve your crowdfunding target. If you are successful in receiving a council donation, it will be added to your crowdfunding campaign.

5) Hit your target and deliver your project
Projects must hit their crowdfunding target in order to receive the council donation. Once you hit your crowdfunding target, you’ll receive your funds within a few weeks and you can start delivering your project.

6) Deliver and complete an impact report

Once crowdfunding is complete, deliver your project within six months and complete an impact report on Spacehive. This is mandatory and shares your success with backers and the council.

Support

• For detailed guidance on each step, visit the Spacehive Help Centre

• For any additional questions, please contact Spacehive [email protected]

For local Leicester City Counil support, please contact [email protected]

CrowdFund Leicester enables stakeholders across Leicester and beyond to support local groups in turning their ideas into a reality.

A number of funds are available to support projects through CrowdFund Leicester and multiple funds can pledge to the same project.

1. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FUND 

The City Mayor is looking to fund innovative activities that can make a real difference to communities across Leicester, particularly people who are normally considered “underserved”, “hard to reach” or “difficult to engage”.

This programme is not a good fit for business as usual projects.

Each project can bid for a pledge of up to £3,000 from the City Mayor’s Community Engagement Fund, stretching up to £10,000 for very large and ambitious projects.

The Community Engagement Fund will not fund the whole of your project. In most cases, the pledges will be around 33% of a project’s crowdfunding target. In exceptional circumstances, the City Mayor may pledge up to 50% of the target. You therefore need to run an engaging crowdfunding campaign and gain the support of the public in order to hit your overall target.

To be considered for a pledge from this fund, projects must benefit the community and fulfil a need that isn't being met in any other way.

They should also be inclusive: you may want to show how the project will benefit groups of people with “protected characteristics” named in the Public Sector Equality Duty: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Examples might include:

• A community garden project to widen paths and add ramps, giving access to wheelchair users.
• Setting up boxing sessions for young girls who may have previously felt excluded from the sport.

Eligibility

The Community Engagement Fund can only pledge to projects that will be delivered by a constituted organisation. If you are an individual and have an idea, you will need to join or form an organisation to develop and share your proposal. Help can be provided with this where necessary.

Suitable organisations include:

• Charitable incorporated organisation;
• Community interest company;
• Company limited by guarantee;
• Registered charity;
• Trust;
• Unincorporated association.

The organisation will be required to:

• enter into a contractual agreement with Leicester City Council
• provide bank details
• provide charity or company number, if relevant
• deliver the project.

In general food banks and other schemes designed solely to alleviate poverty are not a good fit for this fund. Other council departments can offer more relevant support and funding. Please email [email protected] to be put in contact with them.

Projects for standalone statues are not eligible for the fund. However, if there are additional elements of community engagement, such as workshops with local school children explaining the importance of the statue, then the Community Engagement Fund could be relevant.

Any questions or concerns, drop Spacehive an email on [email protected], tell us a little more about your project so we can support you with the next steps. 

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2. WARD COMMUNITY FUNDING

Each ward is allocated a yearly budget which can be used to support projects that bring benefits to the community within the ward. These projects can also be crowdfunding as part of Crowdfund Leicester, where the pledge from your local ward can be used to support your campaign. 

If you are interested in applying for Ward communtity funding and feeding it into your crowdfunding campaign, you need to apply seperately. See here for more information. 

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3. Cycling UK

Cycling UK is a national charity focused on breaking down the barriers to cycling and making it accessible to a wider group of people. Organisations in Leicester can apply for grants of up to £3,000 for projects which help adults to start or return to cycling.

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4. CYLE CHALLENGE 

As part of the cycle challenge, one-off grants are available for projects, rides, publicity, training or other events that help get more people on their bikes. 

£300 grants can be included in crowdfunding campaigns as part of CrowdFund Leicester, though if you are interested in applying for a pledge from the cycle challenge, you will need to apply seperately. See here for more information. 

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5. Community Walking Grant Fund

One-off £300 grants are available from Leicester City Council through the Joint Air Quality Commission (JAQU) for projects, that encourage people to walk locally in Leicester. 

These £300 grants can also be fed into crowdfunding campaigns as part of Crowdfund Leicester. Successful projects who are also running a crowdfunding campaign will have a £300 pledge made onto their crowdfunding campaign. 

The scheme is open to city-based groups to promote more people explore the city on foot by walking locally in Leicester.