Cheshire West and Chester Council announces partnership with crowdfunding platform Spacehive

Cheshire West and Chester Council launched an exciting new digital crowdfunding initiative on Monday 7 June in front of nearly 150 people online, providing an opportunity to bring community-led ideas to life so the borough can become more vibrant, resilient and connected.

Working in partnership with Spacehive, the UK’s leading civic crowdfunding platform, the Cheshire West Crowd is an initiative that will give local residents with an idea to improve their community the chance to gain funding through the platform.

The Council has put aside several different funding pots.

• £125,000 General Fund, with £100,000 subject to Cabinet approval
• £50,000 Climate Change Fund
• £29,000 Suicide Prevention Fund (Public Health)
• £100,000 Containment Outbreak Management Fund (COVID Recovery)

Contributions from other people and organisations across Cheshire West and Chester will be encouraged as part of this initiative and the deadline to put forward your idea is Wednesday 15 September.  

Now the Council and Spacehive have held the online launch event, two workshops to discuss potential project ideas are taking place on Tuesday 22 June and Thursday 15 July.

• Register for one of the workshops

Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “We’re excited to launch the Cheshire West Crowd with Spacehive and I can’t wait to see the range of ideas our residents put forward.

“It was fantastic to see so many people attend the online launch of the Cheshire West Crowd and show so much enthusiasm for the initiative.

“Local people are best placed to understand the challenges and opportunities in their local area and this model puts them and their ideas in the driving seat.

“I’m also calling on companies and organisations that care about what we do here in Cheshire West and Chester to join us in offering support to project ideas, whether funding or in-kind, so we can turbocharge the success of locally-led campaigns.

“The more people that get involved with the Cheshire West Crowd, the more inspiring local places we can create together.”

Misha Dhanak, CEO of Spacehive, added: "Hearing ideas directly from residents as they reimagine their local areas with the backing of their community is incredibly inspiring.

“Spacehive is proud to work in partnership with Cheshire West and Chester Council and we are ready to support the ambitious change people want to make happen in their local area.”

• To find out more about the Cheshire West Crowd, visit: spacehive.com/movement/cwc.
• Spacehive is a funding platform for ideas that bring local civic and community spaces to life. Its vision is a world where anyone can shape their local area to create places that make people happy, proud and prosperous.
• The platform pools together funds between councils, businesses, foundations and the local community to pay for projects that improve local places, which typically results in projects securing three times more funding than if they were relying on council funds alone. Projects can range from building a new community centre or improving the local park to building a playground or putting on a street festival.
• The Cheshire West Crowd fits into Cheshire West and Chester’s Play Your Part Council Plan.
• Companies, foundations and public bodies interested in supporting projects alongside Cheshire West and Chester Council should contact: partner@spacehive.com.