Council gives huge boost to community projects through the Cheshire West Crowd

Nearly £200,000 has been pledged by Cheshire West and Chester Council to community projects taking part in the Cheshire West Crowd.

The Cheshire West Crowd, which is being run by the Council in partnership with Spacehive, is an exciting new digital crowdfunding initiative, providing an opportunity for community-led ideas to be created so the borough can become more vibrant, resilient and connected.

A total of 20 community projects have been supported by the Council through various funding pots, covering areas like mental health support, the Climate Emergency and much more. Details of the funding made available by the Council can be found on the Cheshire West Crowd.

A number of projects, such as Crossroads Community Hub’s Greenway Grocer, Chapter Mental Health’s Christmas meal and Incredible Edible Westminster Park, have now reached their crowdfunding targets, while others are still counting on support.

Residents, businesses, foundations and anyone else interested can donate to community projects through the Cheshire West Crowd and any pledge, no matter how big or small, could make a real difference to these initiatives.

• Check out the community projects on the Cheshire West Crowd

Rev Andy Glover, Minister of Hoole Baptist Church, Lead Partner of Crossroads Community Hub, said: “The Hub began helping provide emergency food parcels to those specifically impacted by the pandemic and we’re now excited to have the opportunity to provide affordable food, alongside emergency food, through the Greenway Grocer project.

“It’s always been our desire to provide food to feed bodies and communities and fill hearts with hope through the work of the Hub.

“With the amazing support from Cheshire West and Chester Council through the Cheshire West Crowd platform on Spacehive, we can really begin to fulfil this dream.”

Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, added: “Inspiring projects on the Cheshire West Crowd pitched to the Council and we’re delighted to have been able to support so many of them.

“These projects will no doubt make a real difference to our communities and it’s great to see some of them have already reached their targets.

“For those projects still crowdfunding, it’d be fantastic to see residents, businesses and funders get behind them through the Cheshire West Crowd.

“This platform is an innovative way for projects to raise funds and the whole community to come together.

“We’ll be developing the Cheshire West Crowd further in the coming months and there will be more funding rounds in the future so I’d encourage anyone with ideas to get involved.”

If you’re interested in putting forward an idea, the next deadline is Wednesday 23 March.

• Fill in a short online form

Organisations wanting to explore supporting multiple local projects can contact:

info@spacehive.com.