Communities should feel confident and empowered to make their ideas happen, and this year the Aviva Community Fund is working with Crowdfunder to help you do just that. But how does it work?
Crowdfunding is a way of raising money from people who think your idea is brilliant. For you, that’s likely to be people in your local area, but it could also be friends, supporters, or simply some unknown generous member of the public who believes in what you’re doing.
To run a crowdfund this year, you’ll need to set up a page on Crowdfunder where you can collect pledges from your supporters. When you’re out gathering votes from family and friends, you can also ask people to pledge money to help you secure some funds for your community project, even if you don’t reach the judging round.
When community groups and charities turn to the crowd to make their idea happen, they are often met with a huge level of support – and not just in the form of money. Crowdfunding helps drive awareness, engagement and support for the good you’re doing in your community. It can also attract more volunteers or customers. And, a successful crowdfund can be the validation that other funders need to see to get behind you.
Crowdfunding proves that your community really wants see your idea happen. So, why not ask everyone who is voting for you to pledge a bit of cash too?
Don’t just take our word for it though
Herne Hill People’s Piano, an Aviva Community Fund Judges' Choice Winner, crowdfunded twice, first raising £5,960 from 186 supporters to replace their local street piano, and then again raising £3,275 from 36 supporters to create the Herne Hill People’s Piano Academy to bring every child the life-changing chance to learn music.
Project owner Giles Gibson said, “We really wanted the reassurance that people cared enough about the project. We wanted to know if people would actually buy into it; it was a bit of a litmus test to find out if people actually would want to replace the piano or just let it go.
“We used the flexi-funding method as well, mainly because with this sort of project every little helps. So even if we hadn’t hit target we would still have been able to do some of what we wanted, and still with benefit to the community.”
If you’d like to find out more, check out how Crowdfunder are working with the Aviva Community Fund here.
Educate yourself on crowdfunding by downloading and reading this definitive guide.
Get stuck in and start your project.
