What do a community allotment in Margate, swimming lessons for children with ASD and ADHD* in Dartford, Gravesend and Sevenoaks and a refugee cricket programme with links to the Kent squad all have in common?
They are three of 14 innovative locally-led projects set to go from idea to reality thanks to the Crowdfund Kent programme, which is offering a springboard to the next tranche of passionate individuals wanting to affect change in the place they live.
And they now need your help.
They will join 60 enterprises which have benefitted from more than £1.1 million in total distributed over the past two years, bolstered by nearly 5,000 community supporters.
Kent County Council (KCC) has committed to Crowdfund Kent over the next two years to the tune of £200,000, matched this time by NHS Kent and Medway with an equal investment.
Folkestone and Hythe District Council has pledged £17,000 to additionally boost projects in its area.
The partnership is completed by the continuing support of crowdfunding platform Spacehive, which offers help and expertise to applicants with everything from permissions, policies and budgets to marketing campaigns, pitching to the funding panel and harnessing the enthusiasm and energies of backers who will either put their hands in their pockets or offer their time and skills to help make the project happen.
This time around the focus is on projects which seek to address the challenges faced in disadvantaged and rural communities, supporting health and wellbeing and lessening financial hardship and social isolation.
Head of Voluntary and Community Sector Engagement at KCC Lydia Jackson said: “This rewarding programme very much has partnership at its core. NHS Kent and Medway shares KCC’s commitment to supporting the resilience of communities and addressing the range of issues faced through the cost-of-living crisis and pressures on people who are vulnerable and isolated.
“The initial idea of Crowdfund Kent came from a desire to work closely with a huge network of organisations and community groups that make such a difference to people’s quality of life at grassroots level, bringing forward projects that might otherwise never have happened.
“Over the course of these two years, Crowdfund Kent has become an important part of the landscape with a diverse group of project creators helping communities to flourish.
“The projects are making a big impact, harnessing community spirit in Kent and encouraging self-determination and empowerment to achieve success and sustainability.”
Mike Gilbert, NHS Kent and Medway Executive Lead for this programme, said: “As part of a new plan for improving health and care for people in Kent and Medway, we are very proud to be working in partnership with KCC and others as part of an integrated care system to play our part in reducing health inequalities, improving the health of the population and supporting broader economic development.
“We see this contribution to Crowdfund Kent as a way of demonstrating our commitment to that wider objective as well as projects that directly improve people’s health and wellbeing. Spacehive talks about creating a movement of people who want to make something happen, in a spirit of collaboration, in their local area - collaboration is at the heart of our new partnership approach too.
“As part of our new Integrated Care Strategy we will continue to work ever more closely with colleagues right across Kent and Medway and the voluntary sector to support local people to play a leading part in improving their own communities. What we have found so uplifting about this initiative is the fact that it provides real opportunities for communities to come together and make community led ideas become reality.”
Misha Dhanak, CEO of Spacehive, said: “Spacehive is immensely proud of its Crowdfund Kent partnership with Kent County Council and NHS Kent and Medway. Civic crowdfunding is most successful when organisations truly get behind the ideas of local communities and the strength and ambition of the partners assembled in Kent is impressive. Being Medway born and bred myself, I am particularly excited to see what projects occur from this programme.”
Find out more about how to support the new projects here.
*ASD and ADHD – autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
