Can be a lottery.
For any community interest company raising funds is a distraction from the fun of doing the activities you are setting everything up to achieve.
We want to provide a space so everyone can Make, Learn, Share, & Repair.
Whilst the Sharing & Repairing is coming along, (we anticipate that the Tool Library will up and running by September) - We have began repairing some of the donated tools, and next we will begin cataloguing them in the online inventory system once the computers arrive next week.
The Make & Learn aspects of the Project depend on factors beyond our control, the nervousness around covid being a major hurdle - but once we have a couple of workbenches in place, we will be able to think about organising classes.
All of this costs money and whilst Fundraising can be a (necessary) distraction from the main driver of the Project, it also has the potential for fun stuff too.
Iceland, putting the fun into fundraising
Take the Munasafn RVK Tool Library Toolraiser event for example.
" Play JaJa ding dong!" - Iceland
Each year, In Reykjavik the RVK Tool Library hosts their Toolraiser event - this year they have a 2-day Festival planned with over 20 bands alongside art exhibits, food, drink and loads more.
How cool would that be? We would love to do this, what a fabulous way to raise funds and the profile of the Brighton Community Workshop Project as well as build ties within the wider community, local businesses and creatives.
We can dream.
Of course, other forms of fundraising are available...
The most common form being grants and awards applications.
We have applied for a loads of grants and awards, but mostly our applications have been rejected...
The reality is that there are many organisations chasing very limited funding opportunities.
Many funding organisations have recently prioritised Covid support related projects, and rightly so - but this has meant the funds available to more niche Projects like ours have dwindled.
On a positive note
We are grateful for all the donations we have received from you folks.
So far this year we have received nearly £450 in donations from organisations and individuals, which is fantastic - Thank you.
Early on, during the project's inception we raised £4,000 via Crowdfunding - this provided us the means to keep things going, got us an exhibitors stand at Bentley Woodfair, paid for the garages and showed us there is a demand for what we're doing.
More recently we were granted £8,000 from the Brighton & Hove City Council Carbon Reduction Fund. This money has allowed us to rent the space in The Crypt and plan the development of this space and develop a functioning Tool Library.
You’re a winner baby!
We can start looking even further ahead with our plans because...
We have some amazing news to share.
...we are proud to announce that we have been awarded £10,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund.
This is extremely encouraging and came as a big surprise as these awards are notoriously difficult to win - and we achieved this funding on just our second application.
But don't get too excited
Though this does mean our bank balance is now reasonably healthy we are quite a way off the funding required to provide the dream Workshop space.
The Crypt is fine for small projects and four or five people working on projects, but it doesn’t allow for activities that create excessive dust and noise.
Commercial rent on a workshop space that would meet our requirements could be up to £30,000 annually, this would be a huge amount to secure each year.
There's no rush though, we have plenty of time to get there and we have a lot to learn, our current focus is on The Tool Library, with some smaller crafting workshops taking place in the crypt in the meantime...
Can you help?
Would you like to be part of our fundraising team? We are looking for people that want to get involved and help but have limited time and may not be able to volunteer at The Crypt but still want to help out and be involved.
If this is something you would like to get involved read more about it here or please contact admin@bcw.org.uk to get the ball rolling.
If you would like to support us with a regular donation you can do this by becoming a Supporter Member - details available on our home page.