B31 Voices - Bigger and Better

Aim

Run by volunteers, to improve B31 Voices we need a new website & tech. To continue to connect our communities - but bigger & better!

We want to improve B31 Voices so we can continue to connect our communities - but bigger and better!

B31 Voices is a community organisation based around the volunteer run, award winning and highly respected community website.

With the aim of enabling outstanding levels of communication and supporting communities in the South West corner of Birmingham, B31 Voices website and social media presence has become an integral part in the daily lives of many. Tens of thousands of, mostly local, people use B31 Voices every month, engaging with the service and each other, making it an important platform for all in our communities, residents and community partners alike.

We spawned a monster!

Created as a simple blog on one housing estate in Northfield, B31 Voices has grown and grown over the last 5 years, now covering a large chunk of South West Birmingham! We now have over 20,000 followers on Facebook, 7000 on Twitter and around 40,000 people visit our main website every month!

100% volunteer run and self funded over the last 5 years, we now need your help to keep going and move forward!  

How can you help?

We need to raise funds to enable us to maintain and improve B31 Voices:

• We currently run B31 Voices 24/7 from our own technical equipment. Our old devices and computers are barely functioning and can no longer handle the demands B31 Voices places on them. At the moment, the site and social media is pretty much run from one iPhone 6 - our only decent bit of kit! We need to upgrade our tech to be able to continue, and to improve, the service we provide.
• Our website is struggling and needs some serious professional help! Our website is self built and maintained and frankly can't handle the traffic it gets any more! We want to employ a local company to redesign, update, stabilise and future proof www.b31.org.uk

You can become a supporter of B31 Voices by donating any amount you can! We've added various packages of support, for individuals and businesses. View all our packages 

Let’s make B31 Voices even better and keep our communities connected!

More about B31 Voices

Origins

B31 Voices is a community organisation founded and run by two volunteers: myself Marty Taylor, and my wife Sas.  I suffer from Spinal Muscular Atrophy and use a wheelchair full time and Sas is not only my wife and mother to our 3 children, she’s also my carer.  We do B31 Voices because it allows us to help and give something back to the community we are part of and love.

B31 Voices started as a basic blog in 2010. Our first ever post on “B<31 Blog”! (Oh dear!)

Growing up

5 Years On and we continue to be volunteers, however B31 Voices is now far from being just a basic blog.  

Operating professionally and responsibly, B31 Voices has gained trust and respect from community partners and users alike.

Recognised and used as an example of excellence by hyperlocal experts, B31 Voices is now established as an important part of the community.  

What we do now

• Our main aim is to connect our local communities, enabling groups, partners and individuals a voice and a means to engage with each other.
• Online we provide information on news, public services, local events, traffic updates, lost and found items and pets, stolen items, crime etc.
• We support local community groups and partners including charities, West Midlands Police, schools, churches, council and local businesses etc by providing a platform to access a large cross section of our local community. We encourage contributions from all.
• We support local residents by providing a platform to raise issues and promote events. Our website, Facebook and Twitter pages provide a space for open discussion and information sharing, encouraging individuals to engage with each other and community partners. We also provide personal advice and support and signposting to relevant services behind the scenes to those in need.
• We support our local community as a whole by highlighting positive news and actions, encouraging pride in our communities. #PositiveB31

Awards & notable events!

• Best Overall Hyperlocal Blog in the UK - Talk About Local Unawards 2012

• Nominated for a Talk Talk Digital Heroes Award 2013

• Invited to Royal Garden Party 2014 for our work in the community

• Community Engagement Award from West Midlands Police 2014

• Asked to present awards at West Midlands Police Youth Awards and Bournville College Student Awards.

• Studied by various researchers from Birmingham City University

• Previously partnered with Birmingham Mail Communities Project

• Featured on BBC: including Nick Booth blog and Hyperlocal news feature

Who uses B31 Voices?

If you're a business thinking of supporting us, you are going to be pretty interested in these here numbers...!

Stats from July 2012 - March  2015

• Average 40,000 unique visitors a month
• Close to 3 Million visitors
• Over 13 Million page views
• Nearly 7,000 followers on Twitter
• Over 20,000 on Facebook

Moving forward

The growth and success of B31 Voices is as humbling as it is exciting, however where there’s success, there’s also increased costs and workload.  Self funding and volunteering has enabled us to take B31 Voices this far, however, long term this is not sustainable and it needs to become more self sufficient by paying for itself.

There are a plethora of splendid projects, organisations, businesses and individuals in our communities that are still not being seen enough by a wider audience. B31 Voices wants to be able to reach out to these and help them spread their word, connecting our communities even better than before.

Please note: advertising packages will go live with the launch of our new and improved website in the first quarter of 2016 

This project successfully funded on 8th December 2015