There are three particularly big issues for Birmingham which we want to support and raise the profile of.  The first is loneliness amongst older people and we want to support ideas, campaigns and projects which can help increase social participation and get people more connected to other people and places in their communities.  

The second is a big hidden issue, which is the often unrecognised work of people providing full-time and unpaid care to family and friends (adults).  We want to recognise and support carers to help them get more involved in their communities too.

The third issue is well known, but we want to prevent homelessness and invest in projects which can prevent people from slipping into crisis and becoming homeless in the first place.  This is about supporting people to develop their own capacity and ability to live independently in their own homes.

What do we mean by innovation?  We’re looking for ideas, projects and proposals which do things differently.  This is recognising that there are big issues and problems which can’t be solved through continuing to do the same things.  So we want to support things which don’t necessarily conform to the norm.

There’s two ways of accessing the funding.  You can apply to us before you launch your crowdfunding campaign and if your proposal matches what we’re looking for we’ll provide your first pledge to get your campaign started.  If you’re already up and running with your campaign you can apply to us anytime and if you’re successful we’ll make a pledge during your campaign.

So if you have got something up your sleeve that’s going to make a real difference in Birmingham, then the Council could back you to the tune of up to £10,000, or 50% of your funding total (whichever is the lesser).

Want to learn how to crowdfund? Join our next series of online workshops for projects on Crowdfunder.