Eligible Projects

Projects must be based in Plymouth or benefit people in Plymouth and help address the demands that development places on the city.

To be eligible, you/your project must:

Meet the City Change Fund assessment criteria

Sign up to the City Change Fund terms and conditions and submit a copy of your
governing/business document and a recent bank statement.

Crowdfunder's additional terms and conditions which details the fees Crowdfunder charges .Please take this into consideration when deciding your projects' target to ensure your final target, minus fees, allows you to deliver your project.

At least 75% of the people benefiting from your project should live in Plymouth.

Funding Model

The Council will only pledge on projects on the 'all or nothing' model. The money pledged will be released only if the full fundraising target has been reached.

Please note that the Plymouth City Change Fund is not a grant scheme. By signing up to the Council’s Terms and Conditions and submitting any additional information required/requested to the Council, it allows the Council to make a pledge to a project as part of the “crowd.” All pledges are made at the Council’s discretion.

To find out more about the City Change Fund please visit the Council's website. Plymouth City Council has also written a paper to help explain how the fund works here.

Projects will be required to send over a signed copy of the terms and conditions, and agree to Crowdfunder's additional terms and conditions before their application can be approved.

Match Fund Criteria

To be eligible for a pledge from the Fund, you will need to do the following:

1. Submit to the Fund and provide any additional information requested through the terms and conditions and/or by the Council.

2. Receive a provisional pledge from the Fund, by reaching at least 25% of your initial fundraising target from at least 25 unique supporters

3. Receive the Fund pledge by reaching at least 100% of your initial fundraising target

The Council's provisional pledge will be for up to 50% of your initial target (up to a maximium of £30,000). The pledge will be made to your crowdfunding campaign sometime after you have raised at least 25% of your initial target from the required number of unique supporters (at least 25). This means that your campaign will then be at least at 75%. You must then raise the remaining 25% from your crowd, to achieve 100% of your funding target and receive the Plymouth City Council Funds.

To verify whether Supporters are unique we will take account of information including, but not limited to: name, address, email addresses and payment card used.

If the project fails to reach 100% of the target the provisional pledge made by the Council will be cancelled. The Project owner will be encouraged to review what went wrong and, if appropriate, to attempt to crowdfund again.

Please note that all pledges are made at the discretion of the Council.

Assessment Criteria

To be eligible for funding through the City Change Fund each project must satisfy all eight of the Assessment Criteria set out below:

1. Has the project signed up to the Council's terms and conditions?

In order to safeguard the use of publicly managed funds, the terms and conditions for funding through the City Change Fund must all be agreed in advance of any pledge from the Fund being made.

2. Does the project help address the demands that development places on an area?

To meet legal requirements (Regulation 59C of the Community Infrastructure Regulations 2013), the project needs to be for the provision, improvement, replacement, operation, or maintenance of infrastructure or anything else that is concerned with addressing the demands that development places on an area. This could include for example: projects which help address the need for local infrastructure; reduce any adverse impacts of development; or helping manage increased pressure on local services by enabling community action.

3. Is the project based in Plymouth, or are at least 75 per cent of the people benefitting Plymouth residents?

To be eligible the projects need to benefit the city and its people.

4. Is it explained clearly what the money will be spent on?

Where there is unspecified expenditure, or a lack of clarity about how the City Change Fund will be used, a pledge will not be made.

5. Does the project promote community cohesion and/or economic, social or environmental wellbeing?

Projects need to have demonstrable economic, social or environmental benefits to a local community and should be consistent with the Plymouth Plan's 'Welcoming City' value where 'Every person who lives in or visits the city will be treated fairly and with respect'. Projects whose intention is to convert people to particular religious, beliefs or philosophical positions will not be eligible for funding.

6. Does the project help address climate change or the cost of living crisis?

Projects need to support the City's Climate Emergency Declaration to make Plymouth carbon neutral by 2030 (https://www.plymouth.gov.uk/environmentandpollution/climateemergency) or the cost of living crisis. Evidence should be submitted showing how the project will help address climate change or support local communities through the cost of living crisis.

For climate change, this could include:

improving the energy efficiency of buildings

supporting the re-use of buildings

promoting walking and cycling

reducing waste

reuse and recycling actions

wildflower planting

the use of sustainable/recycled materials

raising awareness of climate change through events

increasing biodiversity with the installation of bee bricks/bat boxes etc.

For the cost of living crisis this could include:

free events/access to services, particularly for those on lower incomes

the installation of community amenities such as free access to food/cooking equipment

provision of services to families in poverty

promoting reuse/repair rather than buying new

All projects are expected to do something, so if unsure how to meet this criteria, projects are encouraged to e-mail [email protected] for advice.

7. Does the project conflict with council policy or business?

Projects that seek to undertake work that is contrary to the Council's policies (for example, its planning or estates policies) or negatively impact on its ability to deliver its services will not be supported through the CCF.

8. Does the project place any additional financial burdens on the City Council without securing its prior consent?

Projects which add financial burdens to the Council's budgets will not be eligible for funding unless this impact has been agreed by the relevant Council department.

Plymouth City Council reserves the right to amend these assessment criteria at any time.

If you want to find out more about the City Change Fund such as where the money comes from please visit the Council's website.