From Surviving to Thriving: Maidstone Hackspace

Aim

Help Maidstone Hackspace create more opportunities for people to learn, make, connect and thrive through improved tools and facilities.

Our Story

Since 2015, Maidstone Hackspace has been bringing people together to create, learn, share ideas and enjoy making things.

As a volunteer-led Community Interest Company, we believe everyone should have access to the tools, knowledge and encouragement needed to explore science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.

Whether someone wants to build a robot, learn laser cutting, develop digital design skills or simply spend time with friendly, like-minded people, we provide a welcoming place to try something new, build confidence and feel part of a community.

Every workshop, event, community project and improvement to the Hackspace is made possible by our dedicated volunteers, who generously give their time, skills and enthusiasm to help others learn and create. 

Like many community organisations, we faced our greatest challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Membership fell significantly, forcing us into emergency measures and placing our future in doubt. Following the lifting of restrictions in 2022, we began a long journey of recovery. Through the dedication of our volunteers, the support of our members and careful financial management, we slowly rebuilt.

Despite the continuing cost-of-living crisis, we gradually regained financial stability. But stability alone does not give us the resources to improve our space, replace ageing equipment or reach more people.

For several years, our focus has simply been survival.

Today, we're ready for the next chapter.

Our Impact

Since 2024, our funded programmes have delivered:

• 25 hands-on workshops
• 47 local people supported

These workshops have combined creativity, technology and community learning, giving people access to equipment, encouragement and practical experiences that may otherwise have been unavailable to them.

Every workshop we deliver is designed, organised and run entirely by volunteers.

Skills, Confidence and Wellbeing

The impact has reached far beyond learning how to use a particular tool:

• 100% of Creative Connections participants learnt a new skill.
• 81% reported improved wellbeing.
• 78% reported increased confidence.
• 68% made new social connections.
• More than half reported feeling less isolated after attending.
• 47% of Digital Access & Inclusion participants said they could not have taken part without access to the shared equipment provided.

Together, these programmes have helped people gain practical skills, grow in confidence, form new friendships and feel more connected to their community. They have also enabled people without suitable personal equipment to take part fully and explore opportunities that may otherwise have remained out of reach.

More Than a Workshop

For many participants, the value of a workshop is not limited to the object they take home or the technical skill they learn.

Our sessions provide time to relax, focus on something enjoyable and share the experience with other people. Participants have described the workshops as calming, inspiring and confidence-building. They have made new friendships, rediscovered their creativity and experienced the satisfaction of producing something they are proud of.

In a welcoming community space, making something together can improve mood, reduce isolation and give people a genuine sense of achievement and belonging.

“It helped me to feel confident in my ability and to try new things. I succeeded at something new, and with unfamiliar people — which is hard for me — so I now feel immensely proud!” — Workshop participant

 This captures what Maidstone Hackspace is about: creating a supportive environment where people can challenge themselves, connect with others and leave feeling proud of what they have achieved.

Removing Barriers to Participation

Our Digital Access & Inclusion Programme provides shared laptops, displays and digital tools for people who do not have suitable equipment of their own.

Around one third of participants had no reliable access to a computer for STEAM learning or creative projects. With shared equipment available, 93% said it became easier to participate fully, while 47% said they could not have taken part without it.

Access to the right equipment allows people to join in on equal terms, develop digital confidence and discover what they are capable of achieving.

The Hackspace Spirit Is Returning

Demand for our activities continues to grow, with workshops regularly booking months in advance.

In 2026, we also had our largest representation at EMF Camp in years. Members are collaborating more regularly, sharing projects and once again enjoying the strong sense of community that defined Maidstone Hackspace before the pandemic.

This renewed energy is why now is the right time to invest in our future.

Building Towards 2027

Looking ahead, we are preparing to host the inaugural Maidstone Micromouse Championship in April 2027.

This community robotics competition will bring together makers, engineers, programmers and enthusiasts to design, build and compete with autonomous robots. It will create opportunities for people to learn from one another, solve problems together and enjoy the excitement of seeing their creations take on the maze.

The championship represents the next chapter of Maidstone Hackspace and our ambition to deliver larger, more inclusive and more inspiring community events.

Why We Need Your Support

We are no longer asking whether Maidstone Hackspace can survive. We are asking how many more people we could support if our equipment and facilities matched the energy and ambition now returning to the space.

Membership income, workshops and grants help cover our day-to-day operating costs. While these income streams keep the Hackspace operating, they rarely generate the surplus needed to modernise equipment or invest in future growth.

Increasing costs leave little capacity to replace ageing equipment, improve worn facilities or invest in the tools needed to expand our activities.

This campaign will give Maidstone Hackspace the financial boost needed to move from maintaining what we have to building something better.

What Your Support Will Unlock

Every contribution will help Maidstone Hackspace create more opportunities for people to learn, make and collaborate.

Rather than funding a single project, your support will help us modernise our workshop, improve our learning environment and invest in the facilities that allow us to deliver more workshops, reach more people and remain sustainable for years to come.

Each milestone builds on the last, unlocking the next stage of our development.

£5,000 – Modernising Our Workshop

Our first priority is improving the capability, safety and reliability of the equipment our members and workshop participants use every week.

Funding at this level will allow us to address the most urgent priorities from the following programme:

• Upgrading both K40 laser cutters with modern controller electronics.
• Improving laser extraction, ventilation and air quality monitoring.
• Investing in laser-cooling systems, air purification and associated safety equipment.
• Upgrading soldering stations and electronics workstations.
• Repairing and improving existing equipment where this provides the greatest value.
• Purchasing essential tools and replacement parts.
• Restocking workshop consumables including sheet materials, filament and electronic components.

Wherever practical, we will upgrade and extend the life of existing equipment rather than replacing it unnecessarily.

The exact combination will be determined by equipment condition, safety need and the value each improvement provides to members and workshop participants.

This investment will reduce downtime, improve safety and allow us to deliver more reliable workshops to a wider range of people.

£10,000 – Creating a Modern Digital Classroom

Everything above, plus the creation of a dedicated digital design and teaching environment.

This funding will allow us to replace ageing second-hand computers with modern small form factor systems and improve the way our classroom operates through:

• A small suite of capable, energy-efficient small form factor workshop computers.
• Docking stations so Hackspace and participant laptops can connect quickly to classroom monitors, networking and peripherals.
• Network infrastructure improvements.
• A secure internal NAS storage system for workshop files, designs, learning materials and collaborative projects.
• Wall-mounted monitors and television displays that improve visibility, free workbench space and support group teaching.
• Improved classroom layout and teaching facilities.

These improvements will help us deliver workshops in CAD, electronics, robotics, programming and digital fabrication more effectively while allowing participants to focus on learning rather than unreliable equipment.

£15,000 – Expand What We Can Deliver

Our campaign goal

Everything above, plus investment to significantly increase the number, quality and diversity of workshops and collaborative projects we can offer.

Funding at this level will allow us to:

• Upgrade or replace priority digital-fabrication equipment where this will improve reliability, capability or workshop capacity.
• Purchase additional workshop tools and increase stocks of essential materials and consumables.
• Develop portable workshop kits for selected activities in schools, community venues and other off-site settings.
• Deliver larger workshops and introduce new subjects and learning opportunities.
• Begin the redesign and rebuild of our Hacky Racers electric go-kart, replacing our ageing 2018 project with a safer and more capable vehicle.
• Use Hacky Racers as a collaborative engineering project through which members can develop practical skills and experienced makers can mentor future teams.

Most importantly, this funding enables us to reach more people, reduce barriers to participation and continue inspiring creativity through practical learning.

£20,000 – Refresh Our Hackspace

With our workshop modernised, we can begin transforming the environment in which people learn, collaborate and create.

Since moving into our current premises in 2018, our capabilities have expanded considerably, but the space itself has changed very little.

Additional funding would support:

• Better shelving and equipment storage.
• New seating and a more effective layout.
• Priority flooring, power and lighting improvements.
• Painting and decoration.

A better Hackspace doesn't just improve appearance—it improves the experience for every member, volunteer and visitor who walks through our doors.

£25,000 – Investing in the Future

With the foundations in place, we can begin investing in the long-term future of Maidstone Hackspace.

This funding will support:

• Further development, testing and event participation for Hacky Racers, including the equipment and transport needed to sustain future teams.
• A mentoring pathway through which experienced racers, engineers and makers can support new participants.
• Improved event, outreach and promotional equipment for the Maidstone Micromouse Championship and other community activities.
• A protected financial resilience reserve equivalent to approximately three to six months of essential core costs.

By reaching this milestone, we won't simply be improving today's Hackspace—we'll be investing in the next generation of makers, engineers and creative thinkers.

Leave Your Mark

Supporters can choose from a workshop discount, personalised laser-cut 3.5-inch Supporter Disks and formal Hackspace sponsorship.

Our wood-stained and colour-choice Supporter Disks will form a permanent display at Maidstone Hackspace, recording the names and messages of those who helped us move from surviving to thriving.

You can also support the campaign without selecting a reward, allowing more of your contribution to go directly towards improving the Hackspace.

Help Us Build What Comes Next

Every new skill learnt, every friendship formed and every moment of pride begins with someone being given the opportunity to take part.

By supporting Maidstone Hackspace, you will help strengthen and improve a welcoming place where people can enjoy being creative, build confidence, share knowledge and feel part of something.

We've survived.

We've rebuilt.

Now we're ready to thrive.

Help us build it.

Every project completed, every new skill learnt and every friendship formed starts with somebody deciding to walk through our doors for the first time.

Your support won't simply help us buy equipment. It will help people discover new hobbies, develop confidence, meet like-minded people and realise they are capable of far more than they imagined.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 19th September 2026 at 2:27pm