Aviva Community Fund has provided £9,371 of match funding
More Seats - More Jobs
Exeter, England, United Kingdom
Aim
Help us raise £20k to refurbish The Birdhouse - a community café and social enterprise providing jobs for adults with learning disabilities.
Who are we?
We’re Garland @ The Birdhouse. In 2024, we opened our small community café with a mission to provide paid employment, training, and community engagement for people who often face exclusion from work and social opportunities.
The café is run by a small team, including our amazing manager Kelly, and a group of adults with learning disabilities who are building skills, confidence, and independence through meaningful employment. We also open the space to local community groups for workshops, events, and activities.
Our project directly supports Financial Wellbeing by offering real wages, improving job prospects, and creating inclusive work environments where people with disabilities can thrive.
Why are we crowdfunding?
After a fantastic first year, the Birdhouse has outgrown its current setup. Our indoor seating is cramped and inflexible, while the kitchen layout limits both what we can serve and how many people we can train.
We’re crowdfunding for £20,000 to transform the café- knocking through a wall to create more seating, redesigning the kitchen for efficiency, and upgrading equipment. These changes will make the space work better for our staff, customers, and community. Most importantly, it means we can offer more jobs to people currently on our waiting list and expand our impact all year round, whatever the weather.
Our current seating area, which is very small and restrictive
How will we spend the money raised?
1. Knock through a wall to open up indoor seating
2. Reconfigure kitchen layout to improve workflow and accessibility
3. Upgrade key café equipment
4. New flexible seating and furniture for customers and community groups
How can you help?
There are two simple ways to get involved and support our project:
1. Make a donation
Every pledge gets us closer to our goal. Early support can help build momentum and inspire others to give too. Aviva will double every donation up to £250, so your gift goes twice as far!
2. Spread the word
Share our project with friends, family and your wider network. The more people we reach, the more likely we are to succeed.
Aviva Employee Giving has provided £240 of match funding
This project successfully funded on 16th October 2025