The Package Free Larder
11th July 2019FAQ
Firstly, we would like to thank all of our supporters for donating to our crowdfunding campaign. We have almost raised 50% of our target which is brilliant!
You may have seen that we've added new rewards for out of towners and tree huggers that will allow us to plant trees on your behalf. Feel free to share this to people you know might be interested in helping us and helping the planet: two good deeds for one :)
Thank you so much for your support!
Here is our FAQ:
Why are we raising £40,000?
We are aware that this looks like a lot of money to raise from the community (sure, it is). And as we've already mentioned, The Package Free Larder is a project run by volunteers with one goal in mind: making plastic-free shopping easy and affordable to everyone. Our aim is to run a not-for-profit social enterprise. And crowdfunding rather than taking a loan will enable us to keep our margins low and offer products at affordable prices.
As we actually need a bit more than £40,000, we'll also be applying to grants as soon as our crowdfunding campaign will be over (and successful).
Why ‘all or nothing’?
We have decided to go with a fixed limit campaign mainly because there is a 3% charge from the crowdfunding host, compared to a 9% charge for open-ended campaigns.
‘All or nothing’ means that if we don't reach the goal then all of the money will be refunded to our supporters and that our crowdfunder will have failed...
What do we need the money for?
Premises (rent & deposit for 6 months, refurbishment…) : £20,000
Point of sale system & Retail scale : £ 3,858
Food & non-food stock : £ 7,000
Legal stuff (insurance, licensing, food safety training, solicitor fees…) : £ 3,500
Specialist dispensers : £10,200
Total : £44,558
As you can see, our start-up costs would require us to raise more than £40,000. We are also looking at other type of funding / grants to get the other £5,000 we need to cover all of our start-up costs.
Crowdfunder fees:
Although the amount we are trying to raise seems like a lot, please don't forget that we will have to pay VAT on any pledges that are made and the cost of the rewards themselves (+ postage).
By the end of the crowdfunding campaign, we will also have to pay for:
Crowdfunder fees (3% + VAT) : £1,440
Transaction fees (1,67% + 25p + VAT on each pledge) : £1,040 (for 800x £50 pledges)
Estimated total fees : £2,480
Example for a £50 donation:
[Crowdfunder fees] £180 + [Transaction fees] £1.30 = £3.10
What we’ll receive = £46.90
Where will we be located?
We are aiming to open the shop in the Southsea area. We are visiting premises at the moment and we hope to be able to find a suitable one by September. We are looking for premises spacious enough to have a small workshop area alongside the shop, affordable and easily accessible (car, bus, bicycle, walking...) with ideally a nearby car park.
Feel free to contact us if you think you can help us with that :)