Sharing Not Wasting food, space, time and skills!

Aim

Help us reduce waste and hunger while uplifting each other & developing our Eco Hub to share more food, furniture, time, skills & potential!

Every day, useful things go to waste:

• Good food lands in the bin.
• Household goods sit unused or get dumped at the tip.
• Skills go unshared while people are getting lonelier than ever. 

Meanwhile, many people are struggling with the cost of everyday life and looking for ways to save money, find support and feel more connected to their community; while physical shops are forced to close down every day...

            We believe there is another way…

What if we made it easier to share what we already have?

• When surplus food becomes affordable, tasty, shared food;
• When unwanted things become useful and beautiful to someone else;
• When an hour of your time helps someone , and someone else's hour helps you;
• When the resources already existing in our community circulates further-

               That's Sharing Not Wasting!

Our town, Belper, is a great place to live with amazing community spirit, but we do have a lot of residents who are having a harder time than we realise:

• 1 in 4 children qualify for means-tested Free School Meals.

• 30% of homes here are single person households.

•  1 in 10 people struggle with mixed anxiety and depression.

As political uncertainties, work insecurity We are lucky that 75% of residents express concern about climate change, and that many people actively support sustainable alternatives.

• When with every new member joining our collective, we safeguard human kindness, social connection and personal development?

We are raising £25,000 from our community 

to unlock another £25,000 in match funding from Aviva!

Together, that could give Sharing Not Wasting £50,000 to cover our project’s overheads and development costs for a whole year!

This means that even more people will benefit from: 

• Affordable surplus food and meals from our evolving community pantry and kitchen.
• Free household goods from our online Belper Recycling group.
• Shared skills from our community workshops held at our central premises we like to refer to as the Belper Eco Hub.
• Shared time - why doom scroll when you can swap 60 minutes of your time doing something you love for someone else, and getting an hour of help with something you struggle with?
• A safe, healthy, alcohol-free ‘3rd space’ for community members to meet to combat loneliness & depression and to reduce the cost of social gathering.

  We need your help to make it happen!

                                               £25,000 → £50,000

Every contribution of up to £250 can be matched pound for pound by Aviva up to a total of £25 000. We will keep whatever we raise, but we only have until 5th October!

This isn't just an idea.

The story started in 2018, when Sue MacFarlane launched both Sue’s Sustainables  and the original Sharing Not Wasting food share project.

In 2020, our household-gifting work, Belper Recycling, began helping useful household goods find new homes.

The idea was simple:

If I don't need it, perhaps someone else does.

Since then, we've been building the foundations for something bigger.

We're developing the project at Potential Space, underneath Eartharmony - the community-owned eco co-operative that evolved from Sue’s shop!

We've joined FareShare Midlands. The membership we pay them enable them to deliver to us and meet their operational costs.

We started selling bags of surplus food for a fiver from our premises at 2 Queen Street, Belper.

And we're developing a TimeBank where people can exchange time, skills and knowledge.!

The foundations are here.

Now we need the resources to bring everything together.

Our project is designed to deliver measurable impact in two key areas:

1. Climate Action: Preventing Waste, Protecting the Planet

Food waste is a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. By intercepting quality surplus food from local supermarkets and producers, we:

•Reduce Landfill Waste: Every kilogram of food we save prevents the release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

•Promote a Circular Economy: Our hub encourages a "sharing, not wasting" mindset, moving away from the linear "take-make-waste" model.

•Education & Skills: We will host workshops on food preservation, low-energy cooking, and sustainable living, equipping our community with the skills needed for a greener future.

2. Financial Wellbeing: Supporting Resilient Families

In the current economic climate, even working families are feeling the squeeze. Our affordable pantry and cafe provide:

•Access to Quality Nutrition: We ensure that "surplus" doesn't mean "poor quality," providing healthy ingredients to families at a fraction of retail cost.

•Community Support Networks: We are starting the process of moving our gifting hub from Facebook to a more private platform which will also include members who don’t use Facebook. This will enable us to also  facilitate the exchange of time and skills (e.g., childcare swaps, repair skills, or professional advice), helping residents save money and build social capital. By supporting community members to spend more time face-to-face in a safe public space, with clear boundaries around needs and offers of support; everyone wins and our support network is strengthened.

•Reduced Financial Stress: Our hub offers a dignified, non-judgmental environment where financial resilience is built through community sharing rather than traditional charity.

[TODO , VERIFY ALL DATES, NAMES, LOCATIONS AND PARTNERS.]

[TODO , ADD EVIDENCE OF WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN ACHIEVED since 2018.]

[TODO , ADD REAL NUMBERS: households helped, items reused, food redistributed, volunteers, events, volunteer hours, etc.]

[TODO , ADD 2–3 SHORT REAL STORIES showing what Sharing Not Wasting has already meant to individuals.]

[TODO , ADD TESTIMONIAL/QUOTE from a beneficiary, volunteer or partner.]

[TODO , CONFIRM PERMISSION to use names, photographs, logos and testimonials.]

This is the opportunity in front of us

We have the chance to secure:

£25,000 in match funding.

But to unlock the full amount, we need to raise:

£25,000 from our community.

If we reach the community target and the match-funding conditions are met, that could give us:

£50,000.

That's why we're not simply asking:

"Will you donate to our project?"

We're asking:

"Will you help Belper unlock another £25,000?"

[TODO , MAKE THE MATCH-FUNDING PROPOSITION 100% PRECISE once the funder's terms are confirmed.]

[TODO , ADD DEADLINE/URGENCY HERE if there is a genuine external deadline.]

Your donation can be part of something bigger

Every contribution moves the campaign towards the £25,000 community target.

£5

You're helping move the campaign forward.

£10

You're helping us get closer to unlocking the match.

£25

You're helping turn a community contribution into a bigger opportunity.

£50

You're helping us build the resources needed to get the project running.

£100

You're making a significant contribution to the campaign.

£250

You're helping us move towards the equipment, people and infrastructure needed to establish the project.

£500

You're becoming one of the people making this opportunity possible.

And collectively:

£25,000 from our community

could unlock:

£25,000 more.

£50,000 for Sharing Not Wasting.

The exact operation of the match funding is subject to the funder's terms and conditions.

[TODO , REPLACE GENERIC DONATION DESCRIPTIONS WITH REAL, CALCULATED IMPACT WHERE POSSIBLE.]

[TODO , WORK OUT WHAT £5, £10, £25, £50, £100, £250 AND £500 ACTUALLY HELP FUND.]

[TODO , CHECK THAT EVERY DONATION CLAIM IS HONEST AND DEFENSIBLE.]

But what would £50,000 actually change?

It would allow us to move from an idea with foundations to a properly resourced community project.

The money would be used across five essential areas.

[TODO , INSERT EXACT £50,000 BUDGET BEFORE FINAL PUBLICATION.]

🧊 Equipment

We need the practical infrastructure to operate safely and effectively.

This could include:

• refrigeration;

• freezer capacity;

• food storage;

• kitchen equipment;

• shelving;

• other essential equipment.

These aren't just purchases.

They're the infrastructure that allows sharing to happen.

[TODO , INSERT EXACT EQUIPMENT COSTS.]

[TODO , CONFIRM WHICH ITEMS ARE ESSENTIAL AND WHICH ARE OPTIONAL.]

[TODO , ADD QUOTES/ESTIMATED COSTS where appropriate.]

👥 People

Community projects need people behind them.

Funding will help support:

• project coordination;

• administration;

• cleaning;

• volunteer expenses;

• operational support;

• appropriate specialist or practitioner support.

We want to build a project where volunteers are valued and supported , not one where people have to personally carry the costs of volunteering.

[TODO , INSERT STAFFING/COORDINATION BUDGET.]

[TODO , STATE EXPECTED HOURS/FTE/CONTRACT PERIOD where appropriate.]

[TODO , EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHAT VOLUNTEER EXPENSES WILL COVER.]

🎓 Training

We want Sharing Not Wasting to be safe, responsible and well-run.

Funding can support appropriate training in areas such as:

• food handling;

• health and safety;

• safeguarding where appropriate;

• project operations;

• volunteer development;

• sustainability and community skills.

Good intentions aren't enough. We want to do this properly.

[TODO , CONFIRM WHICH TRAINING IS ACTUALLY REQUIRED.]

[TODO , INSERT TRAINING COSTS.]

[TODO , IDENTIFY ANY RELEVANT QUALIFICATIONS/CERTIFICATION.]

🏠 Keeping the doors open

There are costs behind every community project.

Premises.

Utilities.

Insurance.

Maintenance.

Administration.

Equipment maintenance.

They're not necessarily the most exciting things to talk about.

But without them, the project can't operate.

Funding will help provide the stability needed to keep the project running.

[TODO , INSERT ACTUAL PREMISES/OVERHEAD/RUNNING COSTS.]

[TODO , STATE HOW LONG THE £50,000 IS EXPECTED TO SUPPORT OPERATIONS.]

[TODO , CLARIFY WHICH COSTS ARE ONE-OFF AND WHICH ARE ONGOING.]

[TODO , EXPLAIN HOW THE PROJECT WILL BECOME SUSTAINABLE AFTER THIS FUNDING.]

📣 Making sure people know we're here

A community resource isn't useful if nobody knows about it.

Funding will help us create:

• posters;

• signage;

• printed information;

• community outreach materials;

• website content and development;

• promotional materials;

• campaign materials.

We want people to know:

where we are.

what we do.

how they can participate.

how they can help.

[TODO , INSERT MARKETING/OUTREACH BUDGET.]

[TODO , IDENTIFY TARGET AUDIENCES AND HOW WE WILL REACH THEM.]

But the money isn't really about equipment.

It's about what the equipment makes possible.

A freezer isn't the outcome.

The food that reaches someone's kitchen is the outcome.

A shelf isn't the outcome.

The household item that finds a new home is the outcome.

A trained volunteer isn't the outcome.

The people they help are the outcome.

A TimeBank database isn't the outcome.

The hours of help exchanged between people are the outcome.

The real investment is in what happens afterwards.

[TODO , ADD REAL TARGET NUMBERS TO THESE OUTCOMES.]

[TODO , CALCULATE HOW MUCH FOOD THE EQUIPMENT COULD ENABLE US TO REDISTRIBUTE.]

[TODO , ESTIMATE NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLD ITEMS REUSED.]

[TODO , ESTIMATE VOLUNTEER HOURS.]

[TODO , ESTIMATE TIMEBANK HOURS EXCHANGED.]

Imagine Belper where...

🥕 Surplus food feeds people instead of becoming waste.

Food that might otherwise be discarded can become affordable food for local households.

[TODO , ADD REALISTIC YEAR-ONE FOOD REDISTRIBUTION TARGET.]

🏠 Useful things stay useful.

A chair, kettle, pan, toy or household item that one person no longer needs can become something another person needs.

[TODO , ADD YEAR-ONE REUSE TARGET.]

♻️ Giving things away becomes normal.

Instead of automatically buying something new, people can look for something already available in their community.

[TODO , ADD EVIDENCE/EXAMPLE showing this behaviour already happening.]

🤝 Skills circulate.

Someone who knows how to sew can help someone who doesn't.

Someone who knows how to repair something can pass that knowledge on.

Someone who can teach can help someone learn.

[TODO , ADD EXAMPLES OF SKILLS ALREADY AVAILABLE THROUGH THE PROJECT.]

⏰ Time becomes a community currency.

Through the TimeBank, people can give an hour and receive an hour.

[TODO , CONFIRM HOW THE TIMEBANK WILL WORK.]

[TODO , STATE TARGET NUMBER OF MEMBERS AND HOURS EXCHANGED.]

🌱 People learn.

Repair.

Reuse.

Sharing.

Sustainability.

Practical skills.

[TODO , IDENTIFY PLANNED WORKSHOPS/ACTIVITIES.]

❤️ People connect.

Because sometimes the most valuable thing a community project provides isn't an object.

It's a reason for people to meet.

[TODO , ADD A REAL STORY/QUOTE demonstrating this.]

We're not creating donors and recipients.

We're creating participants.

You might come because you need affordable food.

But perhaps you have a table you no longer need.

You might need help fixing something.

But perhaps you know how to cook.

You might not be able to donate £100.

But perhaps you can give an hour.

You might volunteer this week.

And need help yourself next month.

That's the model we want to encourage.

Not:

giver → receiver

but:

person ↔ person

community ↔ community

[TODO , ADD REAL EXAMPLE OF THIS MODEL ALREADY HAPPENING.]

Everyone has something to offer.

Money.

Time.

Food.

Furniture.

Knowledge.

Skills.

Ideas.

Connections.

Experience.

Kindness.

Sharing Not Wasting is about making those things easier to exchange.

[TODO , ADD A SHORT REAL QUOTE FROM A PARTICIPANT HERE.]

And that's why this campaign matters.

We aren't trying to build everything from scratch.

We've already started.

2018
Sharing Not Wasting begins.

2020
Belper Recycling begins helping useful household goods find new homes.

Today
Potential Space.
Eartharmony.
FareShare Midlands.
Sharing events.
TimeBank development.

Next
A properly resourced Sharing Not Wasting project.

The next step is within reach.

[TODO , VERIFY TIMELINE.]

[TODO , ADD MEASURABLE ACHIEVEMENTS TO EACH RELEVANT STAGE.]

[TODO , ADD PHOTOS/VIDEO FROM THE PROJECT'S HISTORY.]

We need Belper to get behind it.

A community project shouldn't depend on one person writing one big cheque.

It should be built by many people contributing what they can.

Someone might give £5.

Someone else £50.

Someone might donate equipment.

Someone might volunteer.

Someone might offer a skill.

Someone might simply share this campaign with 20 people.

All of those things matter.

[TODO , IDENTIFY EXISTING EARLY SUPPORTERS/PLEDGES.]

[TODO , IDENTIFY PEOPLE WILLING TO BECOME CAMPAIGN AMBASSADORS.]

[TODO , ESTABLISH NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE CAN MOBILISE AT LAUNCH.]

Can we raise £25,000 together?

That's the challenge.

Not:

"Can one person save this project?"

But:

"Can a community come together and unlock £25,000?"

Imagine watching the campaign move:

£1,000

£5,000

£10,000

£15,000

£20,000

£25,000

And then knowing:

WE DID IT.

£25,000 → £50,000

That's the moment we're working towards.

[TODO , CONFIRM CAMPAIGN DURATION AND CREATE REAL MILESTONES.]

[TODO , DEFINE LAUNCH-DAY TARGET.]

[TODO , IDENTIFY FIRST-DAY/OPENING-DAY DONORS.]

[TODO , CREATE CAMPAIGN UPDATE PLAN for £5k, £10k, £15k, £20k and £25k.]

Help us get there.

💚 DONATE

Give whatever you can.

£5 matters.

£25 matters.

£100 matters.

Every contribution moves the campaign closer to its target.

[TODO , INSERT ACTUAL DONATION BUTTON/LINK.]

📣 SHARE

You don't have to donate to help.

Share this campaign with:

• friends;

• family;

• neighbours;

• local businesses;

• community groups;

• schools;

• organisations;

• anyone who believes in reducing waste and strengthening communities.

Your share could reach the person who gets us over the line.

[TODO , PREPARE SHAREABLE SOCIAL MEDIA COPY/IMAGES.]

🤝 VOLUNTEER

If you have time, we'd love to hear from you.

[TODO , INSERT HOW PEOPLE VOLUNTEER: LINK, EMAIL OR FORM.]

🧠 SHARE A SKILL

Can you repair?

Cook?

Teach?

Organise?

Build?

Garden?

Sew?

Use technology?

Manage social media?

There are many ways to contribute.

[TODO , INSERT SKILL/TEAM SIGN-UP METHOD.]

🏠 PASS SOMETHING ON

Have something useful you no longer need?

Don't automatically throw it away.

Help it find another home.

[TODO , CONFIRM HOW/WHERE PEOPLE CAN DONATE HOUSEHOLD ITEMS.]

What success will look like

We'll measure the project not just by how much money we raise, but by what happens with it.

We'll track appropriate measures such as:

• surplus food redistributed;

• household goods reused;

• people participating;

• volunteers involved;

• volunteer hours;

• TimeBank hours exchanged;

• community events held;

• training delivered;

• partnerships developed;

• resources diverted from waste.

[INSERT BASELINE FIGURES]

[INSERT YEAR-ONE TARGETS]

This will allow us to show our supporters what their contributions have helped create.

[TODO , REPLACE THE PLACEHOLDERS WITH VERIFIED BASELINE DATA.]

[TODO , INSERT SPECIFIC YEAR-ONE TARGET FOR EACH KEY MEASURE.]

[TODO , DECIDE HOW OFTEN WE WILL REPORT THESE RESULTS.]

[TODO , CONFIRM WHO WILL COLLECT/VERIFY THE DATA.]

We want to be transparent.

The match funding is subject to its specific terms and conditions.

[INSERT EXACT MATCH-FUNDING CONDITIONS.]

If we don't reach the full £25,000 community target, the amount of match funding available may be lower, depending on those conditions.

Whatever funding we receive, we'll prioritise the areas that enable Sharing Not Wasting to become operational and deliver the greatest community benefit.

We'll also report back on what the funding has helped us achieve.

We want you to know where your support goes.

[TODO , CONFIRM EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS IF £25,000 IS NOT RAISED.]

[TODO , CONFIRM WHETHER THERE IS A MINIMUM FUNDING THRESHOLD.]

[TODO , EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENS TO DONATIONS IF THE MATCH IS NOT FULLY UNLOCKED.]

[TODO , EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENS IF MORE THAN £25,000 IS RAISED.]

[TODO , CONFIRM WHETHER THERE IS A STRETCH TARGET.]

[TODO , ADD REPORTING/ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITMENT.]

This is bigger than a fundraising target.

£50,000 isn't the destination.

It's the opportunity.

It's the refrigeration that helps surplus food reach people.

It's the equipment that makes the space work.

It's the volunteer who can afford to give their time.

It's the training that makes the project safer.

It's the premises that give people somewhere to meet.

It's the poster that tells someone the project exists.

It's the TimeBank that connects two people who might otherwise never have met.

It's the infrastructure for sharing.

[TODO , ADD EXACT EXAMPLES/NUMBERS to make the £50,000 tangible.]

We believe Belper already has much of what it needs.

The food.

The things.

The skills.

The knowledge.

The people.

The willingness to help.

What we need is a way to connect them.

That's what we're trying to build.

[TODO , ADD EVIDENCE that Belper already has this capacity: partners, volunteers, businesses, food donors, community groups etc.]

So here's our challenge to Belper.

Can we raise £25,000 together?

Can we show that a community can take something that would otherwise be wasted and find another use for it?

Can we create more opportunities for people to help each other?

Can we make it easier to share what we already have?

Can we turn £25,000 of community support into £50,000 of opportunity?

We think we can.

But we can't do it without you.

Help us bring Sharing Not Wasting back to life.

Donate what you can.

Share the campaign.

Offer your time.

Share a skill.

Pass something useful on.

Become part of it.

£25,000 from our community.

£25,000 potential match funding.

£50,000 to build a fairer, more sustainable and connected Belper.

Food.

Goods.

Time.

Skills.

Community.

Let's make sharing easier than wasting.

[DONATE NOW]

[TODO , INSERT FINAL DONATION LINK/BUTTON.]

[TODO , ADD CAMPAIGN DEADLINE HERE.]

[TODO , ADD FINAL URGENCY MESSAGE BASED ON THE ACTUAL DEADLINE.]

FINAL CAMPAIGN INFORMATION STILL NEEDED

Before publishing, we should be able to tick off:

• Exact match-funding provider

• Exact match-funding terms

• Match-funding deadline

• Campaign start/end dates

• Current fundraising position

• Existing early supporters

• Pre-launch audience size

• Real project statistics

• Baseline figures

• Year-one targets

• Three real human stories

• Beneficiary testimonials

• Founder/team story

• Partner endorsements

• Permission for names/photos/logos

• Exact £50,000 budget

• Equipment costs

• Staffing costs

• Volunteer expense costs

• Training costs

• Premises/running costs

• Marketing costs

• Exact donation impact calculations

• TimeBank operating model

• TimeBank targets

• Food redistribution target

• Household reuse target

• Volunteer target

• Community participation target

• Launch-day target

• Campaign milestones

• Campaign update schedule

• Ambassador/supporter list

• Social sharing plan

• What happens below £25k

• What happens above £25k

• Stretch target, if applicable

• Reporting/accountability plan

• Post-campaign implementation timeline

• Volunteer sign-up route

• Skill-sharing sign-up route

• Household-goods donation route

• Final donation link

• Campaign FAQ

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 7th October 2026 at 2:23am