A New Way for Councils to Support Local Projects

Councils play a vital role in supporting local communities, but with budgets under increasing pressure, many have been exploring smarter ways to distribute their funds. One approach that’s gaining traction is match funding, and the results are worth paying attention to.

By match funding instead of traditional grant giving, local authorities across the UK have been combining their contributions with support from the public and other organisations. On Crowdfunder, for every £1 the council contributes, an average of £2.50 is given on top by other sources.

The Roseland Centre — supported by Cornwall Council.

Stretching funds further

Rather than funding projects in isolation, councils have found that match funding turns their funds into a catalyst. By encouraging projects to fundraise and adding their own contribution as a match fund, they give those projects the legitimacy needed to draw in support from the public and a wider network of partners.

Through this collaborative model, councils have been able to support more projects with the same resources as before. In Plymouth, that effect has helped their City Change Fund raise over £1 million for hundreds of local projects.

Community-led decision making

As demand for funding has grown, grant programmes have become increasingly inundated with applications, making it harder for councils to identify which projects truly reflect what their communities need. Match funding offers a clearer signal, because the level of public support a project attracts speaks for itself. Councils can see where genuine community momentum lies, and fund accordingly.

It has also brought in a more diverse range of applicants than councils have seen through traditional routes. On platforms like Crowdfunder, an automatic matching system notifies community groups of funds they’re eligible for, even if they weren’t actively looking. That means people who would never have thought to apply are being connected with opportunities relevant to them, and councils are hearing from a much wider range of communities as a result.

The Lunch Club — supported by Lambeth Council.

Streamlined fund distribution

Managing grant programmes has historically meant juggling multiple systems across different stages of the process. A centralised match funding platform changes that, bringing everything from applications through to distribution and impact reporting into one place and freeing up council teams to focus on what matters most.

But the real value goes beyond the admin. When community groups fundraise on a public platform, they build skills, confidence and a supporter base that stays with them long after the campaign ends. On Crowdfunder, councils sit alongside both local and national businesses like Aviva, British Airways and British Gas, all backing projects on the same platform. That proximity creates opportunities that a traditional grant process simply couldn’t, for example a community group funded by a council might find themselves visible to a business whose employees can donate through their employee giving scheme, or offer their time through volunteering days. Connections that would never have been made through a grant application alone start to happen naturally.

Empower — supported by Plymouth City Council.

For councils, being present in that ecosystem matters. It places their communities inside a network of people and organisations who are actively looking to help, and that’s an opportunity that’s hard to put a price on.

Find out how this could work for your council.
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