THREE months since its launch, Crowdfund Frome has already seen over £20,000 raised for community projects, and with other projects close to their targets, Frome Town Council says they are delighted with the success of the initiative.
Frome Town Football Club’s floodlight appeal is the latest project to have been successful with their Crowdfund Frome fundraising campaign, raising £10,000 towards the replacement of the ground’s floodlights.
Frome Town Football Club said, “Thank you all so much. This, coupled with the fantastic work of the Supporter’s Club, should mean we can order the lights next week.”
Other successful projects include NCT Frome who exceeded their target of £4,500 to set up a Baby Café by over £400 and the YMCA raised £6,000 towards their appeal for a support worker at Routes. Loops Disco has also already exceeded its target of £2,250 to provide the learning disabled community in Frome the opportunity to enjoy a proper night out, in a music venue with lighting, a sound system and DJs. But with a few days left until their campaign finishes, they have extended their target to £5,000 which would allow them to make Loops Disco free for everyone for a year.
The Frome Fire Cadets, another eligible project, are also doing well with 75% of their £6,000 target already reached. If successful, the group will be able to travel to Austria for the International Youth Firefighters competition in July.
Kate Beilby, councillor and project sponsor for Crowdfund Frome said, “We’re delighted Crowdfund Frome has got off to a flying start. I think it’s really encouraging to see such varied campaigns receiving support and hitting their targets.
“In the next few months it would be great to see some smaller local campaigns and enterprises making use of this great community fundraising platform.”
The crowd has successfully funded the projects and added at least £8,000 of funding which might not have previously been accessed. This in turn has released the same in match funding from extra funding from Frome Town Council.
Frome Town Council would now like to see more campaigns coming online and have set up a series of online webinars where individuals or groups with projects can learn from the experts for free, which started this week.
This series, broken down into the three key stages, is suitable for anyone who is thinking about crowdfunding in Frome, from charities to social enterprises, sports clubs and community groups. There will also be an opportunity to get one-to-one guidance for your project.
To support Frome projects go to www.crowdfunder.co.uk/frome and to discuss whether your campaign would be eligible for FTC support email Kate Hellard at HellardK@frometowncouncil.co.uk
