Crowdfunding a new project with a "fighting fund"

I am running a campaign in my local area (http://bdmakerspace.org.uk) and we’re gaining some traction, but there’s still much work to be done with promotional stuff: Printing costs, costs of setting up a CIC, maybe even occasional expenditure on social media ads.

Do any of our forum members have experience with using one of the crowdfunding platforms to raise a small “fighting fund” for promotional activities?

Obviously, there are the usual suspects of GoFundMe, Kickstarter and JustGiving - but none of these seem quite the right “fit” for what is essentially asking for a few quid towards marketing costs.

I’d prefer something credible, but UK-based, keeping it all “above board”… has anyone tried http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/ or have any other suggestions?

We’re a long way from an actual physical workshop, but we have loads of ideas for events in collaboration with local groups, libraries, etc… we just need a small campaign stash of cash!

Obviously, I’m happy to document all expenditure for whatever organisation we eventually set up.

Any advice much appreciated!

Thanks team,

Simon.

I civiCRM has crowdfunding. Which I think is a free software that started in UK. So two boxes ticked

Also there is a uk based crowdfunding called btfunding or something similar which was focused on social enterprise. Another one called the hive…

But yes, many options, I was told to pick the one that offers the best for your project. I was recommended against just giving but can’t recall why.

From what I can work out, JustGiving requires a registered charity number, so that excludes all but a few 'Spaces.

I’ll look into the other ones, thanks!

Another group that might be worth checking out is https://www.ethex.org.uk/

They organised the funding round for one rural co-operative that i loaned money to.

Whether it would be suitable for your purpose is another question entirely, but they already have all of the certifications necessary from the FCA.

I was planning to use them for another Co-operative i’m working on.

I’ve been meaning to get another set of eyes to look this over. Have a look at their FAQ, and let us know what you think of them.