Projects that could help Plymouth play its part in tackling climate change are being asked to pitch for £15,000 in prize funding at an exciting one-off event.
Plymouth City Council has re-launched its hugely successful City Change Fund and has increased the amount it can pledge on projects to £30,000 and introduced a new climate emergency bonus of up to £15,000 - to help projects trying to make us all greener.
The Council’s award winning City Change Fund uses the Crowdfunder website to distribute the ‘neighbourhood proportion’ of its infrastructure levy and pledges up to 50 per cent of a project’s costs.
In its first five years the Council pledged £475,010 on 93 projects ranging from a children’s theatre to a community hub for dementia patients and their carers.
Now the Council is going even further in its fight against climate change and is keen to hear about projects which bring environmental benefits to the city, to build on work already happening through its climate change action plan.
And it plans to use funding won as part of an international prize, the Cities of Service Engaged Cities Award to boost projects.
Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet Member for Housing and Co-operative Development said: “The City Change Fund was a game changer, not just for the council, but for hundreds of people involved in projects that made life even better for our residents. The scheme attracted national and international attention.
“Now we want to use the fund to help us get greener as well as tap into Crowdfunder’s expertise to share their know-how and help bring the winning ideas to life. What’s more we are using the prize money we won to go back into the communities.”
Dawn Bebe, Co-Founder and Director at Crowdfunder added: "We hope to uncover amazing projects right here in Plymouth making a significant contribution to the city’s efforts to respond to climate change. Crowdfunder is all about tackling society’s challenges by making ideas happen, we want to hear about those great ideas and we have the extra funding and coaching available to make those ideas a reality."
If you’re a group, business or organisation with a cracking idea to help address climate change, the Council wants to hear from you. It could be a plan to tackle waste, improve a green or blue space, a grow-your-own project or something to do with sustainable energy.
Not only will the 10 successful projects receive a guaranteed £250 prize pledge to go towards a crowdfunding campaign, the three projects that raise the most money will go on to present their idea to a panel of industry experts at the 'Plymouth Climate Challenge Live Final' as well as receive a further £2,500 prize-funding each.
The winner will also receive a £5,000 prize-funding award to go toward their crowdfunding campaign. The live final will be streamed on social media, showcasing the amazing work our communities and the Council are doing to combat this climate emergency.
The competition opens for entries on 14 September with entries closing on Monday 28 September at midday. To enter please visit: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/plymouth-climate-challenge