Crowdfunding through Growing Great Places: Help bring local community projects to life
Communities across Kirklees are bursting with creativity, and residents have a unique opportunity to help bring inspiring local ideas to life through the Growing Great Places crowdfunding programme.
Launched by Kirklees Council in partnership with Spacehive, the UK’s leading civic crowdfunding platform, this initiative supports grassroots projects that aim to make neighbourhoods more vibrant, inclusive, and connected. A new round of community-led projects is now live — and they need your support.
Projects currently seeking support include Sprout (Strong Parents Reaching Out), which supports families with children with SEND through weekly outdoor therapeutic sessions, offering non-traditional respite for the whole family. Another project, Wizekap Women’s Coalition, promotes mental health and wellbeing through inclusive sessions featuring open conversations, testimonies, and expert support. Milen Care in Batley aims to create an accessible outdoor space to support the wellbeing of older adults through social and physical activities with their Wellness Garden project.
These and many other projects are now live on Spacehive, where residents can learn more and make a pledge — no matter how small.
Supporting these projects can make a significant local impact. Your pledge helps turn community ideas into reality, builds community spirit by fostering connection and shared spaces, and can unlock match funding. Kirklees Council may match pledges up to £5,000 per project through their Growing Great Places Fund.
Allotment success: A Growing Great Places crowdfunding success story
Meet Win from Holmepride, one of nearly 50 organisations that have benefitted from crowdfunding in Kirklees.
“My wife Karen and I moved to Holmbridge, Holmfirth in 2013 from Essex after retiring. I was looking for a way to keep busy and in November 2017 I took up the Chair position of Holmepride – Community in Action.
“My main motivation for getting involved is to have pride in where I live.
“One way Holmepride has achieved this is by using Growing Great Places crowdfunding to develop an improved allotment at Holmfirth J, I & N school.
“The school had an old unused allotment, but it just wasn’t suitable for a modern school.
“After raising an initial £6k with the support of local businesses and other grants we realised that we would need to get more support to finish the job to the desired standard.
“That’s where Growing Great Places crowdfunding came in, helping us to raise over £13k from 60 different backers, including a £4k pledge from Kirklees Council.
“The combined money allowed us to create an accessible allotment with seven raised beds, two being built extra high for wheelchair users.
“We also purchased a polytunnel, storage shed, and all the tools needed for a successful allotment. The money also allowed us to plant a dozen fruit trees around the allotment that the children could pick and eat.
“All the food grown in the allotment was intended for use in the children’s school meals, so they experience the whole cycle from seed to consumption.
“The whole project was about seeing the potential, making something happen, and then leaving it to those who are going to use it and help it grow.”
– Win Harrison, Holmepride – Community in Action
Since its inception in 2019, the Growing Great Places programme has raised over £600,000, supported more than 50 successful projects, engaging thousands of residents in shaping their local areas.
You can visit Growing Great Places on the Spacehive website to explore the full list of projects and make your pledge before the funding window closes.
Find a project you want to support: Visit Growing Great Places