Member Article

Mayor launches civic crowdfunding initiative for smart London streets

A new £730,000 civic crowdfunding scheme has been launched today by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, that aims to get Londoners to back innovative new schemes for London’s high streets.

The scheme will be run in partnership with crowdfunding website Spacehive, the world’s first crowdfunding platform dedicated to civic projects.

In the announcement, the Mayor outlined how the initiative is to canvass Londoners for innovative projects that will help make the capital’s high streets a better place to visit or do business in, and pledged up to £20,000 towards the best crowdfunding campaigns.

This is not the first time Spacehive and the Mayor have joined forces, with Johnson pledging £10,000 towards a project to transform the Peckham Coal Line and stumping up a further £14,000 to a community project in Lewisham which aimed to bring an empty high street shop back into use as a community grocery store.

Commenting on this new initiative with Spacehive, Johnson said: “This is a unique opportunity to empower Londoners to come together and make a huge difference in their community by pitching great ideas that matter to them.

“I look forward to seeing a whole raft of innovative solutions to local issues that will help to make the city an even better place to live, visit and work in.”

Chris Gourlay, Founder of Spacehive, added: “A community coming together around a successful campaign is incredibly powerful. You will meet new people, build new relationships and find the skills to get things done that you never thought possible.

“A pledge from the Mayor will really help you on your way, and there are many more people and companies who will want to be a part of a great idea.”

Londoners have until 1 May to submit their crowdfunding ideas to the Mayor’s Spacehive page in order to be considered for a pledge.

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