Crowdfunding could be the future of funding services in Dorset

The ‘innovative’ method is being used to raise cash to aid struggling youth clubs after county council funding was slashed earlier this year.

Senior manager change for children Stuart Riddle says crowdfunding challenges residents to ‘put their money where their mouth is’ when it comes to supporting services close to their hearts.

The Dorset County Council crowdfunding site is now live and the authority hopes the £200,000 it has made available from its own funds will grow to £1m.

Mr Riddle says the extra cash will come from corporate sources and grant giving charities, but mainly from Dorset residents.

And if the method is successful for youth clubs, he added that there is ‘no reason’ crowdfunding shouldn’t be used to finance other services.

In January, the county council’s cabinet agreed to cut £1m from the youth services budget, withdrawing funding for youth clubs and concentrating instead on providing a targeted approach to help the most vulnerable youngsters. They set aside £200,000 to help communities provide young people with places to go, which is the cash available through Crowdfunder.

Youth clubs were also invited to submit business plans, and assets and leases were transferred to the organisations in May.

Now, the Crowdfunder website is live and youth projects are invited to start their own cash-raising campaign. They need to raise 25 per cent of their target before being eligible to get further cash from the county council pot.

Mr Riddle said: “It is not unique but I think it is quite innovative. There are one or two other local authorities doing this, and they have had very exciting results.”

Crowdfunding represents a shift in the county council’s entire ethos, he added.

“It enables us to grow the money, but we are also acknowledging the reality of the situation. As a local authority, we have less money. We are not necessarily the only or the biggest player in town when it comes to supporting projects, so rather than us being the authority which funds everything, we are the authority which contributes and supports others in doing things.”

It is also democratic. Mr Riddle added: “What it is asking people to do is put your money where your mouth is. If you think it’s important there’s a youth club in your village, put some money into it.”

He acknowledged there is a risk that residents may see crowdfunding as being taxed twice – once through council tax and again by being asked to contribute to services which were previously funded by the county council.

“What the county council gets from the government has been reduced, that’s reality. The government has also frozen or limited our ability to increase council tax. We need to look for other ways to do things.”

The county council is running a number of workshops in the autumn to help groups begin crowdfunding.

For more information, Visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/dorset

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