The Ledward Centre (TLC), Brighton’s LGBTQ+ community and cultural centre, has launched a Crowdfunder campaign today (Tuesday, November 7), and has been approved to receive triple matchfunding from Access (The Foundation for Social Investment) through their Cost of Living Resilience Fund.*
The campaign, which aims to raise £10,000 to release a further £30,000 in match funding, will run for six weeks. For every £1 donated the campaign will receive an extra £3 in match funding from Access, so every donation, big or small, makes a huge difference.
The funds will be used to complete the fit out of the lower ground floor of TLC, adding a gallery, meeting rooms, classrooms, quiet lounge, youth room, radio studios, offices and most importantly new toilet facilities to replace the single, out of date, toilet that we inherited with the building
The campaign offers a series of rewards for donations. For example a reward for a £5 donation is a voucher worth £7.50 to spend in the TLC Cafe, and will release a further £15 in match funding from Access.*
A £20 donation will ‘buy’ a tile for the donor to create and to be part of the ongoing Make Your Mark project, AND will release a further £60 in match funding from Access.*
*Access will matchfund unique donations up to £150, so a £150 donation will release an extra £450. A unique donation means that only one donation per email address and/or payment card will be matchfunded. In the real world this means that if you decide to make more than one donation over the six-week course of the campaign, and use use the same email address and/or payment card, only the first donation will be matchfunded.
Chris Gull, Chair of the Brighton Rainbow Fund, which facilitated the founding of TLC, said “The Census 2021 confirmed that Brighton & Hove has the largest LGBTQ+ community (as a proportion of the adult population) in the UK. Historically we have come together as a community to create support and facilities for us all, and we’re asking our community to get together again to raise the funds to complete this phase of the project.
“There are something like 50,000 members of the Brighton & Hove LGBTQ+ community, and we all have friends and allies that want to help us too, so please get involved today.
“Obviously we want donations, but we there are additional ways that you can become involved too.
- First of all please go to the Crowdfunder page, which you’ll find HERE.
- Have a look at the rewards, they start at £3 and go up to £150 (the maximum for match funding, though you can donate more)
- Think about whether you can start your own, linked, Crowdfunder page. Click the ‘Fundraise for this Cause’ button, and it will take you through simple steps to set up your page. Donors on your page will also be eligible for matchfunding, and for the rewards listed.
- Think about organising your own fundraising event, a coffee morning, a bake sale, the only limit is your imagination, and then quadruple what you have raised by donating the proceeds through the Crowdfunder page and releasing the triple fund matching.
- Offer an item or service as a reward to be claimed by donation.
- Spread news of this campaign right across your social media and friendship groups and encourage others to get involved too.
“Please help to make James Ledward‘s dream come true, a tangible benefit for our community, and make a gift that will keep on giving.”
