Co-op and Crowdfunder team up to support Warm Spaces

As people all over the UK feel the growing impacts of energy, food and fuel price rises, the National Emergencies Trust team is keeping the situation under constant review to make sure we offer help in the right way.

At present we are not seeing the public propensity to give that we would need to see to support the launch of our own emergency appeal, but we are supporting the work of our partners raising funds for those in need in their communities.

So when we found out that our fantastic Patron, Co-op has joined forces with our partner, Crowdfunder to fund local projects offering warm spaces, we organised an interview with Co-op’s Head of Community Funding, David Luckin to find out more about it and who can benefit.

Tell us about warm spaces and the role they play in communities

Warm spaces are places where local organisations can offer vital support and services to local people in a warm, friendly and welcoming environment. You can find them all over the UK and they might include anything from a cafe or community fridge, to a library, church hall or sports club.

In the context of rising living costs and energy bills, spaces like these can play an incredibly important role within communities, which is why Co-op has partnered with Crowdfunder to launch its Warm Spaces funding boost. It’s offering up to £5,000 match-funding for local projects providing warm spaces to help them support and extend their services at a time when even more people need them. In addition, we’re giving all groups £500 when they apply to kickstart their fundraising.

Our research among more than 3000 local causes Co-op has supported suggests that 84%* have seen an increase in demand, particularly those providing support for people through the cost-of-living crisis.

What kinds of organisations can apply for Co-op’s Warm Spaces funding boost?

We recognise that all kinds of organisations are offering warm spaces for local people at the moment, so our aim is to make the fund as inclusive as possible. We work closely with Warm Welcome (opens in a new tab) which has a fantastic register of Warm Hubs right across the UK, but you don’t need to be a registered Warm Hub to qualify for funds.

You could be a community cafe that needs extra funds to continue offering your building as a warm space; a local village support group that wants to extend existing activities to support more people in the community; a community fridge keen to promote services more widely or a youth group whose energy costs have increased.

In short, if you’re a local group or organisation offering a warm welcome to local people, do take a look (opens in a new tab).

How does the Match Funding element work in practice?

The Warm Spaces funding boost is offering up to £5,000 in match-funding per local project through the Crowdfunder platform. That means that if an eligible organisation can raise £5,000 from its supporters, it would raise £10,000 in total. Importantly, there’s no minimum fundraising requirement and you can set your own target, so if you’d really like to raise £500 for your local project overall, you would need to raise £250 from your supporters.

More than a quarter (27%)* of the community projects Co-op works with have told us that they’re considering having to reduce services because of funding shortfalls. So our aim is to help local projects to mobilise and raise funds at a time when we know that this can be challenging, within perimeters they feel will work for them.

What is the deadline for applications?

Funds from the boost will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis and at the moment applications are set to close on 28 February 2023. Of course, if there is still match-funding available then that deadline is something that we will review. We want to make sure that as many warm spaces as possible are able to benefit from a fast financial boost.

If someone would like to donate to a warm space in their area, how can they go about that?

That would be brilliant. I would recommend that they take a look on Crowdfunder where they can either choose a location or a project name (or both) - and might find the map view particularly helpful. You can start your search on Crowdfunder’s project search (opens in a new tab).

Lastly, is Co-op involved in any other initiatives to support those affected by the cost of living?

As part of our Community Plan, which is informed by our Community Wellbeing Index, we’re focusing on fairer access to food, access to mental wellbeing support, and access to opportunities for young people; and we’re proud to work on these important areas with thousands of incredible local groups.

The Communities section (opens in a new tab) of our website has lots of information on our latest projects, including our support for the role out of Your Local Pantry (opens in a new tab), which is a fantastic membership service and builds on our work with Hubbub (opens in a new tab) and its Community Fridge network.

To apply for a Warm Spaces funding boost, make a donation or find more information, visit Co-op’s Warm Spaces page (opens in a new tab).

*Findings based on 3,200 survey responses received between 11/11/22 and 06/12/22. Respondents were local causes that had recently participated in Co-op's Local Community Fund.