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How to create a Projects for Nature fundraising campaign

Once your project has been accepted into Projects for Nature, you will create your fundraising campaign on the Spacehive platform. Because these projects are unique, there are a few specific ways you should set up your page to attract larger-scale business support.

Formatting your costs and budget

Unlike a standard community project where you list every individual tool or seed, your Projects for Nature budget should be viewed as a collection of 'mini-projects' within your overall vision. Breaking the costs into clear "delivery phases" helps supporters understand the specific funding needs for each part of the project, making it easier to see their contributions' tangible impact.

Instead of itemising every small expense, create line items for distinct, deliverable phases or elements of the project. This allows a business to look at your page and easily identify a specific 'chunk' of work they might want to fund entirely. This also aligns your funding requests with a realistic timeline that matches project milestones, enhancing clarity and appeal for potential supporters.

Example: Wetlands Restoration Project (£200,000 Total)

  • Habitat mapping & water quality monitoring - £15,000

  • Reed bed planting & silt removal - £75,000

  • Community education hub & boardwalk installation - £60,000

  • Five-year biodiversity maintenance plan - £50,000

Pre-campaign fundraising

You can add pre-campaign fundraising if you have raised money towards this project elsewhere (for example, from a previous fundraising campaign), provided that these funds are unspent. If the Spacehive project is new or covering a different phase then you should not add pre-campaign fundraising. Including pre-campaign funding on your project page helps demonstrate the project's financial progress while clearly highlighting the funding gap that needs to be addressed for future phases.

Permissions

If your project takes place in a shared or public space, you should have a clear understanding of the permissions required to make it happen. We encourage you to have these conversations early; however, for the Projects for Nature programme, we take a flexible approach. Focus on providing a general overview of your delivery plan and any key agreements you have in place, rather than worrying about exhaustive legal documentation at this stage. Ensure you gather all necessary documentation, such as permits or regulatory approvals, and either upload these documents to your project page or clearly reference them. This provides stakeholders with reassurance about the feasibility of your project.

The verification process

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Exceeding Character Limits: The platform imposes character limits in key sections. Ensure descriptions are concise and impactful.

  • Incomplete Permissions: Submitting outdated or insufficient permissions evidence can delay approval.

  • Unstructured Costs: Failure to segment costs into delivery phases may make your project less approachable to potential supporters.

Once your page is ready, it will be passed over to the Projects for Nature team who will assess it in more detail. All projects must go through this process before they can start fundraising.

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