Crowdfunding in the time of Covid - Our learnings to the next cohort of community groups

Overcoming the odds

We launched our community pub share offer in August with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, sure in the knowledge that it would go one of two ways.

Succeed in raising the capital needed and we could go about fulfilling the vision for our community pub.

Fail and we join scores of villages losing their last local, and the vital social interactions and community spirit that comes with a good rural pub.

So, I’m happy to report that just under 2 years after starting out on our journey to save our only village pub and just five weeks after launching our crowdfunding campaign we successully raised £260,000 in community shares from 420 investors to acquire and renovate our pub.

The timing is bittersweet. What should have been a most memorable of shindigs on the village green this week will be heavily toned down in light of the recent changes in government advice regarding social distancing.

Still, in other ways it’s a small adjustment in the context of a timeless collective achievement.

Sharing our learnings

We have started to receive enquiries from community groups at early stages of their projects asking about the ingredients for our success. It feels somewhat uncomfortable being asked for advice when it’s still all sinking in.

We feel grateful that much hard work has reaped results, but recognise that we are no more capable than many talented, committed and thorough groups who have not been able to crowdfund successfully.

But whilst it’s fresh in our heads we thought we would share some of factors that we thought were significant in us reaching our crowdfunding target.

1.      It’s hard work – there are very few corners to cut

It’s going to be hard work, and while there are great peer-support networks and advisor organisations out there, (more on that later),there is no getting around that it crowdfunding is a time-sink if you are serious about succeeding.

Once you have done the local consultations to establish there is enough support to press on, be clear on who has the capacity, capability and willingness to do the heavy-lifting and carve up the responsibilities accordingly.

Consultation is key: we tried everything from a good old-fashioned whiteboard, to a virtual-reality headset giving people a tour around the proposed refurbished pub.

2.      Pull in the experts at the right moments

Plan your timelines as best as you can, and quickly identify and engage the specialists you need along the way before you actually need them. The business plan will definitely benefit from input from somebody with some finance experience. And when you get towards your share launch your marketing and communications need to go up a gear.

If you are fortunate enough to have local expertise willing to do it voluntarily, so much the better. If you need some external help, even just to provide a little structure, it could be a worthwhile investment that may reap rewards for you later.

3.      Be bold talking about money – no matter how uncomfortable it feels

The magic of community-owned business is its wide ownership and support base.

Gressenhall Community Enterprise offered shares from just £50. The venture is for the many, not the few and the minimum investment is designed to mirror the inclusivity the business will seek to champion when it trades.

But there are realities to face up to. Raising £250,000 doesn’t come from 5,000 people putting in £50.

Those that are able, need to put in larger sums if the crowdfunder is to succeed. You need to personably identify and engage with bigger backers. If you can undertake a pledging exercise and know you have 50%+ of what you need and where it comes from you have the information to start your campaign with a bang.

Talking about money: there are so many numbers that can get thrown around, make it simple for people.

4.      Come flying out the blocks – momentum is key

Once you know where some of the bigger chunks of your funding is coming from, you want as much of that as possible in the bank within 24 hours of your share offer launching.

We were fortunate to have generous and well-organised investors that allowed us to announce £50k being raised in the first 24 hours and over £100k by the end of the first week.

This has an unquantifiable but undoubtedly positive effect on others, who can see the potential and invest themselves. To get on that trajectory you really want to know you can secure a big enough chunk early to make others believe your project is viable

Orla our chief leafleter on one of two big leafleting efforts making sure everyone knew what was happening.

5.      Communication is everything

And how do you make people believe? Build trust, build support, build excitement.

Considered, structured, regular messaging across all your channels certainly set us in good stead. Using a platform such as HootSuite can help keep on top of your communications.

Make good use of the people in your community to spread the word to others. We used local people to deliver leaflets door to door, encouraged video selfies for social media of people sharing why they wanted to save the pub, and weekly updates filmed on a mobile phone at the fundraising thermometer (a Swan wing created by the local Mens Shed). It doesn’t have to be a slick marketing campaign – just one that is genuine and engaging.

Weekly Zooms meetings and daily WhatsApp exchanges kept our marketing team aligned and coordinated throughout. It’s amazing how much there is to keep on top of in a crowdfunding campaign. It was hard work, but got through it together.

Campaign dogs: Etta modelling our limited-edition Campaign Save our Swan beer from Beeston Brewery and Chilli doing one of our interim share updates in front of our share totaliser made by our friends at Men's Shed

Signposting

We hope this is helpful and hope the tough economic climate will only galvanize groups to step up where they can and create their own solution to what their communities really value.

For groups starting out to create a UK community business – the Plunkett Foundation has the advice, support and resources to guide you through the vital early groundwork

What next for Gressenhall?

The hard work starts. The formalities of facilitating an exchange for the White Swan are under way. We then embark on a 9-month journey to give our local pub a new lease of life, ready to be More than a Pub as a professionally-run, community-owned space to welcome villagers and visitors alike – hopefully from August-21.

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