One of the incredible things about micro-funding is that it can offer means to small ideas and projects which may struggle to get funding elsewhere – fresh, unique ideas which require very few start-up costs to get going and make an impact.
These are the ideas which can really inspire us to consider some of the smaller things in life and, when successful, they can bring people together to start a conversation and encourage others to take small but effective steps to get their ideas off the ground.
As the Liverpool SOUP application deadline for our October event draws close (18th September) we’ve pulled together some of our favourite examples where ideas may have started off small but are certainly not to be underestimated.
SOUP: Every Month (Manchester)
Back in April 2018, Manchester SOUP funded Every Month a group of people which came together to create Every Month Packs, which contain tampons, pads and a chocolate bar, so that people living in poverty can have free access to menstrual products. This is such a simple and effective idea which makes an impact from the moment the first pack is handed out. Every Month is now a registered charity tackling period poverty across Greater Manchester.
Awesome Foundation: Very Sad Lab (Washington DC)
In June this year Awesome Foundation’s Washington chapter funded Very Sad Lab which acts as a resource for plant care and gardening techniques. Locals are invited to bring those house plants which are looking a little worse for ware and as their plants are being nursed back to health can be taught the dos and don’ts of indoor gardening. Upon recovery, the plant will be returned to the owners or offered up for adoption in cases of owner surrender. What a great way to bring people together and share knowledge – saving the planet one plant at time!
RED (Liverpool)
Emma Case is a photographer who’s dad played for Liverpool FC in the 1970s and RED is a community arts archive project, which she started with the simple idea of setting up a website and asking fans to upload their photos in a bid to bring together decades worth of memories and share the joy of these amongst Liverpool’s community of fans. This idea may have been straight forward but it was so effective at bringing people together that it resulted in Emma taking a series of portraits and recording interviews with fans, running a workshop in Anfield and she’s now working to publish a book which exhibits the collection of memories which have been shared throughout this project. All this from such humble beginnings!
Quickstarter: Matilda (London)
This project was funded in February on Kickstarter (as a ‘quickstarter’ campaign) and was design, quite simply, to put more smiles on people’s faces while their sat at their desks. Chifen & Ewan acknowledge that it can feel a little bit lonely being sat at your desk a lot of the time and although “not scientifically proven as [they’re] not scientists” they were pretty sure the idea would work, and so were the 59 backers who helped them raise close to £1000. This funding meant that they could start and finish their project…and increase the number of smiles in the world which can’t be a bad thing!
How inspired could you be with a few hundred quid? If you have a great idea and are based in Liverpool, why not apply to pitch at our next event, 3rd October at Tusk in the Baltic Triangle.
Or if you’d just like to come along to listen to some pitches and enjoy some good company and soup register here for updates.
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