Solent LEP and council pledge thousands to match Portsmouth area firms' crowdfunding efforts to help them survive pandemic

Solent LEP has handed out £8,000 to crowdfunding campaigns to help get them vital funds so that they can keep trading.

Crowdfunder and Enterprise Nation have set up Pay it Forward to allow firms fighting for survival to set up a campaign to pre-sell their services to ensure continuous cash flow.

The LEP pledged to match the funds.

Fareham-based The Blackbox Theatre is among the first businesses to receive the funding.

It received a match fund pledge of £1,000 from the LEP, helping it beat its £2,000 funding target so it can continue to entertain its audiences through the lockdown by recording it for radio audiences.

Theatre director, Chris Hawley, said: ‘This extra funding allows us to keep going as a company during these tricky times, try out something new, employ some local artists during lockdown and carry on entertaining audiences.

‘A huge thank you to everyone for their continued support and, of course, our gratitude to Solent LEP for matching the monies we've already raised through Crowdfunder UK.’

The LEP is redirecting £100,000 from its local growth SME fund to micro and small businesses through Crowdfunder’s campaign.

Brian Johnson, chairman at the Solent LEP said: ‘We are delighted to support the first businesses in the Solent through Pay It Forward. Rapid response in these challenging times will make the difference between businesses staying afloat or going under. We are redirecting this money to ensure micro and small businesses can access emergency funding now.

‘These businesses and leaders are vital to our local economy and the lifeblood of communities. Because we will do everything we can to protect them and enable them to bounce back.’

Portsmouth City Council is also matching funds through its own crowdfunding campaign, which is a collaboration with Shaping Portsmouth.

Crowdfund Portsmouth is a crowdfunding initiative that was launched earlier this year to help businesses, social enterprises and individuals raise money to help them survive being closed.

Entertainment company, Portsmouth Party DJ has already achieved the goal set after raising over £2,000 from the crowd and receiving £2,000 match funding from the council.