THE North of Tyne Combined Authority is set to launch a new crowdfunding site to help communities recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Crowdfund North of Tyne will use digital fundraising specialists Spacehive to bring the public, businesses and traditional funders together, to support new projects across Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside.

It will fund projects that aim to bring people together, create or improve green spaces, improve mental health, inspire creativity and opportunity for all, or support social enterprise and co-operative development.

The money raised from crowdfunding could be spent on hosting an event, purchasing new equipment or materials, running training courses, starting new groups, carrying out special repairs or conservation work, or covering volunteers’ expenses.

People and organisations can pledge as little as £2 towards a project and contributions are only charged if the fundraising campaign hits its targets.

The new initiative will be unveiled by North of Tyne mayor, Jamie Driscoll, and cabinet member for employability and inclusion, Cllr. Joyce McCarty, at an online event on October, 1.

North of Tyne mayor, Jamie Driscoll, said: "Coronavirus has hit us all hard and it will take time for us all to recover. Crowdfunding can help us get there.

"Improving our communities is not a spectator sport - we all have a role to play. Crowdfund North of Tyne matches people with the ideas to people with the money.

"You don’t have to have a plan to change the world to take part; we are looking to support projects big and small."

North of Tyne cabinet member for employability and inclusion, Cllr. Joyce McCarty, added: "We’re excited to launch this partnership with Spacehive and I can’t wait to see the range of ideas that people bring forward.

"Local people are best placed to understand the challenges and opportunities in their local area, and our new platform puts them and their ideas in the driving seat. It’s a very creative and innovative project to support communities at an incredibly challenging time.

"People or groups with project ideas are welcome to attend our launch event on October 1 to find out more about how civic crowdfunding works.

"I’m also calling on businesses in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland to join us in offering their support for this initiative.

"The more people that get involved in Crowdfund North of Tyne, the more we can achieve together."

Fundraising campaigns on Spacehive have the highest success rate of any crowdfunding platform in the UK and the platform has become the default way for many areas and organisations to fund community projects.

Founder and CEO of Spacehive, Chris Gourlay, commented: "The Spacehive team are excited to help launch Crowdfund North of Tyne.

"The North of Tyne is the first Mayoral Combined Authority in the country to launch such an initiative.

"We encourage anyone with an idea for improving Newcastle, North Tyneside or Northumberland, to post it on Crowdfund North of Tyne. We look forward to helping people bring their projects to life."

Crowdfund North of Tyne aims to support a batch of new projects in its first year of operation. The North of Tyne Combined Authority will invest an initial £50,000 in them.

The launch event is open to all but registration in advance is essential.