Crowdfunder Launched!

31 DAYS TO ‘DOUBLE THE MONEY’ FOR LOUGHBOROUGH’S NEW ARTS & CULTURE HUB

Generator Loughborough CIC has just launched a Crowdfunder campaign that will run from 1st-31st March 2023.

We’ve got 31 days to ‘double the money’ raised through match funding.

We’re restoring the Old Art College’s sizable 1930s Generator Hall, creating a multi-purpose community arts venue in the heart of Loughborough.

The Crowdfunder is now live at this link, where you can also watch a fantastic video where many local people reveal what this unique Loughborough space will mean to them. 

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/generatorlboro 

Huge thanks to the Generator CIC team who shot hours of footage, on a volunteer basis, to make this video possible, including Andy Harper, Jill Vincent and Jonathan Hale. Thanks also to our fantastic interviewees. 

A successful Crowdfunder will show we have the support of the town, which will be invaluable in securing other funding in the months ahead.

Lot of ways to support

Our Crowdfunder story so far

The Generator CIC launches a Crowdfunder campaign today (March 1st), with a rare opportunity for people to ‘double the money’ raised thanks to match funding. We’ve set our sights on restoring the sizable Generator Hall on Packe Street, creating a new arts and culture hub for the town, whilst keeping the industrial 1930s feel of the space which many will know as part of the Old Art College. 

Once open, the Generator Hall will create a large capacity venue, and host events at a scale currently not possible in town, catering for all creative arts activities and for all Loughborough communities.

Director David Pagett-Wright explains the time pressure that comes with the appeal: “The Architectural Heritage Fund will let us ‘double our money’ up to the end of March, with every £1 donated becoming £2, up to a total of £25k. This crowdfunding could generate £50k for the project.”

For Director Andy Harper crowdfunding is also about giving everyone a chance to take part: “This campaign allows smaller, personal donations to be made, and for people who cannot donate at the moment there’s still the option to share the campaign in social media and tell friends and family. No action is too small. We want everyone to feel able to contribute.”

And the new space will offer something unique to the people of Loughborough, as Director Jill Vincent explains: “The size of this space is key, this will be a venue capable of holding large ticketed events bringing new performers to Loughborough. You’ll be able to go here to see performances (comedy, dance and drama), live music, exhibitions, art projects, workshops and heritage events, or take part in making them, this is a space that will showcase events involving Loughborough's many diverse communities, creating shared experiences for all."

For Director Roger Perrett, the project will also regenerate the town on a wider level: “The CIC Board of Directors is working hard to bring more life and cultural activity into the town centre, building on existing facilities and adding a new, wonderful and truly unique space for creativity to flourish. It is anticipated that The Generator will operate as a creative hub, working as a catalyst to help invigorate the creative sector – tapping into the enormous talent pool that we have available in the town and surrounding areas.”

The large space the hall offers will also be available to local groups, businesses or individuals with a reason to gather a crowd, from conferences to conventions to product launches. 

The Generator is being supported by Loughborough Town Deal which awarded the project a £1.6 million grant. Loughborough Town Deal is supporting 11 projects after securing £16.9 million of Government funding. In total, the projects are worth more than £40 million of investment for the town.

And for those of you who don’t already know, our directors  work on a voluntary basis, and as a CIC (Community Interest Company), the project has been set up as a social enterprise that will use profits and assets to run The Generator for the public good.

What the money will be spent on

Restoration has already taken place at the other half of the Old Art College site, the four-storey building fronting Frederick Street. Here the partners of The Generator CIC (Loughborough coworking company Our Neighbourhood) have brought the space back into use with several creative businesses (including Ohh Deer and Cotton Clara) on the upper floors, while the ground floor coffee shop and bread baker, Public and Plants, is thriving.

The Generator Hall side of the restoration needs £2.5m overall to preserve the space and convert it into a multi-purpose community arts venue. The CIC has raised an impressive £2m so far, having secured funding and support from many leading organisations: Town Deal, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Architectural Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, Charnwood Borough Council, Loughborough University and the LLEP. 

With enabling work taking place now, plans are to open in 2024. 

Company Secretary Jonathan Hale details what the money will be used for: “We've come a really long way since creating the CIC in 2015, and we are very grateful to Loughborough University and Our Neighbourhood for their support in helping the CIC to secure the building, but there’s still a funding gap. The bulk of the Crowdfunder money raised in March will be used for essential work: to lift up and repair the roof, adding insulation and soundproofing. We’re literally asking people to help raise the roof!”

Arts, culture and history 

The Generator Hall is part of a sizable industrial building that stretches from Frederick Street to Packe street, a 1930s construction in the centre of town, formerly owned by Loughborough University. This site has a proud history as part of a former Technical College and College of Art. 

Famously, the Generator Hall originally housed the engine from a WW1 German submarine that generated electricity for the college, hence the name of the restoration project. 

Many people have studied there since the building started life as the Technical College training the apprentices of many local firms: Brush Electrical Engineering, Herbert Morris, Bentley Engineering, William Cotton & Towles.

Encouraged by Herbert Schofield, a pioneer in the development of Further Education, many local employers donated equipment to the college so that apprentices learned their trade using the most up-to-date equipment based on real-life work experience. 

The prestigious Loughborough University - renowned worldwide for its excellence in sport, engineering and research - has its origins in the building and the Technical Institute that began in 1909. 

Director Jill Vincent explains the heritage side of the work ahead:

“As part of the project, the stories of these people and organisations will be brought to life through the Generator’s Heritage and History websites. Here the project will digitise, preserve and promote the town’s heritage telling local stories that might otherwise be lost. It’s going to be an archive of the social history of the town, as well as a place of creativity and new experiences. 

“I cannot wait to hear people say they’re ‘going to the Generator’ to see what’s happening. So please help us make it happen, through our Crowdfunder campaign!”

A reminder of how you can support

Visit the campaign page at this link

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/generatorlboro 

• A donation would be fantastic of course, but if not possible right now you can…
• Share the campaign in social media, email to friends and colleagues, pop it on the family WhatsApp. There are buttons to make sharing easy on the crowdfunder page.

Find us in social media and amplify our voice

Like, Comment and Share our Crowdfunder posts in social media this March. This will really help us reach lots of people in Loughborough and Leicester. We are on Instagram | Facebook | Twitter as @GeneratorLboro.

Create some content for us

• Create a post, record a video, then tag us @GeneratorLboro so we can share. 
• Journalist? Blogger? Have a newsletter that goes to people that love Loughborough or the arts in March? Please cover our Crowdfunder story! Click this link to find our press release and folder of photographs for you to use: Crowdfunder Press Release