The village that bought a pub

When the future of The Anglers Rest in Bamford was uncertain, villages raised over £260,000 to buy the pub in a community share issue. Listen to this podcast to hear about how they did it, the challenges on the way, and how they’ve turned the pub into a thriving community asset.

Community share issue success for Sheffield Live TV

It’s been a rollercoaster and a learning experience to work on the UK’s first community share issue into broadcast media. But I’m very happy to report that Sheffield Live TV, the local television channel for Sheffield, has achieved its launch fundraising target – with over 100 supporters (including me!) applying to become “community shareholders”. I’ve […]

Media trust: a choice to make

Any George Clooney fans reading this? Whether or not you admire Mr. Clooney, you may be aware of his recent, well publicised spat with the Daily Mail and Mail Online in which he said the publication “makes up its facts.” They apologised – but Clooney has refused to accept the apology. We’ve heard much lately […]

TownFunder 2014: notes, presentations and interviews

TownFunder 2014, a national conference which I organised, programmed, and chaired on behalf of my client Towns Alive, took place on 1st April at Sheffield Town Hall. The packed programme covered how towns, cities and neighbourhoods could secure funding for projects through Community Share schemes, crowdfunding, community development finance and ethical finance, and local lottery […]