Encouraged by success of the Brixton Pound Cafe, the team at Brixton Pound have launched a crowdfunder with a target of £13,011 to be reached by 10 September. They aim to upgrade the cafe’s event spaces and to serve up a more ambitious menu. Here’s what they have to say:
We started with just a cafetiere and a toaster. In a short space of time we’ve become home to people wanting to find out more about the area, launch a new group, put on an experimental night, or host a workshop. Since opening we’ve hosted over 100 free events and saved over two tonnes of food, feeding over a thousand people in the process.
It’s also the Bank of Brixton, where people come to get hold of local currency.
We’ve done this on a limited budget and without the resources to fulfil every request that we receive from people and groups who want to use our space for community good. With better facilities and dedicated resourcing, we will be able to put on breakfast clubs, provide food training workshops, host regular community meals, provide space for performers and artists, and actively engage more people to become involved in the local area.
What we’ll deliver: 
1) Equip our kitchen to produce more food, better cater for events, and make it accessible for local groups to use
2) Increase the amount of surplus food we can store and save from going to waste
3) Equip the space to host brilliant events
4) Hire a Community Activator to make sure we’re connecting people from across Brixton and bring them into the space
5) Upgrade our electronic currency to enable more people to use it in Brixton.
We have realised that we have more than just a currency here in Brixton. We have a community of businesses, residents, voluntary organisations, and visitors who want to take part in a different kind of economy where people and place matter as much as money. The Brixton Pound Cafe gives them a home, a place to connect, and hopefully become more actively involved in the area. There are no spaces in Brixton where anyone can walk in and leave more engaged in what is happening locally – and empowered to be part of it. Whether it’s coming to our cafe with an idea, or with time to contribute to a local cause, or spending the Brixton Pound, we take the desire to do something good and make it real.
You can support the appeal here.
