The Ferret hits £45k fundraising goal thanks to huge community effort

The Ferret has hit its fundraising target of £45,000 after the local community rallied behind the campaign to save the iconic venue.

Although the larger Own Our Venues campaign continues, Matt Fawbert, general manager at The Ferret, told Blog Preston it was an amazing feeling to hit the fundraiser target before the deadline.

Matt said: “We’re amazed to reach our target more than a week before the deadline, we weren’t expecting it to be met so fast – we were confident we could reach it, but were definitely expecting it to be a little closer to the deadline.

“It feels great to have the support of the local community in this way, it shows that there really is something special here that needs saving. We’re excited about what this means for the future of The Ferret.

“I’d particularly like to thank Ed Monk for his huge support in pulling together some fantastic Save The Ferret gigs over the last few months – they’ve been a massive contribution to the total raised.

“And of course, all the bands who’ve played for us on the Save The Ferret shows, and there have been over 100 of them since we launched this crowd funder in November.

“Plus the whole Ferret team have been great, it’s been a fantastic effort from everyone.”

Matt Fawbert is the general manager at The Ferret

The #SaveTheFerret crowdfunder is part of the Music Venue Trust’s Own Our Venues campaign, which aims to save nine grassroots music venues around the country.

The Ferret has been under threat since early 2022 when the owners of the Fylde Road building put it up for sale.

The Own Our Venues campaign has so far raised £1.96 million – which includes a £150k loan from Preston City Council – and needs to reach £2.5 million by Thursday 30 March.

If the target is met, Music Venue Properties will begin the process of trying to secure the building in Fylde Road.

Matt believes this could open up possibilities including converting the space into a community arts hub.

Matt said: “We will keep our #SaveTheFerret crowdfunder open to receive any late donations. Anything extra raised will go towards our plans for The Ferret’s future.

“While our main goal was to save what we have – The Ferret – if we manage to save the whole building, it opens up a very exciting world of possibilities for culture in Preston.

“Plans are still in their infancy and we need to get through this crisis before we can put anything solid in place, but we would love to convert the whole building into a community arts hub for the people of Preston.

“Wouldn’t that be something fantastic for our city?”

To donate to The Ferret, visit the #SaveTheFerret Crowdfunder.