More than £5,000 has been pledged to ensure the city has increased arts and culture coverage through Blog Preston.

Organisations and individuals have contributed to our crowdfunder and helped us to unlock match-funding from the Lancashire Culture and Sport Fund.

We’re pleased to announce the total needed on our Spacehive page was hit this week and means the funding can now be accessed to get the project going.

Co-editor Kate Rosindale who will spearhead increased what’s on and arts coverage for the city said: “I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve met our target for boosting our arts and culture coverage in Preston.

“Thank you to everyone who has supported by pledging, no matter how big or small.

“I think it is testament to the impact Blog Preston has had in the community in the past 15 years that we managed to reach the total needed well within the deadline.

“We will take this opportunity really seriously and use this money to make a difference for as many people as possible when it comes to accessing arts, culture and events in the city.”

What happens now?

We bid for funding to ramp up our what’s on coverage over the next 12-months with a focus on arts and cultural events.

Each time we publish a story that was made possible by this funding we’ll indicate this at the bottom of the story.

In the next few months we’ll also be working on revamping our what’s on in Preston page to ensure it showcases as many upcoming events as possible.

How can I help?

We don’t have a crystal ball and so if you’re someone who puts on events in the city or surrounding area – tell us about them, no matter how big or how small they are.

Part of bidding for this funding was that without a main venue, the Guild Hall, the arts and events scene is very fragmented in Preston.

So drop us a line on contactus@blogpreston.co.uk so we can cover what you’re doing and we’ll also confirm more details about our new what’s on and listings page once we’ve got it live in the coming months.

Can still make a pledge?

Absolutely, the Spacehive page is open until the end of March and anything over and above our planned total then we will put this towards even more increased arts and events coverage for the city. As a Community Interest Company then the money we make goes back into community reporting on the city and helps support the resources needed to do this.

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