WAFFLES are the unlikely tasty treat bringing a community together.

Thanks to crowdfunding, including a £4,000 contribution from East Devon District Council (EDDC), Axminster residents and visitors can now sample waffles and drinks from Waffle, a new community waffle house, which has just opened in the town centre.

Waffle is an innovative not-for-profit organisation, the aim of which is to create a community-owned and run space which will be used to bring people together to form friendships, from the oldest to the youngest, with a particular focus on those who are lonely or isolated.

The directors of Waffle say they are passionate about finding ways to tackle loneliness, isolation and exclusion by encouraging cross-community interaction. As well as organising care home visits, hosting free community events and education workshops they are providing a space for teenagers to go in the evenings.

They even have a 'pay it forward' scheme, whereby customers can buy food and drink for those less fortunate than themselves. For £5, anyone can buy a wooden card which entitles the holder to a free waffle and drink. The card can either be left with Waffle to pass on to people within the community it knows are in need, or the customer can take it away and give it to someone they feel would benefit from an act of kindness.

Waffle raised the majority of the funding it needed to start up its Community Interest Company by running two crowdfunding campaigns. Crowdfunding enables community groups and other not-for-profit organisations, including town and parish councils, to raise money all in one place to make their project happen quickly, without having to fill in multiple application forms.

Sophie Mclachlan, a director at Waffle, said: “Crowdfunding, for us, was a great way to get the community involved and give them ownership from the very beginning and we were so excited to find out that EDDC were offering support through this channel. The process was really straightforward and the guys at East Devon were incredibly encouraging.”

Matt Smith, another directors, added: “Waffle just simply wouldn’t have happened without the incredible support that we received from all over the community in all sorts of ways. Crowdfunding was a brilliant way for us to not only gather funding sources in one place, but also to share the passion behind our vision.”

There is still more than £100,000 of funding available to community and voluntary groups and other not for profit organisations in East Devon through crowdfunding from EDDC. The money available is in addition to a large amount of county-wide crowdfunding money available from Devon County Council and from Devon and Cornwall Police as part of the Crowdfund Devon partnership.

Cllr Ian Thomas, portfolio holder for finance at EDDC, said: “It’s great that we’ve been able to be part of Waffle as they’re passionate about finding innovative and intentional ways to tackle isolation, loneliness and exclusion in their community. Well done to the people who had the idea, put in the hard work and have now seen their idea become reality. If you have a project in mind you think would benefit from crowdfunding, come along to our crowdfunding event and find out more."

Learn more about crowdfunding at EDDC's free introductory session on July 25 at Blackdown House, Honiton, from 4.30pm to 6pm.

Booking is essential - to book a place please email: crowdfund@eastdevon.gov.uk

Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.