Long Live the Sangha House – Support the Crowdfunder
The Sangha House. Help us secure our home, strengthen our mission, and protect Taunton’s wellbeing centre for years to come.
For ten years, The Sangha House has stood in the heart of Taunton as a place of refuge, learning, and connection. Since opening in 2016, we have welcomed thousands of people through our doors — people seeking wellbeing, community, calm, and a sense of belonging. Over that decade, we have grown into one of Somerset’s most trusted wellbeing centres, offering 25 classes every week, seven days a week, across a wide range of disciplines. We have delivered around 50 full courses, supported 28 micro‑businesses, and built a thriving membership community of 120 people and rising.
But The Sangha House has always been more than a timetable of classes. It has been a sanctuary. A safe place. A community anchor. A space where people come to rebuild confidence, ease loneliness, find support, and reconnect with themselves and others. Our ethos — rooted in compassion, inclusivity, and human warmth — has shaped everything we do.
Now, after a decade of service, we are taking the most important step in our history:
to secure The Sangha House for the long term through a community‑owned restructure and the creation of a Charity Umbrella that protects our mission for generations to come.
This Crowdfunder is your chance to help us make that future possible = https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/long-live-the-sangha-house
Why We Are Restructuring
The Sangha House has reached a pivotal moment. To continue serving the community with clarity, stability, and purpose, we must address three essential needs:
1. To bring real clarity to our community benefit
For years, we have supported people in financial hardship, partnered with charities, worked with the council and mayors, and provided a trusted safe space for vulnerable individuals. But this work has been informal, unfunded, and reliant on personal sacrifice.
The new Charity Umbrella will formalise, protect, and expand this community benefit — enabling us to apply for grants, deliver funded wellbeing programmes, and ensure that no one is excluded from support.
2. To strengthen and diversify our revenue generation
The centre has been sustained through extraordinary personal commitment by the two directors, Andy and Denise Spragg:
Now, we need to look to the future.
The restructure will stabilise the business, reduce overheads, and create a financially resilient model that supports our members, our teachers, and the 28 micro‑businesses that rely on us.
3. To secure the long‑term future of The Sangha House
We currently rent our building, leaving us vulnerable to rising costs and uncertainty.
Purchasing the building will protect the centre permanently, reduce monthly outgoings, and place The Sangha House on a firm foundation for the next generation.
A major breakthrough has already occurred:
a lender has stepped forward to provide the £250,000 commercial mortgage we need.
This is a huge milestone — and it means we are now within reach of securing our home.
What remains is to raise the deposit and the essential legal and professional costs required to complete the restructure.
What This Crowdfunder Will Support
This campaign is designed to raise the funds needed to complete the restructuring process and secure the future of The Sangha House. Your support will directly contribute to three essential areas:
1. Legal Costs
The restructure involves creating a new share model, establishing the Charity Umbrella, drafting service agreements, and completing the building purchase. These require specialist legal expertise to ensure the structure is ethical, transparent, and future‑proof.
Your contribution will help us cover:
- Charity registration and governance documents
- Shareholder agreements
- Legal work for the building purchase
- Contracts between the charity and the business
2. Professional Consultancy
To ensure the restructure is robust, compliant, and strategically sound, we are working with professional consultants who specialise in charity formation, community‑owned business models, and ethical governance.
Your support will help fund:
- Charity consultancy
- Financial modelling
- Governance design
- Specialist advice on community ownership
This expertise is essential to building a structure that will last for decades.
3. Contribution Toward the Deposit
With the mortgage lender secured, the final step is raising the deposit required to complete the purchase of our building.
Every pound contributed brings us closer to securing our home and protecting The Sangha House for the long term.
Why This Matters
The Sangha House is not just a wellbeing centre. It is a community institution. A place where people find support during difficult times, where friendships form, where confidence grows, and where wellbeing is treated as a human right, not a luxury.
During the COVID‑19 lockdowns, when isolation was at its peak, we delivered 1,300 live Zoom sessions to more than 13,000 participants. We kept people connected, grounded, and emotionally supported at a time when it mattered most. That experience showed us what The Sangha House truly is: a lifeline.
We have built this centre with dedication, sacrifice, and love. But now we need the community’s help to take the next step — to secure the building, strengthen the structure, and ensure that The Sangha House continues to serve Taunton for decades to come.
A Future Built Together
This Crowdfunder is not just about raising money. It is about building a future where wellbeing, compassion, and community connection are protected and accessible to all. It is about creating a centre that belongs to the people it serves. It is about ensuring that the next generation has a place to turn to — a place of calm, support, and human warmth.
With your help, we can:
- Secure our building
- Establish our Charity Umbrella
- Strengthen our community benefit
- Support our teachers and micro‑businesses
- Expand our programmes
- Protect The Sangha House for the long term
We have come this far through dedication, resilience, and community spirit. Now, with your support, we can take the final step toward a secure, community‑owned future.
Thank you for helping us build the next chapter of The Sangha House.
We are looking at two lines of fund raising
-This Crowdfunder = https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/long-live-the-sangha-house
-Shareholder Investment
If you are interested in a potential share-holding, contact us directly – [email protected]
Otherwise, any contribution you can make through this crowdfunder will be hugely appreciated.