More than £100 has been donated in the four months since a collection box for a project to shore up Sidmouth seafront was installed.
East Devon District Council needs to find £3.3million in partnership funding to put towards its beach management plan (BMP).
It installed the box and a board with information about the project on The Esplanade in April, for a combined cost of £1,400.
An EDDC spokeswoman said: “Over £100 has been contributed to date through the donation box - and the council will be working with its partners to secure further funding for the BMP as the outline design progresses and as the capital and maintenance costs are refined through the outline design process.”
The box and board were funded by EDDC and county councillor Stuart Hughes from his locality budget.
Letters will also be sent to town businesses to ask if they would be willing to contribute to the £3.3million target.
EDDC expects to get a further £5.7million from central government to implement the BMP.
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