To be eligible for the Spirit of Manchester Awards you need to adhere to the following:
• Voluntary and community groups need to be registered with Macc as either a full or affiliate member. If you aren’t already register now - you can still apply whilst your membership is being processed
• Businesses applying for the Business citizenship award do not need to be members of Macc
• Applicants need to be based in and offer their service in the city of Manchester and volunteers need to be Manchester residents and volunteer in the city
• Groups, organisations and businesses can nominate themselves
• Volunteers need to be nominated by a Manchester based voluntary or community group/organisation that they volunteer for
We are looking for individuals and groups/organisations that are going above and beyond their duties and are making a significant impact on people's lives and wellbeing in Manchester.
Applicants need to write a maximum of 200 words showing how they have met the below criteria over the last year. (The Contribution to the Sector award can cover more than the last year). One nomination is adequate – it isn’t the number of nominations that will determine if an applicant is shortlisted, it is the content of the application.
Video
By applying for an award you are agreeing for a short film (maximum of two minutes long) to be made about your work/volunteer if you are shortlisted. These films will be shown at the awards evening and will be voted on to determine the winner of each category. They will be uploaded to the Community Reporter and MyManchester websites and can also be used on your website and for you to generally publicise your work.
If you need any help please contact Hannah, on 0161 834 9823, or email: [email protected]
The deadline is 3 July (midnight) and you will be contacted mid-July if you have been shortlisted.
The awards event will be at the beginning of October and all shortlisted nominees will be invited.
To apply please complete this short nomination form - fill in your details, select the category you are nominating for and write a short piece on why you are nominating a group/individual/business.
Good luck!
Categories and criteria
Volunteer of the year – outstanding contribution
Volunteers should be nominated by the organisation they volunteer with. Applicants should show how they:
• Go above and beyond their role
• Inspire and motivate others to volunteer
• Have made an impact
Volunteer involving organisation of year
Organisations can nominate themselves or be nominated by a volunteer. Applicants should show how they:
• Promote and retain volunteers/volunteering
• Make volunteers feel part of the team
• Support volunteering through their vision and values
Manchester youth volunteering award
Nominations can be for an individual or a group of young people aged 16-25 years old. They can nominate themselves or be nominated by their organisation or service users. Applicants should show how they:
• Make a difference to the community by volunteering their time and skills
• Are creative in helping to solve a problem/provide a service
Equalities award
Organisations can nominate themselves. The work must have taken place in Manchester in the last year Applicants should show how they:
• Address equalities issues and challenge discrimination - working on one or more of the following issues: race, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, faith or other issues for which people experience discrimination
• Have made an impact
Business Citizenship award
Businesses need to have an office in Manchester. They can nominate themselves or be nominated by a voluntary sector organisation. Applicants should show how they:
• Take responsibility for creating and supporting higher standards of living and quality of life in the communities in which they operate
• Have adopted socially valuable policies such as Living Wage, local procurement, etc.
• Have worked in local relationships with the voluntary and community sector
• Developed initiatives which involve and engage the private and voluntary and community sectors and utilise their skills, expertise and resources for ‘local good’
You can read more about our Business Citizenship initiative here: https://www.manchestercommunitycentral.org/whats-happening-manchester/business-citizenship
Most innovative group
Community groups can nominate themselves or be nominated by a user. Applicants should show how they:
• Are resourceful. Show their best use of limited funds and getting free resources/support
• Use new opportunities to change their service - could be running a new/existing service
• Are creative in the way the service is run
• Think differently in becoming sustainable
Best service user involving organisation
Organisations can nominate themselves or be nominated by a user. Applicants should show how they:
• Involve the people who benefit from the service in delivery and shaping the service. This could be with service users on the Board, asking for feedback regularly or holding consultations. Have service users become staff/volunteers in delivering the service?
Most successful campaign
Organisations can nominate themselves or be nominated by a user. Applicants should show how they:
• Saw a need for change
• Made a difference
Best partnership initiative/collaboration
Organisations can nominate themselves or be nominated by a user. Applicants should show how they:
• Made a difference by working in partnership - Could be a voluntary or community sector group/organisation working with the public sector, private or another community group
Health and wellbeing award in partnership with the Manchester Clinical Commissioning Groups
Nominations need to be from small community groups with an annual income of less than £100,000. Groups can nominate themselves or be nominated by a user. Applicants should show how they:
• Actively encourage others to get involved in improving wellbeing in their community (whether it is a neighbourhood or community of identity)
Contribution to the voluntary and community sector
This category is for an individual and can be wider than their contribution in the last year. An organisation, colleague or service user can nominate the individual (individuals can’t nominate themselves) and the overall winner will be picked by the panel of judges and told before the event. Applicants should show how they have:
• Made a significant contribution to the voluntary and community sector over the years