THIS PROGRAMME IS CURRENTLY CLOSED
This year’s Spirit of Manchester Fund programme will provide mini-grants of between £250 and £500 to help bring together two or more different communities within Manchester. The programme aims to support community cohesion by bringing people from these communities together to understand, appreciate and positively value each other.
Macc’s 2018 mini-grants programme is funded from £3000 that was raised during the last year’s Spirit of Manchester Festival.
Spirit of Manchester
The Spirit of Manchester is Macc’s annual celebration of the work of the city’s thousands of VCSE organisations.
We believe it's important to recognise, support and encourage volunteers and local voluntary action. It includes a Festival of events across the city organised by local groups, and an Awards Ceremony in which we recognise examples of great community spirit and all that's best about the voluntary sector. We want to raise the profile of the sector amongst the general public and encourage local giving and active citizenship.
The Spirit of Manchester evolves every year and in 2016 the Mini-Grants Programme was created. The grant pot is replenished from Macc’s fundraising each year at the Awards Ceremony. The funds raised are channelled into providing mini-grants that enable local VCSE organisations to work together to make a difference in their local community.
In all, seven mini-grants of up to £500 were awarded in 2016 and 2017 distributing a total of £2750. £3000 was raised at last year’s Awards Ceremony, potentially enabling us in 2018 to double the funding awarded over the last two years.
Programme focus and eligibility
Macc believes Manchester is a city which shows the world that communities can come together. This true Spirit of Manchester is of a city which rejects division and hatred and celebrates all that unites us, cherishing our shared experiences and shared values. The City of Manchester State of the VCSE Sector 2017 report shows that engagement with other VCSE organisations was seen by survey respondents as a significant factor that would assist their organisation in the year ahead.
The mini-grants programme aims this year to encourage engagement between VCSE organisations and to fund activity that promotes community cohesion. Projects must involve the applicant and another organisation and be for the benefit of at least two different communities within Manchester.
The amount applicants bid for must be matched with an in-kind contribution of volunteer hours or an equivalent amount of funding.
Important information about eligible activity can be found here
Information on due diligence and the Mini-grants main conditions can be found here
The following is a link to the Macc Data Protection Policy which details how any information you submit will be handled - Data Protection Policy.
Examples of mini-grants awarded in previous years can be found here: 2016 and 2017
Programme dates
- The mini-grant application deadline is 4pm on 9 March 2018
- Successful applicants will be notified by 23 March 2018
- Following the successful completion of due diligence checks, mini-grants will be paid out by 6 April 2018
- Projects must finish no later than 29 June 2018
- An end of project report will need to be submitted to Macc by 13 July 2018
Once your online mini-grant application has been submitted, you should receive an automated acknowledgement via email. If you do not receive an automated acknowledgement, it means we have not received your application and you should please contact us immediately on 0161 834 9823.
Support with your application
Should you require support to complete a mini-grants application, Macc’s capacity building team can provide assistance through their usual referral process. Groups are free to request support on the 0333 321 3021 support line or via [email protected]. The team will manage requests subject to their capacity.
Please get in touch with the team sooner rather than later to have a better chance of getting support.
Macc’s capacity building team provides this support separately to the administration of the grants programme and to the decisions made by the grants selection panel.
Good luck!