Five charities across Greater Manchester have been selected to receive the first grants from a substantial fund set up by Manchester Building Society.
In partnership with Forever Manchester, the Manchester Building Society Community Fund will distribute £100,000 over the next three years. The first five charities and community groups who will receive a grant this year are Brink Productions based in Trafford, Humbug Community CIC based in Eccles, Rammy Men CIC in Bury, The Quiet Space Greater Manchester and Neshomo CIO, both based in the city centre.
These organisations will receive £21,000 between them for the valuable work that they do within their communities. There will be more grants available for other community projects before the end of the year and applications will be encouraged by Forever Manchester.
The groups were chosen as they offer much needed support for diverse groups of people, helping to equip them with important work and life-related skills.
Brink Productions provides free creative activities for young people, with the aim of keeping them safe and off the street. For over four years, they have delivered DJ sessions, music production, recording, podcast development, and photography workshops. The funding will support these sessions and develop a showcase for young people teaching communication skills, collaboration and the technical aspects of live performance.
Humbug Community CIC will use the grant for its Creative Futures programme, an art course designed for young people (11-18) who are currently learning outside mainstream education. The programme will provide structured lessons in various art techniques, support portfolio development and offer an Arts Award Bronze qualification with the hope to enhance participants’ skills, confidence, and employability.
Rammy Men CIC is an activity-based organisation that supports young adults, ex-offenders and veterans in Bury. It aims to reduce isolation and loneliness whilst also offering referral pathways for housing support, benefits information and mental health and counselling programmes. Its funding will support the ‘Gateway to a New Career’ project, which aims to provide training and apprenticeships to 150 young people.
Neshomo supports young Jewish adults (18-30) suffering with mental illness. The work focuses on coaching individuals post crisis back into work and careers. Neshomo’s project will help those with mental illness to develop the tools and resources to cope on their own and integrate back into work or study. The initiative aims to boost self-confidence, and improve wellbeing and resilience to help the young people prepare for a career.
Deborah Walker visited The Quiet Space to learn more about what it offers for young people in Manchester. This charity aims to help neurodiverse, home-educated young people to socialise, build friendships and develop new skills through quiet activities that aren’t overwhelming, like board games, crafts and creative writing. Its grant is for a collaboration with former radio DJs, Nigel (Wingman) Clucas and Rob Ellis from the Rob Ellis Show, showing young people how to create a series of podcasts.
Deborah said: “It was so inspiring to see the confidence and the ability of the young people to express themselves through the podcast. Skilfully guided by Wingman and his team, the content and structure of each podcast is curated by the young people.
“I also had a chance to see the facilities provided next door by The Quiet Space where a second group of young people were engaged in arts and crafts. This really helped me understand how our community spaces at Manchester Building Society can be more inclusive. The group also taught me about what makes a good podcast!”
Manchester Building Society will return to the high street later this year as part of a significant investment in Greater Manchester.
The flagship new branch on King Street will be a place for meaningful conversations about money, and will make face to face professional financial advice accessible to the many, regardless of wealth. As part of a commitment to building deep local community relationships to support life changing opportunities, space within the building will also be available for community groups to use for free.
To apply for future grant funding rounds which will take place in the second half of the year, please visit Funding & Support – Forever Manchester to register your application.
