You know that game where you have to pick the people, living or dead, you’d most like to have round a dinner table? Being a bit of an ideas geek, I have a similar thing about who I’d like to hear speak at my dream conference. I’m lucky that I occasionally get to hear some brilliant speakers from the world of charities and social enterprises.
The LGBT+ Centre in Manchester is a haven, a safe space and a community for many people, especially those who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans. The building has been here for almost 30 years, offering support to those who need it and is a true part of Manchester’s history and future. 
We have extended the deadline to complete our State of the Sector survey to 18 December 2016.
We would like to encourage your organisation to complete our important survey as we want to know how the government cuts and economic recession have affected our sector. We need to know how many groups have lost funding, how many have had to reduce services and how many have had to close or are facing closure. But also how we continue to work together providing valuable services and support to the people of Manchester.
Macc’s purpose is to encourage, support and develop voluntary and community groups and individuals to have a real influence over the places and communities in which they live. So for that reason alone, we’re supporting the People’s Plan as a non-partisan, citizen-led movement bringing new and seldom-heard voices into the conversation about the future of Greater Manchester.
Spirit Story was a week-long campaign held in September 2016 to document the extraordinary everyday stories of our sector. VCSE organisations were asked to choose one day during the week of 19-23 September and tell us about an activity that took place which included food distribution, advice sessions, support groups and a sporting memories session.
We gathered 32 stories which are now in a dedicated place on the Macc website - https://www.manchestercommunitycentral.org/spirit-story-0
We streamed our Spirit of Manchester Awards live, on Thursday 6 October.
You can watch our awards ceremony below.
Watch our Chief Executive, Mike Wild talk about our upcoming Spirit of Manchester Awards on That's Manchester TV
If hard work alone can make something a success, then Manchester-based BiPhoria, the UK’s oldest bisexual community organisation, deserves to have the best Bi Visibility Day ever. Now in its 18th year, the day came about as a result of people who attended an international Gay and Lesbian festival deciding to take action so that Bisexual people were represented as well. In its first year, the day was celebrated in just three locations: the US, South Africa – and Manchester! Now it’s celebrated across the world on 23rd September every year.
Last night (Wednesday 21st September), George House Trust (GHT) held its Annual General Meeting. It has a unique governance structure, one that fully involves the people who use GHT services and the volunteers. It is part of what makes the culture of GHT, a culture where everyone is valued, everyone is equal.
Our State of the Sector Survey in 2013 found that there were 3,093 voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in Manchester, with an estimated income of £477 million. The sector employed the equivalent of 12,400 full time staff and 94,300 volunteers gave 370,000 hours, with an estimated value of £332 million. Decision makers took note of the survey results, we know it increased their understanding of the sector. Some of the key facts (3093 organisations, 94,300 volunteers) are now widely quoted by colleagues in the Council, the NHS and other bodies such as Big Lottery Fund.