A community fund provided for the growth of social enterprises and voluntary groups across Manchester has bolstered 53 projects with a total of £100,000 since launching in April 2015.
One Manchester, the place-making organisation responsible for delivering the fund, has allocated sums ranging from £1,000 to £5,000 to each successful 
project over the course of the year. The investments form part of a five-year £500,000 grant known as the One Manchester Community Fund, which is targeted towards socially innovative projects across the city.
One Manchester currently manages 12,500 properties across the city as part of its remit to transform local communities and change people’s lives. It is estimated that more than 2,500 local residents, many of whom are One Manchester’s customers, have directly benefited from access to these funded community projects to date. These range from cultural and sporting groups to health and wellbeing initiatives, skills and training schemes, social enterprises, as well as place-making and community projects.
The One Manchester Community Fund has been delivered in three separate rounds throughout 2015-16, with a total of 150 bids received. Successful bids from rounds one and two (round three activities are due to start over the next few weeks) have included:
• Justlife - a leading organisation for working with vulnerable people living in temporary accommodation. The funding has enabled the team to purchase equipment for their Feeling Fit programme which helps service users to get involved in a range of exercise and sports activities.
• Strictly Wheels - a foundation which aims to promote and inspire people to take up wheelchair dancing as a social activity and at competitive levels. The funding is supporting Strictly Wheels in providing additional training in wheelchair skills which will help to improve confidence and the overall health of wheelchair users. 
• Gaydio – a radio station targeted towards Manchester’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. They used the funding to deliver a summer project for young people who identify as LGBT. The group went on to create radio content reflecting their life experiences and participated in the Manchester Pride annual parade.
• Healthy Me, Healthy Communities – a project in partnership with the Anson Community House in Longsight. With the funding, a community shop will be opened at Anson House to provide a low cost alternative to local food banks. The shop has a long-term aim to become a revenue stream for the Anson Community Association.
• Sleeping Rough: the ugly truth – a book written and produced by homeless people who use the services at Sanctuary Supported Living’s Victoria House Hostel in Openshaw. The project helped to improve the skills and confidence of its contributors who reflected their life experiences and the challenges of homeless living in Manchester.
Angela Salami, group director of communities for One Manchester, said: “Successful places depend on successful people and our One Manchester Community Fund is an effective way of enabling our customers - through a range of innovative local services and resources - to build upon their abilities and aspirations. The fund is an integral part of the work that we deliver for our communities and it acts as an essential driver for encouraging connectivity, collaboration and enterprise; all of which influences and aids those who are most in need.”
For further information about the One Manchester Community Fund contact Belinda Hayes on 0161 230 1013 or email [email protected]
To find out more about One Manchester including the Community Fund, watch the social innovation video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xez0RiNNb7g
