Why taking part matters
The State of the VCSE Sector research is a major piece of work mapping the size, scope, diversity, and impact of voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations across Greater Manchester.
Your contribution helps ensure the activities, needs, challenges, and strengths of organisations like yours are fully represented. The stronger the evidence, the stronger our shared voice when advocating for funding, resources, and recognition.
Because you’re a valued member of Manchester Community Central and an important part of Greater Manchester’s VCSE Sector, we want to make sure you know this research invitation is genuine – and that your participation is really important.
Who should fill in the survey
The survey will ask questions about your organisation’s finances (income, expenditure, reserves, funding sources, and assets), staffing and volunteers, activities and beneficiaries, and governance. It may be helpful to gather this information before you begin. If someone else in your organisation is better placed to complete the survey, please feel free to forward this email to them.
What’s in it for you
By completing the survey, you will receive:
- A free Individualised Insights Report tailored to your organisation, which benchmarks you against organisations in the borough (it’ll look something like this Report)
- Your organisation will be entered into a £250 prize draw (one per locality)
- Access to the wider findings through:
- borough-level reports
- a GM-wide report
These will all be publicly available in Summer 2026.
A big thank you
Thank you in advance for taking the time to take part. Your insight is hugely valuable – not just for this research, but for the visibility and strength of the VCSE sector across Greater Manchester.
If you have any questions please contact us at info@mcrcommunitycentral.org