To be eligible for the Spirit of Manchester Awards you need to adhere to the following:
• Voluntary and community groups need to be registered with Macc as either a full or affiliate member. If you aren’t already register now - you can still apply whilst your membership is being processed
• Businesses applying for the Business citizenship award do not need to be members of Macc
• Applicants need to be based in and offer their service in the city of Manchester and volunteers need to be Manchester residents and volunteer in the city
• Groups, organisations and businesses can nominate themselves
• Volunteers need to be nominated by a Manchester based voluntary or community group/organisation that they volunteer for
We are looking for individuals and groups/organisations that are going above and beyond their duties and are making a significant impact on people's lives and wellbeing in Manchester.
Applicants need to write a maximum of 200 words showing how they have met the below criteria over the last year. (The Contribution to the Sector award can cover more than the last year). One nomination is adequate – it isn’t the number of nominations that will determine if an applicant is shortlisted, it is the content of the application.
Video
By applying for an award you are agreeing for a short film (maximum of two minutes long) to be made about your work/volunteer if you are shortlisted. These films will be shown at the awards evening and will be voted on to determine the winner of each category. They will be uploaded to the Community Reporter and MyManchester websites and can also be used on your website and for you to generally publicise your work.
If you need any help please contact Cheryl, on 0161 834 9823, or email: [email protected]
The deadline is 30 April 2017 (midnight) and you will be contacted early-June if you have been shortlisted.
The awards event will be at the beginning of October and all shortlisted nominees will be invited.
To apply please complete our short nomination form by clicking Nominate below - fill in your details, select the category you are nominating for and write a maximum of 200 words showing how the nominee has met the criteria for that category over the last year. Please note: one nomination per person/organisation for the same category, is adequate, making multiple nominations will not influence any decisions.
**Nominations for this year’s Awards will open from Wednesday 1 March 2017 and will close on Sunday 30 April 2017**
Good luck!
2017 Categories and criteria
Volunteer of the year
Open to all volunteers within the city of Manchester. Volunteers should be nominated by the organisation that they volunteer for. Applications need to show how they:
• Go above and beyond their role
• Inspire and motivate others to volunteer
• Have made an impact
Volunteer involving organisation of the year
Organisations can nominate themselves or be nominated by a volunteer. Applications for this award should demonstrate how the organisation:
• Promotes, retains and rewards volunteers / volunteering
• Makes volunteers feel part of the team
• Promotes volunteering through their vision and values
Volunteering team of the year
Volunteer teams should be nominated by the organisation they volunteer for. Applications must show:
• How the team has made an impact to the organisation and the wider community
• Give a demonstration of how a team has worked together on a specific project / challenge
• Where the team have remained organised and shown innovation
Equalities award
Organisations can nominate themselves. The work must have taken place in Manchester within the last 12 months. Applications must show:
• Address equalities issues and challenge discrimination – working on one or more of the following issues: race, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, faith or other issues for which people experience discrimination
• Have made an impact
Business citizenship award
Businesses must have an office in Manchester. Businesses can nominate themselves or be nominated by a voluntary sector organisation. Applicants must show how they:
• Take responsibility for creating and supporting higher standards of living and quality of life in the communities in which they operate
• Have adopted socially valuable policies such as Living Wage, Local Procurement etc..
• Developed initiatives which involve and engage the private and voluntary and community sectors and utilise their skills, expertise and resources for ‘local good’
• Have worked in local relationships with the voluntary and community sector
Best service user involving organisation
Organisations can nominate themselves or be nominated by a user. Applicants need to show:
• How they involve the people who benefit from the service in delivery and shaping the service.
• Examples can include service users on the board, asking for feedback regularly or holding consultations. Have service users become staff / volunteers in delivering the service?
Most inspiring campaign
Organisations can nominate themselves or be nominated by a user. Applications should demonstrate:
• How the organisation saw a need for change / action
• How they made a difference
• How they showed innovative practices to make a difference
Best partnership initiative / collaboration
Organisations can nominate themselves or be nominated by a user. Partnerships can be voluntary or community sector organisation working with the public sector, private company or another community group. Applicants need to show:
• How they made a difference by working in partnership
Health and wellbeing award
Nominations need to be from small community groups with an annual income of less than £100,000. Groups can nominate themselves or be nominated by a user. Applications should show how they:
• Actively encourage others to get involved in improving wellbeing in their community.
Best community space
A community space can be a piece of land or a building available for use by the community. Organisations can nominate themselves or be nominated by a user. Application must show:
• Best use of a community space
• How the space is seen as central within the community
• The impact it has within the local community
This award will be voted for online using interactive voting on the website.
The Dr Sylvia Sham Award for Contribution to the sector
This category is for an individual and can be wider than their contribution in the last year. An organisation, colleague or service user can nominate the individual and the overall winner will be picked by the panel of judges and told before the event. Applications should show:
• How the individual has made a significant contribution to the voluntary and community sector over the years
How it works - here's how the process works, how nominations are handled and how all of this happens.
Supporters
Support our Spirit of Manchester Awards, help us celebrate and reward the voluntary and community sector for all their hard work. Find out how to become a supporter here