Businesses interested in working with VCSEs

Are you interested in working with VCSEs?

In Manchester, local VCSE organisations generate over £496.9 million of income, creating a range of services and activities as diverse as our communities. VCSE organisations employ 32,246 people (19,607 are full time equivalents) and mobilise 162,278 volunteers. The vast majority of VCSE organisations are neighbourhood based, rooted in local communities and address significant inequalities in the day-to-day of what they do. The strong return on investment provided by the VCSE sector is also well evidenced, with preventative and early intervention work reducing the strain on the public purse in the longer term. (Manchester State of Sector Report 2021)

How you can help and support VCSEs

  • Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV) - This allows employees to volunteer with support, which can be in the form of time-off for individual or team volunteering. ESV provides real benefits to the employer, the volunteers and the community organisations they support. By helping tackle local issues, both employers themselves and the communities in which they operate can benefit.
  • Providing skills and/or resources - You can offer a masterclass or skill sharing session to a group of VCSE organisations on, for example, strategy, planning or finance. You could offer a meeting room for VCSEs to use.
  • Mentoring and work experience - You could offer tours of your workplace, opportunities to sit in on mock interviews for people practicing their interview skills, offer job specific talks for people interested in working in your sector.
  • Income support – You could make a one off or regular donation to a project, or choose a VCSE to fundraise for in a Charity of the Year type format. There are tax efficient ways to explore too – for example businesses can claim tax relief on charitable donations they make, or donations from individual employees can be boosted by payroll giving before tax is deducted.
  • Social value – looking at the broader positive impact that your business can create for VCSEs and people through its activities, whilst benefitting itself in many ways.   

Benefits to you and your business

Connecting to VCSEs in Manchester, provides your business with the opportunity to:

  • Develop knowledge and experience of your staff in a specific area
  • Engage staff, boost morale and inspire them to connect with communities and people
  • Awareness raise about issues and inequalities facing people living in Manchester
  • Increase the engagement of your current customer base and learn about new possible groups of interest for your business whilst showing you support the people of Manchester.
  • Develop partnerships with VCSEs that impact social need, health and wellbeing

How you can support Macc and connect with VCSEs

  • Become a member of Macc. By joining our membership, you will not only gain access to resources, events and support, but also have the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and organisations who share your interests and passions. Macc values of being supportive, collaborative and influential are at the core of our membership with members encouraged to share their knowledge and skills with one another.
  • The Spirit of Manchester Awards are a series of awards celebrating and highlighting the excellent work being carried out in Manchester’s voluntary and community sector. There are lots of opportunities to be involved in supporting the awards.

Next steps

We would love to hear from you! By working together, we can create a more resilient and sustainable community. We invite stakeholders to shape our offer and help us build a stronger, more collaborative community in Manchester.

Contact our Business Partnerships Lead: