Spirit of Manchester Awards | Manchester Community Central

Celebrate Manchester's local voluntary and community sector in 2025

The Spirit of Manchester Awards are back for the 13th annual celebration, highlighting the excellent work being carried out in Manchester's voluntary and community sector. Our 2025 award ceremony will take place on Thursday 2nd October at The Sheridan, Manchester.

Nominations are now open for our Spirit of Manchester Awards 2025! Nominations will close on Tuesday 6 May 2025 at 4pm. We are asking for nominations of who you feel should be acknowledged, highlighted and thanked for their outstanding work over the last year. It can be absolutely anyone – friend, neighbour or local community group our only stipulation is that they either must live in or have delivered their support within the city of Manchester.

After the closing date in May our team of judges will meet to shortlist 3 nominations from each category (excluding the Young Volunteer of the Year Award and the Dr Sylvia Sham Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Sector Award where an outright winner is chosen in advance). We will announce the shortlist in June 2025 via our website, social media platforms and e-bulletins. All shortlisted individuals and organisations will be contacted by Macc staff in advance of the announcement.

For 2024, we introduced our newest category, the Community and Business Collaboration Award, to celebrate the VCSE organisations and businesses working together in Manchester to help make a difference in the community.

To view the Spirit of Manchester 2024 review, click here.

How do the awards work?

Click here for how the process works, how nominations are handled and how all of this happens.

Click here to make a nomination

Categories

Volunteer of the Year

Nominations must show:

How they go above and beyond in their role
How they inspire and motivate others to volunteer
The impact they have made

Volunteering Team

Nominations 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 has remained organised and shown innovation

Volunteer Involving Organisation

Nominations must show how the organisation:

Promotes, retains and rewards volunteers/volunteering
Makes volunteers feel part of the team
Promotes volunteering through their vision and values

Young Volunteer of the Year (in acknowledgement of Volunteers' Week in June 2025)

Nominations must show:

How they go above and beyond in the role
How they inspire and motivate others to volunteer
The impact they have made
How they are improving the life opportunities of children and young people across Manchester

Tackling Inequalities

Nominations must show:

How they addressed issues of equality and challenged discrimination over the past year. This could include inequality on the basis of gender, age, ethnicity or poverty

Inspiring Campaign

Nominations must show:

How the organisation saw a need for change or action, what they did and how this has made a difference

Creative Community Spirit

Nominations must show:

How they developed a creative outlet or project to inspire hope and unity during the last year

Partnership and Collaboration

Nominations must show:

How they have worked in partnership or collaborated to make a difference and fulfil a need in the community
How working in partnership meant their task was successful/more effective

Trustee/Committee Member of the Year

Nominations must show:

What positive difference the trustee/committee member has made in the organisation
What qualities, knowledge and skills they bring to the Board or Committee
How they support other trustees/committee members and develop good governance
How they are a champion for the organisation

Service User Involving Organisation

Nominations must show:

How they involve the people who benefit from the service in delivery and shaping the service

Social Economy Champion

This award is for those organisations who trade and seek to make a surplus, but unlike traditional businesses, they reinvest all their profits to fight for positive social change.

Nominations must show:

How the organisation creates positive change, and puts positive change at the centre of its work

Community Cohesion

Nominations must show:

How they have organised activities which have brought together people from across more than one community. These can be communities which are about a shared place, a shared identity or shared interests
How they promote growing together in harmony rather than conflict and celebrate the diverse nature of the people who live, work and study in this city

Community and Business Collaboration

Nominations must show:

What positive benefit and difference the business has made to the organisation‘s work. This might be from investment, sharing knowledge & skills, or time the business has given to the organisation
How the business has been a champion for the VCSE organisation and the community or cause it supports
How collaboration creates benefit for the people of Manchester

The Dr Sylvia Sham Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Voluntary Sector

Nominations must show:

How the individual has made a significant contribution to the voluntary and community sector over a number of years

To find out about about who Dr Sylvia Sham was, click here.

Click here to make a nomination

Supporters
There are a number of ways you can become a supporter of our Spirit of Manchester Awards and help us celebrate and reward the voluntary and community sector for all their hard work. See more on how to be a supporter.

Spirit of Manchester Awards 2024 Winners and Shortlist

Spirit of Manchester 2023 Awards brochure
Find out about all the amazing organisations and individuals that were shortlisted for the Spirit of Manchester Awards 2024. View our Spirit of Manchester 2024 Awards brochure.

Spirit of Manchester 2024 Review
Thank you to everyone who helped support the Spirit of Manchester 2024 and to those who attended the event. Our Spirit of Manchester 2024 review is now available to view by clicking here.

Take a look at the winners from last year’s awards here.