Funding
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Community Grants’
Step Up MCR’s small Community Grants are open to community groups and residents with a great idea to boost health and wellbeing in communities.
Our current focus is on projects supporting communities in Ancoats & Beswick and Clayton & Openshaw.
Our priorities include:
Mental Health, Moving More, Digital Inclusion, and Social Isolation.
We are particularly interested in supporting projects that are community-led and embedded in the local area. We can support existing initiatives, or brand new ideas.
If your project is working in these areas, and meets one or more of our funding priorities, we would love to hear from you.
We aim to make our application process simple and accessible. You can apply via our online form, email, video submission, or through a face-to-face conversation with a member of the team.
We have just Five Questions to gather the initial information we need. Once you submit your idea, the team will be in touch to ask any questions and make suggestions that might improve your application before it’s considered by our Community Panel.
Step Up MCR is more than just a grant maker. Our Community Offer gets the wheels turning on exciting community initiatives by offering connections, fundraising assistance, access to opportunities, and much more.
See the projects we’re currently working with for inspiration!
Online Form
Restrictions:
We can’t support:
We can’t support:
- Individuals seeking more than £500 for an idea. Step Up MCR can support you to develop your project further. See our Support section for more information.
- Projects out of our neighbourhood wards, except where you can demonstrate people from these wards are the main beneficiaries. Our current focus is on projects in Ancoats & Beswick and Clayton & Openshaw.
- Projects which are for individual benefit or targeting a specific demographic. Where your project does work with one group, we’d like you to let us know how the project will promote community cohesion.
- Projects promoting politics or religion. Churches or religious bodies may apply as long as the project benefits the wider community.
- Companies that can pay profits to directors, shareholders or members.
- Projects which have received Step Up MCR funding within the 12 months.
- Schools and health bodies may apply, but we will not fund statutory activities.
FAQs:
How much funding is available?
Typically, our Community Grants budget is between £10,000 – £20,000 per year.
How much can I apply for?
The amount you can apply for varies, but our typical grant sizes range from up to £500 and up to £3,000. We will always advise you on how much you can apply for.
Can I apply as an individual?
Individuals or groups without a bank account may only apply for up to £500, unless you have a host able to accept the funding on your behalf.
Where does the money come from?
Partnerships and local giving supports our Community Grants budget. Ongoing funding partnerships include Manchester Local Care Organisation, MCR Active and Manchester City Council.
What happens after I’ve been awarded a grant?
We will send out your Grant Acceptance Agreement and conduct due diligence and ID checks. Once our requirements are satisfied, we can pay your grant out to you quickly. We will be in contact throughout your grant, and you will be added to our Peer Support Network for on-going access to opportunities and local connections.
Will I need to submit monitoring?
Yes. We require a small amount of monitoring to understand how you spent the money and the impact you had in the community. The Step Up MCR team will support you throughout your grant to provide the information we need.
