Community development and funding

We're committed to supporting our communities to thrive.

Supporting our customers and communities

We’re committed to making a real difference in our neighbourhoods. and communities, whether it be through finding employment and skills opportunities, sharing money advice, or helping community groups access funding. We work with local organisations to boost social, environmental, and economic wellbeing, ensuring everyone has the chance to live well.

Community support for you

We can help anyone wanting to do more to support their local communities by providing you with support, advice, and resources to help you develop projects for the community's benefit.

This can take the form of:

Advice, guidance, and access to training opportunities that can support your organisation's development
Signposting and linking you to local businesses and suppliers looking to provide additional social value within our communities
Supporting you to write strategic bids to secure funding that will benefit our neighborhoods and wider communities

Get in touch if you want to learn more or request this support

Our Community Fund

This year One Manchester’s Community Fund is back and better than ever. We’re looking for projects or programmes that support younger and older people, families and people’s health and wellbeing.

The One Manchester Community Fund supports local voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations with grants of between £3,000 to £10,000. The Fund was set up to support local community groups and projects that bring lasting benefits to our neighbourhoods. In 2024, we awarded £100,000 to 15 local groups delivering projects that support our customers and communities.

Meet the funder sessions

This September we're hosting Meet the Funder sessions where you’ll be able to find out more about One Manchester and get support with your application. Head to our event calendar and check out what session suits you, online or in-person - we can't wait to see you there!

Complete our expression of interest form and we'll send you the application form Monday 8 September 2025.

An artistic photograph of a woman gardening with leaves in the periphery.

Community partnerships

We partner with local organisations that share the same goals and values as us to help our communities thrive.

If you're interested in partnering with One Manchester, please complete our contact form. We’ll contact you within three working days of receiving your enquiry.

A mother and child doing crafts together at a local community event in Fallowfield

Activities for young people

We're keen to help the next generation get the best start possible. We deliver a range of activities, both educational and play, plus opportunities and connections across our communities.

Our free after-school sessions give young people a safe, welcoming space to learn, play and grow. The sessions take place weekly after school at community centres near you.

Complete our Contact Us form to find out more about these sessions.

Support for care leavers

We offer a peer support service for customers leaving care to help people take their next steps. This takes the form of dedicated 1:1 and group sessions. We also connect you with our Employment and Skills service to help you with work or training.

To access this, please complete our contact form. We’ll contact you within three working days of receiving your enquiry and schedule an appointment within two weeks.

Year-round community events

We host free, inclusive events across our neighbourhoods – from fun days to craft sessions. Everyone is welcome at our events - they're accessible, affordable, and a great place to connect with others!

You can always find our latest community events on our Events page.

Social Value reinvestment

We reinvest funding and hours secured through contractors that we work with back into One Manchester communities through things like funding or materials for local projects, volunteer hours for events, or expert advice for a school workshop or community groups. We're always sharing stories about our Social Value commitments on our social media channels - keep an eye out for the latest updates.

One Manchester colleague cutting grass with a red lawn mower.

Looking after our neighbourhoods

We work hard to keep our communities clean and green.

We do this by:

Grounds maintenance – Our team keeps shared green spaces tidy all year round.
Mobile cleaning – Our teams make sure external spaces are kept clean and tidy and can respond to areas of concern when necessary.
Fly-tipping – Our teams work to tackle fly-tipping in our areas. If you spot fly-tipping in your local area, give us a call on 0330 355 1000 or complete our Contact Us form and we’ll get it sorted.
Neighbourhood inspections - Neighbourhood inspections are all about us working together to keep your neighbourhood looking great. We regularly walk our neighbourhoods with residents to spot issues and assess anything that needs sorting e.g. fly-tipping. Any issues we see, we’ll add to an action plan to get addressed.

Find out more about the work we do to look after our neighbourhoods here.

Our social priorities

Our work focusses on creating

Stronger, more resilient communities

We support the capacity of local groups and individuals to enable them to continue to support their own communities.

Improved places, reduced environmental impact

We help to improve our local environment and act responsibly to reduce our global environmental impact.

Stronger, more resilient local economy

We help to improve our local environment and acting responsibly to reduce our global environmental impact.

Healthier and happier people in our communities

We provide and support activities and services that improve wellbeing and reduce social isolation.