Manchester Building Society Community Fund 

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Before You Get Stuck In...
About The Manchester Building Society Community Fund
The Manchester Building Society Fund welcomes applications from community groups based in any of the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. This Fund will focus on support projects that promote:

Financial literacy: offering education and guidance on budgeting, debt management, and money-handling skills with the aim of supporting a broad range of people at risk of financial hardship and enhancing overall financial wellbeing.

Work & Education: Supporting a broad range of people into or back into the workplace with activities which help to develop communication, teamwork and other life/work skills.

Who Can Apply?
The Manchester Building Society Fund aims to encourage and support grassroots community organisations. This means small, community-based and locally controlled groups that manage themselves, encourage people to get involved as volunteers and who just need a bit of financial help to be able to work with their community in the way they’d like.
 
Applicants must be based in one of the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester and have an annual income of less than £150,000. 
How Much Can We Apply For?
The maximum award request that will be considered is £2,500. 

What Supporting Information Do We Need to Provide?
To apply for funding, there are a few key documents we'll need you to attach. These help us understand your group and check if you're eligible. Here's a quick summary of what to include:
    • Governing Document (e.g. Constitution or Articles of Association) - Outlining your group's purpose, how it runs and what happens if it closes.
    • Committee Details - Names, roles and addresses of at least 3 unrelated members.
    • Annual Accounts - Your group's accounts (e.g. income/expenditure spreadsheet, unaudited or audited accounts).
    • Bank Statement - Your group's most recent statement showing the group's name, address and transactions.
    • Safeguarding Policy - Required if you work with children or vulnerable adults, even if parents or carers will be present.
For more detail on what to include with your application, please see our full guidance here.
What Can the Funding Be Used For?
Local groups understand how they can best work in their communities, so we don’t want to limit the type of request you can make. You just need to let us know what you want to do and what positive things your activity will provide for those in your community.

At this time, the Manchester Building Society Fund is particularly keen to see applications from projects that support access to work and education as well as financial education. These projects can support people at any stage of their employability journey, for example:
  • Projects that offer education and guidance on personal finance management
  • Projects that support a wide range of people with debt management advice and budget management skills
  • Volunteering opportunities in the community
  • Activities that teach transferable skills such as working in a team or leadership roles
  • Supporting individuals with education skills gaps

Is There Anything We Can't Apply For?
Unfortunately, there are a few things we're not able to fund. This includes anything that's already happened or been paid for, large fundraising appeals, activities and promoting religious or political beliefs, or anything that should be covered by statutory services. 

If you're feeling unsure, have a look at our Funding FAQ's, or feel free to get in touch. We're always happy to help!
Is There a Deadline For Applications?
Yes, this form is set to close at midday on the 14th May 2026. Unfortunately, we won't be able to consider any applications after this time. We recommend aiming to submit your application a little early, just in case you run into issues and need our help.
When Will We Hear Back?
For this round of Forever Manchester Awards, we aim to let you know the outcome of your application by late June. Please don't plan to start your activity until after you hear if your application has been successful.
And Finally...
We would recommend saving your application by clicking the "Save my progress and resume later" box above. You will then be prompted to enter an email address and choose a password. This will prevent you from losing any of your work, and will allow you to pick the form up again at a later date if you need to. Just make sure to note the email address and password you used!

To navigate to different pages on the form, you can click on the page numbers in the top right hand corner, or use the "Next" or "Previous" buttons at the bottom of each page.

At the end of the form, you will be given an opportunity to review your answers before submitting the application. At this stage, you can also print off a copy to retain for your records.

You will receive an email from us to confirm your application has been submitted, which includes a text copy of the information provided on your form. This email is sent automatically, so if it hasn't appeared in your inbox within 24 hours, please make sure to get in touch with us so that we can make sure your application was submitted successfully.

If you have any access needs or require support to complete the application, please let us know – we're here to help.

If you're not sure about anything, or have trouble filling this in, our Awards Team is only a phone call or email away:

Phone: 0161 214 0940

To start your application, please click "Next Page"

Page 1

Contact Details
Please note, these are the details that will be used for correspondence purposes. This person should be someone who has a good knowledge of the application, as this is the person we will contact if we have any queries.







E.g. Chair, Treasurer

Home Address




About Your Organisation

Please provide the name of your organisation, as it appears on any governing documents.

Answer this question as though you were talking to a friend about what you do.


E.g. 5000 (please make sure to enter numerical values only, no symbols or letters).


The telephone number and email address should be one at which the organisation is easily contacted, especially during office hours. If the organisation doesn't have a independent location you can use the contact details of the primary contact.



This should be the address of the organisation. If the organisation doesn't have a independent location you can use the contact details of the primary contact.



















Staff and Volunteers


Please enter numbers only (no symbols/letters)

Please enter numbers only (no symbols/letters)

Please enter numbers only (no symbols/letters)

Please enter numbers only (no symbols/letters)

Please enter numbers only (no symbols/letters)

Page 2

About Your Project

Does your overall project have a name? If so please enter it here.




Please enter numbers only (no symbols or letters)

Please enter numbers only (no symbols or letters)




You can change names or personal details to keep things anonymous.

Page 3

Project Budget

Please input numerical values only, i.e. 2500 (no symbols).

Please input numerical values only, i.e. 2500 (no symbols).

For example: Venue Hire for workshops (£100 per session) x 4 = £400. Publicity materials (posters, flyers) = £50. Refreshments = £100. Total Cost = £550.

Page 4

Banking Details
Please note, we make grant payments by BACS, so we require your full bank details.





Supporting Documents
You can upload your supporting documents using the links below. Uploading them now will help us process your application more quickly, but if you'd prefer to send them by post, just let us know. Please see the below list for a reminder of what documents are required:
  • Your Governing Document (e.g. constitution)
  • Your latest Annual Accounts, or if your group is less than 12 months old, 3 consecutive bank statements
  • A recent bank statement
  • Details of your Management Committee
  • Your safeguarding policy, if applicable
  • You can also attach any additional documents that support your application.








Using your personal information

By submitting this application form, you accept that Forever Manchester may access and use personal data about you and others named in the form.

As a necessary part of the application process, Forever Manchester will collect personal data about you and other people connected to your organisation. The personal data we collect includes names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and may include dates of birth and photographs.

We will use the information during the assessment process and if your application is successful, throughout the life of your award. This helps us manage and monitor the funding and ensure that it's being used appropriately.
 

If you do not give us consent to use this data, we will not be able to process your application.

 

We hold and store your information in line with the Data Protection legislation currently in force. For more information explaining how we use your information, please see our privacy policy, which can be found on our website by clicking here.


Publicity
Forever Manchester would like to follow up successful applicants and potentially feature them in publicity activities. This could include featuring the work of your organisation on our website or social media channels.

Please tick the box below to confirm that if your application is successful, you are happy for Forever Manchester to share information about your group or project for publicity purposes. If you would prefer not to feature in any publicity, don't worry. Not ticking this will not affect the outcome of your application.

Declaration
If our application is successful, we agree to use the award as described in our application form or as outlined in the award letter. If we're unable to go ahead with the project as planned, or if we need to make any changes to how the award will be spent, we’ll contact Forever Manchester before doing so.

At the end of the funding period, we agree to complete a feedback form about our project. We will keep track of all receipts, invoices, and financial records relating to the award and supply these to Forever Manchester if requested.

Page 5

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