Spirit of Manchester

Spirit of Manchester Series of awards celebrating excellent work carried out in Manchester’s voluntary & community sector Would you like to raise awareness of your organisation?

Celebrate your community and the work you do together? Our annual 'Spirit of Manchester' programme is a celebration of the work of thousands of voluntary organisations, community groups, charities and social enterprises in Manchester. We believe it's important to recognise, support and encourage volunteers and local voluntary action. The programme includes a Festival of events across the city orga

nised by local groups. The highlight of the programme is the Spirit of Manchester Awards in which we recognise examples of great community spirit and all that's best about the voluntary sector. We want to raise the profile of the sector amongst the general public and encourage local giving and active citizenship. Now approaching our fourth year, the Spirit of Manchester continues to grow with more and more organisations getting involved to celebrate the fantastic work happening across the city and acknowledge the dedicated staff and volunteers that make the voluntary community and social enterprise sector in Manchester what it is today. You can get involved through a number of ways. AWARDS

Do you know an incredible organisation or an excellent volunteer who goes above and beyond to support a group who deserves special recognition? The Spirit of Manchester Awards is a series of awards celebrating and highlighting all the excellent work being carried out in Manchester’s voluntary and community sector. As well as providing recognition to the sector in these hard times, we want to raise the profile of the sector amongst the general public and encourage local giving and active citizenship. Award categories range from volunteering to tackling inequalities – to view the Award categories for this year please visit: www.manchestercommunitycentral.org/spirit-manchester-awards


SUPPORTER

Become a supporter of the Spirit of Manchester. There are various ways that you can become a support of the Spirit of Manchester – you could sponsor an award, be an event supporter, donate a prize to our raffle or simply make a donation details on how you can get involved
can be found here:
www.manchestercommunitycentral.org/spirit-manchester-awards-be-supporter

If you would like to discuss this opportunity further or have any queries regarding the Spirit of Manchester then please do contact Macc on 0161 834 9823 or at [email protected]


SPIRIT OF MANCHESTER FUND

As part of the celebration, we want to raise a little money to support local groups through our Spirit of Manchester Fund. This will give ‘seed fund’ grants to local groups to enable them to involve more people and build community action. Supporting our Spirit of Manchester Fund is a great way to say thank you to all those people who make a difference to life in Manchester – and to encourage them to do more! We believe the wealth of talent, skills and energy in local community can be unleashed with a small amount of funding. Every penny donated to the Spirit of Manchester Fund will support local projects that alleviate poverty, improve health and develop skills, education and employment opportunities. If you’re interested in organising activities to raise funds to add more money into the Spirit of Manchester Fund, please contact us! If you do organise any activities, don’t just send us the money, tell us what you did - we love great stories! For further information or to make a donation please visit: www.manchestercommunitycentral.org/whats-happening-manchester/spirit-manchester-fund

As part of  , we're pleased to announce the winner of our Young Volunteer of the Year Award for  ! 🙌Congratulations to t...
05/06/2026

As part of , we're pleased to announce the winner of our Young Volunteer of the Year Award for ! 🙌

Congratulations to the fantastic Demi Murch for her incredible voluntary work in the city of Manchester! 🏆

At just 20 years old, Demi has been a weekly volunteer at St Aidan's Centre for 3 years and helps with the foodbank. She is also on the leadership team for the Building Bridges Project and a
voice for young people with disabilities. Demi has given a number of formal presentations, some at large gatherings, addressing the local MP as well as the Greater Manchester Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

'Demi is an inspirational leader and a shining example of how people can turn their own experiences of discrimination into a force for good.' - Gerry, Caritas Diocese of Shrewsbury.

For Volunteers' Week, our Volunteer Centre Manchester team have interviewed Demi about her amazing work. Keep an eye out; we plan to release this next week!

Thank you to our Spirit of Manchester 2026 judging panel for taking the time to read through the fantastic nominations this year - it wasn't an easy choice!

Stay tuned for our full shortlist release soon... 👀

Fancy taking a peek at who is judging this year's Spirit of Manchester 2026 Awards? 👀Each year, we arrange a panel of ju...
04/06/2026

Fancy taking a peek at who is judging this year's Spirit of Manchester 2026 Awards? 👀

Each year, we arrange a panel of judges from across Manchester with a wide range of experience, expertise and knowledge to come together to choose the shortlist for 12 categories and the winners for the remaining 3 categories.

Find out more and have a read of our judges biographies by clicking here: https://manchestercommunitycentral.org/spirit-of-manchester/spirit-manchester-awards-judges

Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination for the Spirit of Manchester Awards 2026! Our nomination form is now cl...
06/05/2026

Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination for the Spirit of Manchester Awards 2026! Our nomination form is now closed.

What happens next?
▪️ Our team gets to work on pulling the nominations together to be shared with this year's judges
▪️ Our judges will read and score each nomination
▪️ The judges will meet in June to make their final decisions for the shortlist and outright winner's for the Young Volunteer of the Year, Climate Action and Dr Sylvia Sham Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Sector
▪️ We let the winners/shortlist know they have been successful

Due to the large volume of nominations we receive, we are only able to let the shortlist and winner's know they have been successful. Once all have been notified, we will announce the shortlist line-up via our social media, website and e-bulletin.

Have any queries about the process?
Email [email protected] or visit our website for our timeline of the annual celebration:

The Spirit of Manchester Awards are a celebration of voluntary and community action in Manchester organised by Manchester Community Central as the support organisation for the 3000+ groups in the city. So it works in a way which is shaped by our values: being supportive, being collaborative and bei...

4 hours to go!! 🤞This is your chance to show us who you want to celebrate. Who has helped to make your community a stron...
05/05/2026

4 hours to go!! 🤞

This is your chance to show us who you want to celebrate. Who has helped to make your community a stronger, better place? Which organisation was there for you during a tough time? Which trustee has gone above and beyond in their role? ❤️

Let us know today before 12pm! ⏰

Click here for your final chance to submit a nomination for the Spirit of Manchester Awards 2026: https://manchestercommunitycentral.org/form/spirit-of-manchester-awards-2026

Just 24 hours to go until our nomination form closes for 2026! This gives you more than enough time to tell us about who...
04/05/2026

Just 24 hours to go until our nomination form closes for 2026!

This gives you more than enough time to tell us about who has made a difference in your life! 🌟

Did you know that we now have 15 categories, with our newest being our Climate Action Award? Take a look at our categories, we're sure you'll know at least one person, organisation or business that you think deserves recognition for their work.

Make sure to get your submissions in within the next day!

Click here for submissions: https://manchestercommunitycentral.org/form/spirit-of-manchester-awards-2026

Just 2 days to go now! ⏰You may not have long until our nominations close for this year's Spirit of Manchester Awards, b...
03/05/2026

Just 2 days to go now! ⏰

You may not have long until our nominations close for this year's Spirit of Manchester Awards, but luckily our nomination form won't take you long!

All we need is a maximum 200 word description of why you think the person, organisation, collaboration or business is deserving of one of our awards. Our judges then decide who will be shortlisted and the outright winner's for three of our categories...

Need some inspiration? Take a look at last year's winners here: https://manchestercommunitycentral.org/spirit-of-manchester/spirit-manchester-awards/previous-spirit-manchester-awards/spirit-manchester-awards-2025

Submit your nominations here: https://manchestercommunitycentral.org/form/spirit-of-manchester-awards-2026

Do you know a volunteer who goes above and beyond? An organisation that helps to keep your community together? A partner...
01/05/2026

Do you know a volunteer who goes above and beyond? An organisation that helps to keep your community together? A partnership that's helped to make a change in the city of Manchester? We want to hear about it!

This is your chance to get your nominations in and celebrate the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector 🙌

Click here to submit yours: https://manchestercommunitycentral.org/form/spirit-of-manchester-awards-2026

Celebrate those who have made a difference this year - don't let them go under the radar! Our Spirit of Manchester Award...
30/04/2026

Celebrate those who have made a difference this year - don't let them go under the radar! Our Spirit of Manchester Awards, now in their 14th year, are here to do exactly that, celebrate the amazing work and people in our community in the city of Manchester! 👏

Tell us who you would like to see holding a trophy on the 1st October 2026!

Get your nominations in before it's too late: https://manchestercommunitycentral.org/form/spirit-of-manchester-awards-2026

6 days! Have you submitted your nominations yet? Whether it's a friend, a neighbour, a trustee who goes above and beyond...
29/04/2026

6 days! Have you submitted your nominations yet?

Whether it's a friend, a neighbour, a trustee who goes above and beyond or a local group doing extraordinary things, make sure to nominate them! Our only stipulation is they must live or complete their work in the city of Manchester.

Get yours in here: https://manchestercommunitycentral.org/form/spirit-of-manchester-awards-2026

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Manchester

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