The Bright Futures Fund is NOW CLOSED FOR APPLICATIONS. The deadline to apply was midday on Thursday 1st February 2024. New funding announcements will be published on our website, featured in our newsletter and shared on our social media channels. Click here to sign up to our mailing list. We are delighted to announce that the Bright Futures Fund in partnership with Forever Manchester is now open for applications from Community Groups in Greater Manchester. The Juice Academy was created in 2013 by leading marketing consultancy, Tangerine Communications and its founder Sandy Lindsay MBE. Over this time, it has created more than 600 apprenticeships for young people in the digital marketing sector. Following the acquisition of the Juice Academy by Apprentify, the share of the sale price that is paid to its majority shareholder has been donated to Forever Manchester, to create a new funding programme. The Bright Futures Fund is offering awards of up to £5,000. We will close for applications at midday on Thursday 1st February 2024. Fund Criteria The Bright Futures Fund welcomes applications from Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector community groups based in any of the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. The Fund will focus on projects aiming to improve social mobility, develop skills and otherwise support people from a wide variety of backgrounds into or back into work and careers. Who can apply? The Bright Futures Fund aims to support Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector organisations based in any of the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. Further information about the type of organisation that can apply can be found in our Supporting Information guide (For Supporting Information) which forms part of the criteria. Applicant organisations must be based in one of the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester and have an annual income of less than £250,000. How much can you apply for? The maximum award request that will be considered is £5,000. What can you apply for? The Fund aims to support organisations running projects that will improve the life chances of people in Greater Manchester, with an emphasis on (but not exclusively) young people. This could mean projects aiming to improve social mobility, develop skills and otherwise support people from a wide variety of backgrounds into or back into work and careers. This can include supporting those already in paid employment to access the skills and training they need to make the job changes that could lead to life-long careers. By young people, we mean those from secondary school to those in the early stages of their careers. Whilst there is no upper-age limit, we would expect that the majority of funded projects will be supporting those under the age of 30. Local groups understand how they can best work in their communities. We don’t want to limit the type of request you can make, let us know what you want to do and what positive things your activity will provide for people in your community, as long as it meets the criteria above. The following are just some examples of the type of project the Fund may support: Ongoing activities which help develop communication, teamwork and other life/work skills in young people, e.g. this could be sports, dance or other weekly activities (not short-term/time-limited activity) but which focus on developing skills that are valuable outside of the core activity Sessions aimed at helping young people in your community to develop interview or other skills to help them gain work or promotion Coaching and mentoring for young people in work who are looking to change careers/improve employment opportunities Projects supporting young people to understand how to develop and set-up new enterprises Is there anything you can’t apply for? Unfortunately, there are a few things that can’t be funded, such as activities that have already taken place or been paid for, contributions to major appeals, activities promoting political or religious beliefs and activity which should be provided by statutory services. If you’re not sure if we could consider your application for funding, please contact a member of the Forever Manchester Communities Team, email awards@forevermanchester.com and we’ll be happy to help. Supporting Documents For help and guidance on your groups’ supporting documents and to see what we require to be submitted alongside your application, please refer to our guidance which you can find here: Supporting Information. Please note that this information forms part of the Fund guidance and should be read in full before you start the application form. Deadline for Applications We will close for applications at midday on Thursday 1st February 2024. Any applications received after this time will not be considered. CLOSED FOR APPLICATIONS How long will a decision take? For this round of the Bright Futures Community Fund, we aim to let you know the outcome of your application in mid-March 2024. Please do not plan to start any activity until after you hear if your application has been successful. Our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) provide further information on our funding programmes. We encourage you to have a look if you would like to know a bit more about who can apply and what the application process involves. If you have any questions or have trouble completing your application, please contact us at awards@forevermanchester.com or phone 0161 214 0940 The Juice Academy was created in 2013 by leading marketing consultancy, Tangerine Communications and its founder Sandy Lindsay MBE. Over this time, it has created more than 600 apprenticeships for young people in the digital marketing sector. Following the acquisition of the Juice Academy by Apprentify, the share of the sale price that is paid to its majority shareholder has been donated to Forever Manchester, to create a new funding programme.
