Cellnex Digital Inclusion Fund (£500)

We are delighted to announce that the Cellnex Digital Inclusion Fund is now open for applications from Community Groups in Greater Manchester.

The Cellnex Digital Inclusion Fund is offering awards of up to £500.

The Fund will close once all funding has been fully allocated. Please note if we are oversubscribed the Fund may close at short notice.

Fund Criteria

The Cellnex Digital Inclusion Fund (up to £500) is offering small awards for groups of local residents or grassroots constituted community groups who want to get a new project or activity up and running. The Fund will focus on three main areas:

• Empowering communities and places
• Increasing confidence, skills and motivation
• Affordability, accessibility and connectivity.

Who can apply?

If you’re a group of local residents who want to get a new digital inclusion project or activity up and running, or a constituted community group with an income of £2,500 or less, then you can apply.

You need to be based in one of the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester and be planning to run your activity in the area where you live.

How much can you apply for?

The maximum award request that will be considered is £500.

What can you apply for?

Local communities understand how they can best work to promote digital inclusion 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 achieves one of the 3 themes above.

Some examples of digital inclusion projects include:

• Sessions aimed at helping people in your community to develop digital skills
• provide digital-based training to young people
• improve online access for jobseekers
• refurbished computers for the local community
• access to technology to tackle social isolation
• making community information accessible to all
• online support service for the community.

To learn more about digital inclusion, what the issues are in Greater Manchester and further information about this topic, please see the Greater Manchester Digital Inclusion Strategy,

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

If you will have Under 18’s or Vulnerable Adults attending your project you must have a Safeguarding Policy in place. If you are a constituted community group you will need to provide a recent bank statement in your group name.

Please get in touch if you’re at all unsure on the above, please contact us at awards@forevermanchester.com or phone 0161 214 0940.

Deadline for Applications

The Fund will close once all funding has been fully allocated. Please note if we are oversubscribed the Fund may close at short notice.

How long will a decision take?

We aim to let you know the outcome of your application within 8 weeks of submission. 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 difficulty accessing the application form or require a different format please contact awards@forevermanchester.com or call the Awards Team on 0161 214 0940.

About Cellnex UK

Cellnex UK is part of Cellnex Telecom, Europe’s largest independent telecoms infrastructure provider. With the wireless infrastructure foundation that we deliver across rural and urban areas, Cellnex UK connects everyone, everywhere.

Our commitment to connectivity extends beyond infrastructure; we are dedicated to closing the digital divide in the UK, helping people stay connected by promoting digital skills and providing access to digital devices and services to the communities that need it most.

With one of our biggest UK offices located in Manchester, we are committed to helping the region thrive. Digital inclusion is key to social and economic prosperity, and we are proud to be working with Forever Manchester to ensure that communities have the tools they need for an increasingly digitised society.

Date added: 21st July 2023