Space To Think

The COVID Recovery Fund, established in 2021, was a £1,040,000 initiative created in response to the increased demand placed on Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations during the pandemic. The fund aimed to support the capacity and infrastructure of these organisations by enabling them to work in partnership, and enhancing their resilience and sustainability to better respond to future crises.

This fund was a collaborative effort between Manchester Health and Care Commissioning (now part of the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership), Manchester City Council’s Our Manchester Community and Voluntary Sector Grants Programme (OMCVS), and One Manchester housing association. The fund's design was led by Young Manchester, Macc and OMCVS, with Young Manchester overseeing its delivery.

The COVID Recovery Fund aligned with the key priority of the Our Manchester Strategy: fostering a diverse, thriving, resilient, effective, and sustainable VCSE sector in Manchester. The fund’s purpose and themes focused on improving the health and wellbeing of Manchester’s residents, increasing sector resilience, and addressing health inequalities within the city.