Our impact.
How we help.
Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is the only place-based funder in the city region that ensures that money reaches the frontline organisations and services that support people at risk of or experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping.
We are uniquely positioned to ensure that donations have the maximum impact on addressing homelessness and rough sleeping.
Without the support of Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, A Bed Every Night would not be possible and countless organisations across the city region would not get the funding they urgently need.
With the help of the businesses, communities and people of Greater Manchester, we are able to fund innovative and pioneering projects, programmes and initiatives which tackle homelessness in all its forms.
We deliver our grants through three priority areas: Emergency Response, Places and Spaces, and Targeted Prevention.
As a charity we are committed to openness and honesty. We work with 360Giving to publish information about all of our grants. Look at our funding data on 360Giving.
vital funds raised
awarded to local causes
150+
78,700
organisations supported
nights off the streets
£3,148,998
£4,114,970
A Bed Every Night.
A Bed Every Night launched in 2018, a humanitarian response to the rough sleeping crisis in Greater Manchester. It provides a vital safety net for people at crisis point, and is built on the principle that no one should be excluded from that support and forced to sleep on the streets.
Our funding makes this unique and unrivalled scheme a universal offer: we ensure there is bed space and critical personal support for people who are legally deemed to have No Recourse to Public Funds.
Since 2019 we have funded over 78,700 nights accommodation for those who would otherwise have been sleeping on our streets. But it’s not just a bed for the night. It’s a warm welcome, food, and wrap around support to help move people onto more stable accommodation.
You can find out more about some of the A Bed Every Night providers, and the many other charity partners we have worked with, in the case studies below.
Rae’s story.
Rae came to the Booth Centre in July 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. At that time he was Covid positive and needed emergency accommodation in order to self-isolate. Manchester City Council’s rough sleeper team helped source this on the day.
After his self-isolation was complete, he was accommodated in the men’s project SPIN. After some time gathering evidence and directly working with the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit he was able to secure settled status. He was then able to move into a room in a shared house.
During this time, Rae had continued to use alcohol, which made it difficult for him to find and hold down employment. Rae wanted to work and improve his English. To help with this, the Booth Centre offered him a volunteering role. Rae has been volunteering with the Booth Centre now for a number of months and has drastically reduced his drinking. Rae’s volunteering role has enabled him to have structure and purpose.
He now has a job and continues volunteer in between his shifts.
“The grant from the Mayor’s charity was critical in allowing us to recruit the right number of engagement workers in order to make the re-opening of our Beacon Support centre possible.
“This has meant we have been able to serve over 500 people who were experiencing homelessness and help them move forward.”
Barnabus
Who we support.
We fund charities and organisations across Greater Manchester. Find out more about some of the charities we have supported.
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A Bed Every Night (ABEN) covers all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. In Manchester, this scheme is provided by SPIN.
The ABEN funding has enabled SPIN to develop their previous dormitory-style hostel into single rooms which is more suited to residents, especially those with high needs. SPIN currently provides 20 beds and wrap-around support to male EU citizens.
“I would like to thank you and all of you at SPIN. You treated me as a human being and offered me all the support I needed." - SPIN guest who moved on to his own, more permanent, accommodation.
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In the words of Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH)…
“We received funding from the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity which helped us to support women who sex work or have ‘survival sex’ over the pandemic, many of whom also experience homelessness and other huge challenges such as mental ill health and domestic violence.
The funding contributed to running our drop-in centre and our night-time outreach via the MASH van. It contributed to essential items such as food, drink, hygiene packs, and attack alarms to make sure that women’s immediate needs were met at a time when they were at the sharpest end of risks.
The impact on our beneficiaries was significant as they were able to receive both immediate short-term and more in-depth support from us, an organisation they trusted at a very challenging time when many other local organisations closed their doors.
Women told us MASH was a ‘lifeline’ and that they couldn’t believe MASH were still there when everywhere else was closed."
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We provided two years of support to Manchester Refugee Support Network (MRSN) which part-funded their Refugee Integration Service. The funding helped refugees in Greater Manchester who are at high risk of becoming homeless.
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Petrus Community, an organisation that provide supported accommodation for people experiencing homelessness, in housing need, and who have been unable to access essential resources and support services, told us:
“Without the funding we received, we wouldn’t have been able to fully refurbish five self-contained flats within our supported accommodation services. It was through the restoration of these properties that we were able to provide a safe place to live to a further five vulnerable people in our area who had been rough sleeping, classed as high risk and looking for shelter and support.
Thanks to this refurbishment we were able to restore property in one of our women’s only services, which was used to accommodate a woman who was street homeless after escaping a violent and abusive relationship.
This funding has had a significant and positive impact on people’s lives who would have endured further harm had they remained in their situation during a time when we were in the middle of a global pandemic. This has enabled our charity to provide tailored support and assistance in a safe environment to more people which has been rewarding to the team who empower all our service users into contributing to their independence."
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In the words of Back on Track…
"At Back on Track, we were delighted to receive a grant of £6,500 as emergency funding at the start of the first lockdown in 2020. This grant was really crucial to us at a time when everything was up in the air.
During lockdown we were part of a major food operation in the city, helping to provide catering to homeless people who had been placed in emergency accommodation. Our café team kept working every day through lockdown and delivered 2700 free meals in just a few weeks, and the grant helped us cover the costs.
At the same time, we were setting up a remote crisis service to support our existing service users through lockdown, and the grant helped with this as well.
Overall the funding from the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity really helped us through this extremely challenging time. Also, the grant process was incredibly quick and straightforward.”
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We provided two years of support to JustLife as part of our Emergency Funding Phase 4.
They used the funding to support their 'mobile' Just Life Team to reach people in Unsupported Temporary Accommodation (UTA).
People entering UTA are likely to experience deteriorating mental/physical health, increased anxiety, higher drug/alcohol use and increased social isolation as a result of the poor living conditions and close proximity to other residents with multiple and complex needs.
As part of the ‘mobile’ service, JustLife provided support and advocacy for residents in order for them to reconnect with specialist services, explore move-on accommodation and address any issues they are having. The team also provide support for UTA landlords and managers who are key to improving the standards and tenant experience in this more unregulated homeless accommodation.
As a result of this funding and the provision of an extra outreach worker, their mobile team supported 118 UTA residents since September 2020.
They also worked closely with 9 UTA Landlords and residents of 14 different UTA properties. “By funding this staff post and recognising the plight of the hidden homeless community... GMMC has not just enabled Justlife to dream bigger, but to deliver bigger too."
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In the words of Barnabus…
“We used this funding to support our work with the’ Everyone in’ campaign and our food response project. During the first lockdown, this meant we could facilitate making 40,000 meals for the people accommodated in the hotels.
We have re-designed our service to move away from the drop-in model (food-led) to a support-led model where our engagement workers are operating from our support centre offering accommodation referrals, help with benefits, assistance with referrals for NHS, mental health services, detoxes and drug & alcohol support services.
The grant from the Mayor’s charity was critical in allowing us to recruit the right number of engagement workers in order to make the re-opening of our Beacon Support centre possible. This has meant we have been able to serve over 500 people who were experiencing homelessness and help them move forward”.
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The Bond Board is a charity that exists to reduce homelessness by getting people on low incomes into private rented accommodation. They provide Bond Guarantees for tenancies which take the place of cash deposits and provide security for landlords.
Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity provided funding in 2020 to help support their advice work ahead of the eviction ban being lifted.
Impact: 31 of homelessness prevented and tenancies sustained | 25 service users received emergency support e.g. food | 16 service users rehoused into alternative accommodation |. 62 households reported an increase in knowledge about their housing rights and responsibilities | £27,471.40 back into the pockets of low-income households, many of whom had lost income as a result of Covid 19
“Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the private rented sector, and we have seen first-hand the real threat of homelessness the pandemic has brought. Thanks to funding from the GM Mayoral Fund, The Bond Board has been able to offer early housing advice and support for those at risk of homelessness, as well as income maximisation support and practical help for those in crisis. This project has been life-changing for many households and utterly vital in preventing many private tenants from facing the trauma of homelessness''. Thomas Ingham. Housing Adviser, The Bond Board.
“The service was amazing, they helped me in a time when I lost hope and was helpless and could not sleep at night due to the pressure from the landlord for the eviction and being homeless. I did not know such a service was available out there to help people like us. Thank you so much Bond Board for your support.” Bond Board Tenants Advocacy Service User.
“The service was amazing, they helped me in a time where I lost hope and was helpless and could not sleep at night"
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Emergency funding from Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity ensured the centre could remain open when many others were closed.
Impact: Respond to the increase in support calls (158%) | Provide welcome packs to all women registering with us for the first time | Provide care packs for current women registered with the service including food, craft and beauty as well as toys for children, and special requests
"Before coming to the centre, I knew I needed some help, but I wasn't sure what I needed. From the welcome pack, the onboarding process and then being matched with a support worker, the whole experience so far has been seamless and stress-free and every step of the way I have encountered people who genuinely care and have empathy, even in these difficult times." - Service user.
"...it makes you feel valued and that you are in safe hands, which is so important when you are feeling in a vulnerable place"
Your impact.
Everything we have achieved is because of the generosity and support of the businesses, communities and people of Greater Manchester. But that support is still urgently needed.
The cost of living crisis means too many people are struggling to make ends meet, making impossible choices between their fuel or their food, and worrying about how to cover the next bill, unforeseen cost, rent or mortgage payment.
With your help, we can ensure those people are supported in their local community. Your money reaches across Greater Manchester, funding anything from emergency response accommodation for rough sleeping to support workers for people at risk of homelessness. It keeps organisations open, keeps people in post, and gives hope to many.