We are
Manchester’s
Charity
We empower positive change, for communities
and young people across the city of Manchester.
We are the only grant-giving charity dedicated to the city of Manchester.
We award financial grants to help people improve their lives, communities and spaces. We want to address inequality, invest in positive futures and see the people of Manchester flourish. We love Manchester!
Spotlight stories
Remembering our friend,
Sir Howard Bernstein
Earlier this year, We Love MCR Charity lost a dear friend and benefactor in Sir Howard Bernstein. Our very first Ambassador, his 2017 retirement dinner raised £480,000+ which was used to establish the Sir Howard Bernstein Endowment Fund for young Mancunians - without which our Manchester's Rising Stars Fund wouldn't exist.
Sir Howard's family and friends held a memorial for him in Manchester in November, and a fundraising page has been set up to continue his legacy of supporting Manchester's young people:
Latest grant awards...
Each month our Trustees come together to award grants to tireless local organisations and ambitious young Mancunians, distributed through our two main Funds.
Drama classes to cooking workshops, aspiring nurses to electricians - click the link below to read the fifteen stories that We Love MCR Charity funding created in August!
Our core funds
Manchester's Rising Stars Fund
Our Fund helps young Mancunians to fulfil their potential. Many young people have a clear ambition, and a plan for how to succeed. But many of them also face barriers to their success, particularly financial barriers.
By awarding grants to ambitious young Mancunians, we remove the first hurdle that prevents them from fulfilling their ambitions – in qualifications, work and entrepreneurship.
Stronger Communities Fund
Our Stronger Communities Fund empowers local people to improve their own communities and spaces, whenever they are ready. We listen, and act on their inspiring ideas.
It is our longest standing fund, and with it we've supported hundreds of local groups & charities to deliver great work in Manchester's unbeatable communities!
Ready when Manchester needs us
Covid-19 Community Response Fund
We are a city that comes together to help each when things get tough. It is at the very heart of what it means to be Mancunian.
In that spirit, we responded immediately to the emerging pandemic in March 2020. We coordinated the campaign to get funds to the amazing Manchester organisations responding to urgent community needs in the face of the Covid-19 crisis.
At the height of the pandemic, we gave on average £7,900 every single day, for more than 100 days, to frontline Manchester groups & charities. By the time our Response Fund closed, we supported over 50,000 Mancunians by awarding almost £1,000,000 to over 300 frontline organisations in the city.
Read about the impact of the fund, and how we supported Manchester's vital voluntary sector during the darkest moments of the pandemic, at the links below.