We believe co-operation is at the heart of strong communities and this makes us a different kind of funder. We work closely with communities, we listen and we learn.

In our third #FutureCommunities podcast, we talk about how our partners helped us shape a radically new style of unrestricted, long-term funding with co-operation at its heart. Our CEO, Nick, returns with Asimina, our Head of Learning and Impact, and Louise, our Head of Funding & Partnerships to share tips and ideas on how to make funding more impactful.

Let's build communities of the future together.

Almost 100 diverse young people helped to create the Future Communities Vision that forms the bedrock of our new ‘Building communities of the future together’ strategy. They’ll inherit the communities we want to create, so it was only fair they got the chance to shape the work we do, too.

In this #FutureCommunities podcast, we discuss how this research phase worked, and what we learned on the way. Hear from Asimina, our Head of Learning & Impact; Andy, our Head of Comms; and Claire, an 18-year-old from Manchester, who took part in our visioning focus groups.

Let's build communities of the future together.

PS. Thank you to the brill Reform Radio for their help recording and editing these podcasts. Read more about their work supporting young creatives in Manchester

We're using our first ever #FutureCommunities podcast to share everything we learned by co-operatively developing our new strategy. Our process took more than 12 months as we collaborated with colleagues, Trustees, Co-op and funded partners, but we truly believe our end-product is richer, and more impactful, as a result. 

Listen to our CEO Nick; our chair, Jamie; and third sector consultant, Matt, talk openly about our pitfalls and our wins. At the end, we also share what our final strategy is all about. We hope it helps.

Let's build communities of the future together.

PS. A big thank you to the brilliant Reform Radio for their help recording and editing our podcasts. Read more about their work supporting young creatives in Manchester