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Making Great Communities Incubator
Rise has a £10,000 pot of funding available for student projects that build and support community. Each student project can pitch for up to £800 to make their idea happen…
Do you have an idea that could positively impact your community, a place or space you are part of, an area you spend time in or live in, a school or community centre that you attend? Or would you like to develop an idea to work in this way? Then this Incubator is for you!
This Incubator will support you each week to develop an idea from dream into reality, and help you build the skills, confidence and purpose you need to take this idea into the future.
You will work with community experts and receive mentoring for your project so you can learn through doing and delivering with support and guidance.
Community projects:
Maybe you have observed a gap in your community’s needs, a provision not being met, a space that could do with some support or creativity?
Perhaps you feel very strongly about a topic or theme and want to build advocacy for this across Manchester?
Maybe you are already volunteering or working with a group or community, and you want to support this area further?
Do you see inequality, opportunities for better services, do you want to build your voice and find a way to advocate with others
Do you have an idea for a project or see a method for building positive action?
Project ideas might include things such as:
- Cleaning up your alleyways, making community gardens, clearing public spaces, litter picking events, community allotment projects, wild flower planting, gorilla street crafts…
- Youth projects, youth groups, school events, community learning, skill shares, family workshops or events for the whole family or to support parents…
- Food bank volunteering projects, food drive collections, community food learning/sharing, cultural celebration events, cooking classes…
- Campaign projects, social activism, developing group projects, collaborative opportunities, fighting against inequalities and working for social justice on specific issues…
- Anything you value and see as important in your community…
** Graduating this year? You can still participate in this programme and be awarded funding and mentorship.
**Please note, you will be pitching for up to £800, not the full £10K. We are looking to fund as many small and manageable projects as possible, so keep things simple!**
Associated Badges:
In A Nutshell...
- Develop... an idea from inception into production
- Engage... your community in a project
- Build... through engaging in the incubator, build a community of practice and make friends.
- Learn... get support and learn from expert practitioners.
- Mentoring... and support for your project idea over 12 weeks
- Make it happen... pitch ideas to receive funding and make these Good things happen in your community!
- Earn up to 300 Rise points ... which can be recognised within your degree.
Schedule
-
13:00 to 16:00 on 11/06/25 - Grosvenor East - room 4.06
Incubator Session 1 Your North Star & Parameters of the programme -
13:00 to 16:00 on 18/06/25 - TBC
Incubator Session 2 Goals... -
13:00 to 16:00 on 25/06/25 - TBC
Incubator Session 3 Build with not for -
13:00 to 16:00 on 02/07/25
Independent work A week off from scheduled activity to work on your project -
13:00 to 16:00 on 09/07/25 - TBC
Incubator Session 4 Feed back from tasks -
13:00 to 16:00 on 16/07/25 - TBC
Incubator Session 5 Get it Done! -
10:00 to 15:00 on 23/07/25 - TBC
Incubater Session 6 Workshop full day -
10:00 to 16:00 on 30/07/25 - TBC
Pitch your idea Attend a 1 hour group session pitch for funding -
01/08/25 to 15/10/25
Mentoring Successful pitches will receive a bursary and a mentor to make their project idea a reality. -
17:00 to 19:30 on 15/10/25 - TBC
Celebration Celebrate your project, learn form each other, offer feedback and share, invite your peers/family/community to celebrate with you