Live Well: Spaces of Hope and Connection - Greater Manchester’s VCFSE sector has secured a major £16.5m investment in community-led spaces

This investment in Live Well Spaces of Hope and Connection will create a network of 100+ inclusive, community-led and owned spaces across Greater Manchester where people can meet, belong and find everyday support.

Prioritising communities facing the greatest inequalities, the investment will strengthen social infrastructure and grow community action, power and wealth. Powered by the Live Well movement, Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) organisations, public services and residents will come together to share power, change systems and shape healthier, fairer, more connected places.

Across Greater Manchester, there are already hundreds of community-led spaces. They're the lifeblood of our sector. But many are underfunded, overstretched and held up by just a few dedicated individuals fighting to keep the lights on. And too many people still don't have communal spaces to call their own.

This investment will change that. Launching in April 2026, it represents one of the largest investments in community-led development in England - building on the leadership and creativity already rooted in local communities, and shifting power so that communities themselves decide where investment goes.

10GM is the programme's accountable body, with delivery leads in each Local Infrastructure Organisation coordinating work in each borough. Alongside GMCA, NHS GM, and The Innovation Unit, GM Equality Alliance (GM=EqAl) will play key roles as delivery partners.

GM=EqAl are a working group of the GM VCFSE Leadership Group, delivering the equalities work stream under the GM VCFSE Accord. We are delighted to be a delivery partner in Live Well Spaces of Hope and Connection, enabling reach to communities of dispersed identity or experiences, who are often missed by locality-based funding.