The Renew Community Fund has closed for 2026 and will open again in spring 2027. Read more about this year’s successful projects below.
The Renew Community Fund is part of Renew Greater Manchester, the UK’s largest reuse initiative. It helps give unwanted items a second life by supporting local projects that mend, fix, share, pass on or make better use of things that might otherwise be thrown away.
Items donated at recycling centres are repaired, cleaned up or given a new use before being sold in Renew shops. The money raised is then used to support local community projects through this fund.
We’re working towards a Greater Manchester where:
We’re looking for projects that:
This could include things like repair workshops, tool or toy libraries, clothes swaps, furniture projects, community sharing events, or projects that help good-quality items find a new home.
For 2026, we’re introducing a new way to apply.
All applications will be managed through https://actionfunder.org/ an online platform that helps connect organisations with funding opportunities and streamlines the application process.
Check back in early 2027 for key information and dates for the next round of funding.
The fund supports community groups, charities and organisations across Greater Manchester to deliver projects that reduce waste, encourage reuse and repair, and support local people.
Community Locker will collect, sort, store and redistribute pre-loved school uniform, children’s clothing, shoes, bags and essentials. They will also run two weekly sewing sessions teaching people to repair, alter and upcycle clothing and textiles.
Sparklife Community Clothing will support people to learn to alter sports clothes that have been donated. This project is an extension of their popular community wardrobe already in operation.
Stitching futures, based at Levenshulme Inspire, will support residents to achieve qualifications in sewing and repair to work with their local repair café.
Gorton Monastery Repair café will continue to support residents to repair items and deliver training to other repair cafés.
Bowker Vale Primary school will purchase a washing machine and tumble drier to set up a school uniform hub on site for families.
The funding will support setting up a brand-new repair cafe at Woodville Family centre to support residents of Cheetham Hill to repair items.
Renew is Greater Manchester’s reuse initiative – the largest of its kind in the country, Renew takes donations made by residents at recycling centres across Greater Manchester, these items are then cleaned, fixed and upcycledready for resale via the Renew shops and online.All of the items you see for sale at the Renew shops or online would otherwise have gone to waste. By rescuing it and putting it back into use, we’re capturing key resources. Money raised from these sales fund the Renew community fund it also supports good causes across Greater Manchester. For more information and to shop online Renew – Greater Manchester | Donate & Buy Pre-Loved Items | R4GM
We are encouraging more projects that focus on repair and reuse. When we fix something, borrow something, or buy second hand instead of new, we’re keeping existing items in use. Making new things involves mining or harvesting raw materials which damages our environment. Keeping things in use means we need less raw materials, which lessens the impact on our environment.
For example, instead of throwing away an old chair, you could give it away or sell it to someone who needs it or paint it a different colour it so it feels new again.
Even something as simple as changing a fuse in a plug or replacing a zip on a backpack counts.
These activities are different to recycling as the original item is kept in use. With recycling, items are broken down back into their raw materials to become new items. This process uses much more energy and resources than if we just kept the item in use.
Repair and reuse is much more effective at reducing carbon emissions than recycling alone, as it prevents the emissions from happening in the first place.
In Greater Manchester, most of us understand why it is important to recycle and how to do this properly. We want repair and reuse to become a part of daily life, just like recycling.
We want the fund to have the most impact possible, encouraging long-term, positive behaviour change in the communities involved in the projects we support.
We want projects that help to make fixing, donating, sharing, borrowing and buying pre-loved a normal part of everyday life.
With this in mind, we will be prioritising projects that encourage these activities. Other projects that encourage recycling and support local communities. may still receive funding, but they may not be scored as highly.
There are many benefits, including:
Each application is scored on its individual merit and the scoring process is outlined in the guidance (insert link)
There are lots of examples of previous projects that are a great fit for the fund.
These things encourage long term behaviour change.
No. The fund is still open to:
We will be hosting online application workshops for anyone interested in finding out more about the fund, here we will talk through the application process and help answer any of your questions.
