The R4GM Community Fund is now the Renew Community Fund. We’ve made this change to better reflect where the funding comes from, and our future aims and ambitions.
We want Greater Manchester to be a place where…
We will also continue to support
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.
Withington Baby Bank and Community Kitchen will support families on very low income and in temporary accommodation by providing healthy meals made from local-grown surplus and bi-weekly referral-based access to baby care essentials, accessories, furniture and clothes collected from the surrounding community of south Manchester.
We will create and distribute curriculum-aligned loan boxes made from household waste, alongside hands-on reuse workshops and open creative sessions. The project promotes reuse, reduces landfill, and supports schools, families, and educators in Salford to explore low-waste, sustainable learning through scrap-based activities and shared community resources.
Turning toy dinosaurs into earrings and old jeans into fashion. ReVive is a year-long upcycling project where residents transform household waste into creative treasures. Through monthly workshops, certifications, and employment support, it empowers low-income and ethnically diverse communities to reduce waste, learn new skills, and spark enterprise.
We collect pre-loved clothing and household items that would otherwise go to waste. Volunteers help sort and revitalise them, before redistribution to low-income families, refugees, and asylum seekers in Rochdale. The project reduces waste, promotes reuse, and supports vulnerable communities with essential items they might not otherwise afford
The project will provide local GM residents with the skills to develop their sewing ability and confidence, connect with their local community and gain a greater understanding of textile waste through the art of quilt-making, helping to promote the repair movement, reduce social isolation and tell powerful community stories
Our project redistributes pre-loved school uniforms and essentials to families in need through the Community Locker and teaches repair and reuse skills in our free sewing classes, reducing household textile waste and promoting sustainable living across Bolton.
