The Manchester Pride Charity has announced its final fundraising amount from the Manchester Pride Festival, which took place in August. An impressive amount of £120,000 has been raised for the Manchester Pride Community Fund.
A final total of £120,062.38 will be used to support hundreds of LGBTQ+ people across the city and wider region. The money was raised through the fixed donation on every ticket, direct donations, bucket collections over the weekend and fundraising from individuals and organisations.
Commenting on the amount raised, Mark Fletcher, CEO of Manchester Pride said: “We know how important it is for those buying tickets for the Gay Village Party to know that money is going directly to the causes and charities in Manchester that mean the most to our communities. So we are excited to share the incredible fundraising total we achieved this year.
Read more: People come together for poignant candlelit vigil as Manchester Pride draws to a close
"The £120,000 raised so far really highlights the kindness shown by Greater Manchester’s LGBTQ+ communities and allies. The team and I want to say a big thank you to everyone who purchased tickets, donated or fundraised this year.
“We have raised over £1.5M since 2003 for LGBTQ+ causes, and Manchester has played a huge part in LGBTQ+ liberation in this country. We’re already so excited for next year’s festival and what’s to come next.”
For every ticket bought, £2.50 was donated towards the Manchester Pride Community Fund. The money will go towards many different causes such as, HIV stigma, LGBTQ+ events, mental health, sexual wellbeing, hate crime and more.
The Manchester Pride Charity is now inviting applications from charities, grassroots organisations and LGBTQ+ good causes. Every penny of the fund goes to supporting LGBTQ+ causes and projects in Greater Manchester, with the money being distributed by grants process.
The new grants application process has been co-designed in consultation with LGBTQ+ community groups based in Manchester to make sure the process is fair and easy and serves communities’ needs.
Manchester Pride has created a policy which provides a clear outline of the principles, criteria and processes that inform the approach that they take towards distributing grants to the LGBTQ+ communities of Greater Manchester. Grant applications will be reviewed by Trustees and the Manchester Pride Community Grant Panel, which was established as a direct outcome of the charity’s “Pride In Our Future” consultation.
The annual Pride celebration played out over an incredible August bank holiday weekend, with the city awash with rainbows as thousands united to celebrate Manchester’s LGBTQ+ community. The focal point of the celebrations was the return of the Pride Parade, which returned after two years away, with its message of a March for Peace.
The party continued across the three days of the bank holiday with entertainment across the Gay Village and bars and restaurants around the district packed with festival-goers.
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