Manchester Settlement is a charity that is rooted in the urban communities of Manchester. The charity has existed in varying forms for upwards of 120 years delivering an ever-changing palette of services to meet the developing needs of individuals, families and communities. We are proud of the breadth of activity that we have been able to sustain, and of the flexibility and desire that we have to move into new areas of activity that will contribute to the social benefit that we pursue.
The individuals and families of Manchester and the surrounding areas face new challenges all of the time, and we are committed to using our skills and resources to Create Cycles of Community Change
Our Mission
To instigate sustainable cycles of change that support individuals, families and communities to be healthy, compassionate and empowered contributors to diverse communities
Our charity seeks to progress with this mission because we are instinctively driven to see improvements in the lives of people whom with a little assistance could make a massive contribution to community life.
Our Vision
We aspire to a society where people feel more supported, connected, empowered and resilient, such that they are motivated to get involved in helping others along that same journey
Our Values
We will always
• Respect the strengths and needs of all of our stakeholders
• Believe that people are most powerful when connected to communities
• Be truthful and transparent
• Be brave enough to challenge boundaries
Our values are the touch points that should guide us everyday, whether we are applying for funding, meeting family members or entering into partnerships.
We need to work hard so that our teams, stakeholders and the communities we work within understand and believe these values. We need to comply with them all of the time and we need to challenge ourselves if we do not.
Our Charitable Objective
To promote the advancement of education, the furtherance of health and all other measures for the social welfare of the poorer residents in the City of Manchester and neighbouring districts.
Our Sustainability
As a charity we need to do all we can the ensure our long term sustainability, this explicitly recognises our need to be financially secure, such that we can continue to invest in the development of quality services. This internal sustainability is matched by our desire to increase the environmental sustainability of the actions of the community locally and globally.
Creating Cycles of Community Change
Creating Cycles of Community Change
Whilst all of our current and future service areas and approaches will have specific methodologies necessary to meet their particular specifications, Manchester Settlement translates our mission, vision and values through a methodology which applies across our service areas.
We aim to instigate cycles of community change that are equally powerful whatever part of our business we are speaking of.
Creating Cycles of Community Change
This way of working helps us to think of the cycles of sustainable change that we are trying to kickstart.
We recognise that often/largely people come across our threshold as they have a need that they are looking for help with. This could be connected to one of our established services, or it could be because of our presence as a high-profile community organisation. The needs section of our cycle illustrates that we have a place in meeting those presenting needs, but we aim to do that through joint problem solving.
The strengths section of our cycle illustrates that we are always aiming to develop our relationship with the community member through looking to help them to identify their strengths, and to support them to find ways on building upon those strengths.
The Activity section of our cycle illustrates our wish for the people we are working alongside to become active, this could be physical, artistic, cultural, anything. If this activity is in a group setting, we believe that the community connections and networks are beginning to embed and that this will build resilience.
The community section of our model illustrates where we aim to support the person to put something back into the community. This could be through co designing services with us, through making a pledge about their community contribution, or through more formal volunteering.