What Is the Live Well Trafford Community Grants Fund?

Live Well is Greater Manchester’s approach to making sure everyone has access to great everyday support in their neighbourhood. In Trafford, this has a clear local vision: everyone in Trafford should have the opportunity to live well – in good health, in connected communities, and with access to the right support at the right time. Trafford Live Well brings together local support, services, and community partners to help residents live healthier, happier lives – wherever they are, whatever their circumstances.

This fund supports VCFSE organisations across Trafford to deliver activities and projects that help make that vision real – particularly for people who face the greatest health inequalities. We want funded projects to support people to take positive steps forward in their lives, build resilience, and reduce the impact of poverty and disadvantage.

We want this fund to reach organisations that are rooted in their communities and know what people need. You don’t need to be a professional grant-writer to apply. We’ve designed the process to be as accessible as possible, and we can support you at every stage.

Trafford Community Collective (TCC) is the local infrastructure organisation for Trafford’s VCFSE sector and has been designated as the strategic lead and representative for the VCFSE sector within Live Well in Trafford. We are administering this fund on behalf of Trafford Council, including running the application process, supporting applicants, convening the participatory grant-making panel, and monitoring funded projects through to completion.

What Can the Fund Support?

We’re looking to fund activities and projects that connect to at least one of the following Trafford Live Well Minimum Core Offer areas:

• Debt advice and income support
• Employment support
• Housing support and advice
• Mental health and wellbeing
• Upstream physical health checks
• Family support

Your project doesn’t need to cover all of these. It should clearly connect to at least one, and show how it helps people in Trafford to live well.

We’re particularly interested in projects that:

• Help reduce health inequalities by improving the health and mental wellbeing of residents
• Support people to build resilience, tackle the effects of poverty, and take positive steps forward in their lives
• Promote participatory approaches – actively involving stakeholders and community members in the decision-making process, ensuring their voices and perspectives are heard and considered
• Provide longer-term benefit to residents – through improved facilities, updated equipment, or specialist support

Prevention and Early Intervention

This fund priorities activity that prevents problems from getting worse and supports people before they reach crisis point. Trafford uses three tiers:

• Tier 1 – Prevent: universal activities that promote health and wellbeing in the community
• Tier 2 – Delay: support for people at higher risk, stepping in early to stop things escalating
• Tier 3 – Reduce: support for people with existing needs, focused on preventing further deterioration

Projects working at tier 1 and tier 2 are most aligned with this fund. Tier 3 projects are also welcome but should clearly explain how they connect to prevention and early intervention.

Life Course

We want to support activity across all stages of life. As part of your application, we’ll ask you to tell us which life stage or stages your project primarily works with:

• Preconception and becoming a parent
• Infancy and early years (0-5)
• Childhood and adolescence (5-19)
• Working age adults (16-64)
• Older people (65+)

How Much Can I Apply For?

You can apply for a grant of up to £10,000. The fund has two ringfenced pots based on your organisation’s annual income:

Income band	Grant pot
Up to £80,000 turnover	£70,000
£80,001 to £150,000 turnover	£50,000

We expect to fund between 12 and 15 projects in total. Grant funding must be spent between the end of July 2026 and the end of March 2027.

Who Can Apply?

Organisation Type

We welcome applications from constituted VCFSE organisations, including:

• Registered charities and charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs)
• Community interest companies (CICs)
• Community benefit societies
• Other constituted community groups with a bank account in the organisation’s name

If you’re not sure whether your organisation is constituted, or you’re in the process of setting up a formal structure, please get in touch. We can help you understand your options and what steps might be needed.

TCC Membership

Applicants must be members of Trafford Community Collective. Membership is free and open to any VCFSE organisation working in Trafford. If you’re not sure whether you’re already a member, or you’d like to join, contact us and we’ll check and help you get set up.

Geography

Your organisation must be delivering activity in Trafford. Delivery must not focus on Sale or Partington for this funding round, as those areas are receiving separate Live Well investment. Please select the area or areas where your project will operate:

☐ North (Gorse Hill & Cornbrook, Longford, Lostock & Barton, Old Trafford, Stretford & Humphrey Park)

☐ South (Altrincham, Bowdon, Broadheath, Hale, Hale Barns & Timperley South, Timperley Central, Timperley North)

☐ Central (Ashton upon Mersey, Brooklands, Manor, Sale Moor)

☐ West (Davyhulme, Flixton, Urmston)

Partnership Applications – Partnership applications are welcomed and all partners involved must meet the eligibility criteria set out

Please read the Guidelines below before applying:

How To Apply

– Please refer to the supplied guidance notes during the application process – please ensure you read the entire document.
– Only one application can be submitted
– Please respect the word counts, only the responses within the allotted word count limits will be scored.
– Please submit the form in an editable Word format.
– Please email your application to LiveWellGrants@traffordcollective.org.uk
– You can also email this address with any other queries regarding the application process.

All completed applications need to be submitted by

Wednesday, 8^th July, 5 pm

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS:

Please review the Q&A document, which has been prepared based on the questions received during the online webinar “Meet the Funder – Live Well Trafford Community Grants 2026/27 – How to Apply?”, held on 11 June 2026, as well as questions submitted by email to the grants team at livewellgrants@traffordcollective.org.uk

Timeline: