Nick Massey, Chief Executive of Forever Manchester, talks about his long association with the charity and the vision that drives his work.
After 26 years in the same organisation many people might have become a little jaded with their work, but Nick Massey’s passion and drive is undimmed even after more than two decades.
His enthusiasm for Forever Manchester and its mission is infectious, but his early career was far removed from the charity sector. After years working for the Co-operative Bank straight from school, Nick left the bank and went to work for a PR agency but found the job wasn’t for him and he needed a complete change of direction.
He explains: “I hated it. I wasn’t good at it. The job wasn’t for me and I decided to leave. I wanted to have a better work-life balance, and I was fed up with all the corporate nonsense and wanted to do something else. After 18 years of working this was the first time I had been unemployed, so I decided to set up my own consultancy.”
Meeting the Duke
Nick’s salvation came in the form of a request to be a consultant for a local charity called the Community Trust for Greater Manchester. At that point the organisation was top-heavy with 17 board members but only two members of staff. Nick found many of the long-standing board members were reluctant to change, but he had enough support from younger members to move forward.
“I came up with a five-year plan for the charity and waived my fee. The younger members liked it, but the older members were not so keen,” he says.
Despite its small size and rather old-fashioned approach, the charity had one trump card – its president was the Duke of Westminster, Britain’s richest man. Nick decided to meet the Duke himself and see what he could do to help.
“I ended up going Eaton Hall near Chester to see him.” Nick remembers, “He didn’t really seem to know why he’d got involved with the charity in the first place, but he was willing to help and said he would match whatever money we raised.”
Nick then persuaded the Editor of the Manchester Evening News to support the fund-raising campaign by giving coverage to businesses that donated. In the end the campaign was such a success that it raised £1.5 million, which was matched by the Duke’s Westminster Foundation.
The pot of money that had been raised meant Nick could carry forward his plan to transform the charity. It was re-named the Community Foundation for Greater Manchester with a new identity and renewed sense of purpose. Since then, the charity, which is now called Forever Manchester, has gone from strength to strength, helping communities across Greater Manchester.
A Job You Love
Today Forever Manchester has a staff of 20 and is major name across Greater Manchester and beyond. Staff share Nick’s passion for the job, with several having clocked up many years of service.
Nick says: “I wanted to work somewhere I enjoyed being. That’s why we have so many people who’ve stayed with us so long. We’ve got people who’ve been here 10, 20 years. They stay because they love working here.”
Forever Manchester’s approach is a world away from the sort of charity work big companies typically get involved with. It specialises in asset-based community development, focusing on what Nick refers to as “what’s strong, not what’s wrong.” The charity concentrates on physical assets that are under-utilised, encouraging people not to think of issues in their area as somebody else’s problem. The charity provides funding for a wide range of community projects, including mental health support groups, disability groups, junior football teams, food banks, refugee support networks, and knit & natter groups. Since the charity was established in 1989, it has delivered over £65 million into local communities. Each year it funds over 1,300 community projects, which means, if you live in Greater Manchester, it will have supported community activity within one mile of your home.
“This isn’t about getting your staff to go out and paint a community centre so you can get a picture and some good PR.” Nick explains, “It’s about supporting the people in the local community to do things for themselves.”
Breakfast Clubs
Such is Forever Manchester’s reputation, it was chosen by Kellogg’s to run help run its national Breakfast Grants Programme, which awards grants of £1,000 to school breakfast clubs. Kellogg’s was becoming overwhelmed with the number of appeals for help it was receiving and there was a risk the scheme might come to an end. Forever Manchester now deals with the requests and ensure the senders get the right support. For more information about the programme, email kelloggs@forevermanchester.com.
Manchester is the Place
Like Nick himself, Forever Manchester is fiercely proud of its Mancunian roots. In 2012, it commissioned local poet Tony Walsh (aka Longfella) to create a poem to capture the spirit of Greater Manchester. The poem, ‘This is the Place’, later gained national and international attention when Tony read it at the vigil for the victims of the Manchester Arena bomb. The following year, Tony donated the poem’s royalties to Forever Manchester.
Watch This Space
We will be highlighting aspects of Forever Manchester’s work in the coming months, so look out for follow-up articles in the Chamber’s weekly newsletter ‘On Point’.
If reading this feature has inspired you to support the work of Forever Manchester, you can find out more about the charity at https://forevermanchester.com/
Upcoming Forever Manchester events include the Forever Funny comedy night at the Frog and Bucket on 26th November and the Forever Manchester Birthday Party on 7th February – to take part in these events, email marketing@forevermanchester.com.