Region comes together to launch new fundraising campaign

Calls have been made for the 'Greater Manchester family' to come together and support businesses, volunteers, charities and community groups hit hardest by the economic fallout from Covid-19.

oneGM aims to create a support package using government funding made available as Tier 3 restrictions were imposed on the region, as well as through fundraising.

The combined authority is now expecting to get at least the £65m they had hoped for, after the government announced that it would backdate Tier 2 business support funding.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham described the figure as the ‘bare minimum to prevent a winter of real hardship’, having had a request for £90m in government funding rebuffed by ministers.

But the region’s leaders are now hoping to harness a spirit of togetherness by encouraging individuals, communities and businesses to support each other in the coming months.

The fund set up through Mr Burnham’s mayoral charity will help individuals who are self-employed or on low incomes, as well as struggling businesses and voluntary sector organisations.

It will also go towards tackling food poverty, helping those at risk of homeless and providing mental health support for those who need it in the city-region.

Visit the new oneGM donation page at: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/oneGM

Further details of oneGM are expected to be released in the coming days.

Speaking at the virtual launch on Tuesday, Mr Burnham said: “We are one Greater Manchester family, and we are going to do whatever we can to help people.

“But we are asking any business or individual to come forward. People are there and want to help, and oneGM is about bringing it together and making it as effective as possible.”

In response to the region’s move into Tier 3, many wet-led pubs and bars have pivoted to offer food and stay trading.

Asked whether this was responsible, Mr Burnham responded: “Let me make it really clear that we are not encouraging people to get around the rules. 

“We made our case around the hospitality industry and the feeling that it is sometimes presented as being more responsible for the transmission of the virus than I think the evidence bears out.

“They are there, and everyone needs to follow the rules – that’s the best route for getting out of Tier 3 as quickly as possible.”

The launch was attended by several high-profile figures from within Greater Manchester’s public, private and voluntary sector.

Chris Oglesby, chief executive of property firm Bruntwood, said businesses felt it was time to step forward when it ‘became clear that the support provided centrally was no longer going to cover the cost and leave us with a shortfall’.

The event also heard from Gary Neville, the former Manchester United footballer behind GG Hospitality, which is responsible for Hotel Football and the Stock Exchange Hotel.

He called for clearer direction for the ‘ravaged’ hospitality sector, and likened the government to a coaching staff of a football team.

“They’re changing the tactics every single week, and the players don’t quite know what they’re doing – and we’re the players,” he said.

“We’re a little confused. We are losing jobs, people are uncertain, they’re getting anxious, and it’s having a great deal of impact upon people’s lives away from the pandemic.”

Former Coronation Street star Julie Hesmondhalgh also praised the cultural organisations that had continued to fight through the pandemic despite ‘extraordinarily challenging circumstances’.

She said that while many cultural organisations have received emergency support, ‘a huge amount of uncertainty and anxiety’ remains about what will happen once the current run of funding expires.