10GM - A joint venture to support the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector in Greater Manchester

Cancer & Inequalities Fund

Would you like to help play a part in increasing early cancer diagnosis rates in underserved communities in Greater Manchester?

The Cancer & Inequalities fund is offering grants of up to £5,000 for Greater Manchester-based VCSE organisations to deliver projects that will raise awareness of the early signs and symptoms of cancer and identify and understand the barriers people face when receiving a cancer diagnosis.

Early diagnosis is often the key to successfully treating cancer. It can make treatment more simple and less invasive and results in 55,000 additional lives saved each year.

The Cancer and Inequalities Fund is managed by Salford CVS, on behalf of 10GM. 

This deadline to apply for a medium grant has now passed.

Funded by Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, medium grants of up to £5,000 were available through 10GM to support projects that raise awareness of the early signs and symptoms of cancer and identify and understand the barriers people face when receiving a cancer diagnosis.

The NHS Long-term Plan sets ambitious targets for cancer diagnosis stating that ‘By 2028, 75% of people with cancer will be diagnosed at an early stage (stage 1 or 2).’ Currently, in Greater Manchester, this rate is around 55% highlighting the need for more to be done to improve early diagnosis rates.  

The Cancer & Inequalities fund is investing in a range of projects that will help improve early cancer diagnosis rates in communities that are at higher risk of a later-stage diagnosis. Early diagnosis is often the key to successfully treating cancer. It can make treatment more simple and less invasive and results in 55,000 additional lives saved each year. There are certain cancers which people are less likely to receive an Early Diagnosis for and it is these cancers we find more challenging.

The projects will educate and raise awareness of the early signs and symptoms of specific cancers, engage their communities in conversations around these cancers and how to access timely healthcare and work towards empowering their communities. Projects are encouraged to link in with local healthcare providers such as local GP practices to support your project or work together with them to deliver your ideas.

The grants programme has specific guidance and criteria that must be met.

The deadline to apply for a grant was 12:00, Monday 25 March 2024.  Applications received after the deadline will not be considered. 

Guidance 


The deadline to apply for a grant was 12:00, Monday 25 March 2024. Decisions are expected in May 2024. All projects must be completed by 31 December 2024.



Terms & Conditions


Terms and conditions of the Cancer and Inequalities Fund are available.





Previous grant recipients

In 2023 we provided small grants of up to £2000 to VCSE organisations to deliver innovative projects to support improvements in early cancer diagnosis amongst people at higher risk of later-stage detection and diagnosis. The projects aim to reduce inequalities across the cancer pathway, especially for people in often underserved and marginalised communities.

Read about the successful grant recipients. 

Working with refugees and asylum seekers to provide drama workshops aimed at supporting the community to overcome challenges to accessing health care. The workshops will run over 8 weeks and will focus on:

- Raising awareness of cancer
- Empowering participants to talk about cancer
- Challenging stigma and discrimination associated with cancer

Alongside the drama workshops, a bilingual animation aimed at increasing cancer awareness in the community will be produced. 

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Working with the Jewish community in Salford. The project will work to educate and empower the community by designing multi-lingual and ethnically appropriate literature for service users and holding community engagement sessions. 

Working with men, older people and racially marginalised communities Old Trafford Boxing Club runs boxing sessions for men and boys aged 6-70 four times a week. A new project aims to raise cancer awareness by hosting a weekly Sunday coffee morning for 30+ people per session for 17 weeks at the same venue.

Working with marginalised communities in Manchester we will run a community Interactive workshop covering cancer prevention, early detection, and emotional well-being which will be facilitated by healthcare professionals, psychologists, and cancer survivors. This will be done once a month. This will also be a safe space for emotional support and information exchange.

Our project aims to support south Asian women in Rochdale by improving their access to timely healthcare through engagement, education, and practical support. We will work with local GPs and healthcare professionals, provide information on cancer symptoms and treatments, challenge misconceptions, and promote community cancer champions.

Salford families in need project

A community organisation specialising in autism awareness and learning disabilities. The project will actively engage our neurodiverse population through our social media, internal networks, and support groups. The project will also aim to engage services and practitioners who support people with neurodiversity.

St. Martin's Church and the local PCN will organise three community sessions in Tameside targeting around 120 people. The PCN will run four educational drop-in sessions to raise awareness about healthcare services. A local GP will be present to encourage early diagnosis and treatment for urgent cancer referral pathways.

Supporting people with an intellectual disability and/or autism in Manchester using engaging sport sessions to promote health and wellbeing. The project will use Basketball sessions to engage the community and working with a specialist learning disability nurse to deliver education and awareness sessions on the early signs and symptoms of cancer.

Working with minority community groups, namely African and Arabic groups with a particular focus on men and older people across Manchester. We will organise at least three events to familiarise target communities with early signs and symptoms; encourage early access to their GPs/screening, and encourage lifestyle changes and referrals to local services. Additionally, they will focus on challenging cultural barriers that stop people from accessing health services such as stigma related to cancer.

Supporting Jewish communities in Salford. Educate and raise awareness of the associated BRCA risk for the target population. Hold engagement monthly events for women to promote BRCA testing and distribute leaflets. We found that men in our community don't attend such events, so we will produce an information leaflet on BRCA testing in English and Yiddish. We will distribute it in places that Orthodox Jewish men frequent, such as synagogues, barbershops, shops, GP surgeries, and pharmacies.

Supporting Black African Men in Greater Manchester to educate and raise awareness of the early signs and symptoms of kidney cancer and links to Sickle Cell and other blood disorders. Engagement event discussing and sharing the importance of getting an early diagnosis for this cancer. We will supply leaflets on the importance of recognising signs and symptoms of this kidney cancer.

DOSport's World Cancer Day Event

Creative Confidence CIC will deliver an interactive programme at Blackley Community Centre over a 3-month period that provides individuals with the opportunity to engage in weekly sessions. The aim is to educate and empower individuals from lower socioeconomic groups to be more informed and educated about the early warning signs of cancer and healthcare pathways in the area. We will use the ‘Talk Cancer’ training session to tailor our Performance Poetry and Makaton Sing and Sign sessions.

Each week, the Salford Families in Need Meals Project will speak and educate food hub users to access early cancer diagnosis information. They will create QR codes for them that hyperlink directly to the main NHS early diagnosis cancer-specific leaflets in English, in Polish and Arabic. They'll use every Wednesday at Barton Moss Primary School to promote cancer-specific conversations with their 95+ food hub users using these QR codes. Different people use the food hub each week, so their reach is widened.

Salford Refugee Forum supports people seeking asylum and works with refugees, migrants, and people seeking asylum in and around Salford. The project will hold a Cancer Awareness Event: "Hopeful Hearts". Our event provides crucial information about cancer prevention and early detection to refugees and asylum seekers. "Hopeful Hearts" creates a supportive, culturally sensitive environment that empowers the community with knowledge.

Syngesis CIC's project will aim to raise awareness of early signs/symptoms to improve diagnosis rates, and also educate and empower communities to access and navigate relevant health services. Our project takes a demographic approach to address this issue by focusing on the Bangladeshi/Bengali-speaking community of Oldham, who reside within the most deprived wards.

Khush Amdid is based in Ashton and supports women from predominantly Pakistani origin but also women from other diverse groups. Khush Amdid has supported families but would like to make Men a target group as they have been found to be reluctant to reach out for support in this community. They're hosting two prostate cancer awareness sessions for men, at a community hall after Friday prayers. The local Imam will attend. They'll provide cultural snacks, free blood pressure checks, and information from Macmillan and the NHS. The sessions aim to empower men with knowledge and awareness of prostate cancer for early treatment.

Creative Confidence CIC

If you’d like to talk through a project idea or find out more about this fund please contact Kirsty Rowlinson-Groves, Strategic Lead – Cancer and Inequalities at 10GM. Email: [email protected].

Find out more about work going on to improve cancer awareness and increase the uptake of cancer screening across Greater Manchester.
Woman smiling at a meeting

Cancer & Inequalities Programme

10GM is working in collaboration with GM Cancer, partners from across the wider health system and the wider VCSE sector to achieve a permanent reduction in inequalities and inequity within Greater Manchester. We're working towards finding innovative ways of tackling inequalities by addressing the social, environmental, and economic determinants of health and wellbeing, and ensuring active VCSE participation and parity in strategic work to enhance equality, equity and wellbeing.

People wearing Answer Cancer t-shirts smiling at the camera

Answer Cancer

Answer Cancer is a partnership working to improve cancer awareness and increase the uptake of cancer screening across Greater Manchester. We do so via grants, delivering cancer screening awareness sessions, supporting a network of Cancer Champions, and providing training.

Answer Cancer is delivered by Salford CVS, on behalf of 10GM.



Page last reviewed: 12 December 2023.


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