Manchester Village Pride says it raised record money for local LGBTQ+ charities

Manchester Village Pride says its August bank holiday weekend raised £183,500 for five LGBTQ+ charities, plus £30,000 for grassroots groups. The organisers say it's a record.

Manchester Village Pride says this year's event raised a record £183,500 for local LGBTQ+ charities.

Manchester Village Pride CIC, the community-run company behind the August bank holiday weekend in the Gay Village say the money will be split between five charities: George House Trust, akt, The Proud Trust, LGBT Foundation and Sparkle. They also say £30,000 will go to grassroots LGBTQ+ community groups. We haven't been able to check the figures independently.

The organisers say George House Trust, the HIV charity, separately collected £12,500 at the Candlelit Vigil. That brings what they call the total community fundraising impact to £196,000.

The CIC was set up after the company behind the old Manchester Pride went into voluntary liquidation a couple of months after the 2025 event. The company was deemed no longer financially viable because of rising costs and lower ticket sales, and Village bars and venues then formed a community interest company with partners including Manchester City Council. The CIC says it received £120,000 in loans from local venues to get started.

The organisers say the event is now run by an unpaid team, which kept costs down. They credit volunteers, Village businesses, sponsors, Manchester City Council, Greater Manchester Police and others for making it happen.

Carl Austin-Behan, Co-Director of Manchester Village Pride CIC, said in the release: "This isn't just a donation from MVP; this is a massive achievement by the community, for the community."

akt supports LGBTQ+ young people aged 16 to 25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Its CEO, Adam Pemberton-Wickham, said the money could fund 681 nights of emergency accommodation, or 73 practical support packages for young people. Those are akt's own calculations.

George House Trust CEO Darren Knight said the money would help the charity continue crisis support for people living with HIV. It will also fund its LGBTQ+ and trans groups, and its work challenging HIV stigma.

The organisers had said any surplus would be legally locked for public benefit, with a transparency dashboard on the CIC's website showing ticket sales, costs and projected charitable surplus.