Challenge

Projekts was set up by a group of Christian skateboarders who wanted to do something to support the skate community in Manchester. They set up a shop in the Northern Quarter and won the contract with Manchester City Council to manage a newly built skatepark under the Mancunian Way flyover. 

Over the following years the shop closed but the skatepark continued to grow in popularity and size until, in 2018, we completed a Community Asset Transfer on the site and expanded the skatepark to its current state.

Solution

Securing funding from a range of funders and external sources helped Projekts MCR to expand further and deliver new social inclusion activities and projects. This includes a homework club and a support group for parents who home educate their children. 

They were able to use the finance secured to take ownership of the entire space and establish the park, a café, a meeting room and all the other amenities required for the hub. 

Revenue

Projekts MCR generate their revenue through use of the skatepark, which welcomed over 25,000 visitors in 2022 alone, as well as various programmes that saw skateboarding lessons delivered through schools. 

Memberships also help to generate income and are open to all, starting from a minimum investment of £20. The site is also home to a fantastic trading café, which provides refreshments for participants and a great spot for spectators. 

Finally, they are also used as a filming / photoshoot location for many in the creative sector. 

They received further funding from a number of sources, including grants from Sport England, Power to Change, Community Shares, The Veolia Environmental Trust, First Stark and Co-op Foundation. 

Impact  

With more space and activities to meet interest, the team has seen attendance increase three-fold, while the proportion of female skaters has grown from 1% to over 24%.

At the same time, turnover increased by over 70% and the core staff team grew from 20 to 26.

Being able to expand their offering has seen Projekts MCR increase the impact they make for the communities they serve in Manchester. They were successful in developing an unused-area that would otherwise have been synonymous with crime into a lively community space, creating a safe place for people to bring their children and learn new skills. 

“To put it bluntly, social investors tend to be less interested in the project being sexy and more interested in it being financially viable.”

John Haines, Director and CEO at Projekts MCR 

"GMCVO were really proud to be one of the first social investors to invest into Projekts Manchester. We were really impressed with the impact that they were creating with enabling more women and disabled people to access the sport and that there business model was purely based on trading and enterprising activity. The team are truly entrepreneurial, but with impact at the heart of everything that they do."

Catherine Chrimes, Head of Social Investment at GMCVO