About Thrive Trafford

Who We Are

Thrive Trafford is the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) Sector Infrastructure Support Service for Trafford.

Thrive provides support for VCFSE sector organisations looking to set up, develop, grow, deliver high quality services and become financially sustainable. We work in strategic partnerships throughout Trafford and Greater Manchester. We also provide communications and volunteering support.

Thrive works in partnership with Trafford Community Collective, having helped to establish the Collective in response to health and care devolution to act as a membership organisation for the VCFSE sector providing local engagement, voice and representation with statutory authorities.

Meet the Team

The Thrive Trafford Service Delivery Team includes a number of highly skilled and experienced VCFSE sector practitioners, many who have worked in, provided support for, or led VCFSE organisations over many years.

VCFSE Sector in Trafford

Trafford has a strong, committed and resourceful Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) Sector built over many years. The VCFSE sector connects communities, supports individuals and families, delivers services, and provides opportunities for volunteering, training and skills development.

The sector supports communities and helps them to thrive, often supporting the most vulnerable in our society. A thriving and successful VCFSE Sector is fundamental to the economic, physical and mental well-being of Trafford residents.

In Trafford, it is estimated there are over 1,622 VCFSEs and 71% of these are micro-organisations working with local communities to help connect socially isolated people, transform green spaces and deliver community services to our residents who need additional support.

Our VCFSE sector in Trafford is varied; from Friends of Park Groups maintaining our greenspaces, volunteer led community groups offering activities to reduce social isolation, school governing bodies supporting education facilities across Trafford and faith organisations helping to address food insecurity to larger organisations providing health and wellbeing services.

Never has the importance of the VCFSE sector in Trafford been more evident than now, where the sector demonstrates great leadership, stepping up quickly to respond to the needs of residents in the borough by working collaboratively and successfully with the council, L&Q, Trafford Integrated Care Partnership and other partners, and developing new and important relationships for the future.

Traffords VCFSE Strategy

Trafford has developed a 5 Year Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) Sector Strategy. The strategy has been developed through the Living Well In My Community (LWIMC) Strategic Group which includes VCFSE organisations and public services, and through Thrive’s VCFSE Strategic Forum events throughout 2023. An Action Plan has also been developed to ensure delivery of the strategy which is being overseen by the LWIMC Strategic Group.

The Strategy Vision is that “Trafford has a strong and diverse Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise sector which plays a key role in strengthening communities and delivering shared priorities”.

The strategy champions a thriving and sustainable VCFSE sector in Trafford; a sector which has a strong and influential voice and is valued as a strategic partner.

A thriving and sustainable VCFSE sector will enable Trafford to achieve the outcomes of the Trafford’s Corporate Plan and the Trafford Together Locality Plan. The full strategy can be viewed here: Trafford VCFSE Strategy for 2022 to 2027.

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