Meet Our Community Partners and Social Impact Manager

From the moment we launched Sister, we’ve been dedicated to driving tangible change across Manchester.

Our ethos is grounded in the belief that great ideas happen when people come together, and we apply that same principle to our work with community partners.

These organisations support us to connect communities together, to improve collective wellbeing through Sister’s physical spaces, ecosystem and programmes, and drive inclusive growth by encouraging local residents to harness opportunities coming from Sister. 

From the creatives shaping the city's culture to those guiding the next generation of innovators; working alongside incredible community partners enables us to break down barriers and create lasting impact. .

Leading these community partnerships is the newest member of the Sister team, our Community and Social Impact Manager, Reena Grewal. We sat down with Reena and three of our key community partners, Young Manchester, Butterfly Futures, and Black Creative Trailblazers to highlight their work in creating accessible pathways to opportunity, equity, and innovation across Manchester.

Reena, can you explain why community is so important to you?

Reena Grewal: To me, community is essentially a village. It matters because without connection, support, and shared learning, a space is just a physical location without heart, mind and soul. Building a ‘village’ creates places where diverse people of all ages and backgrounds feel genuine pride, inspiration, and belonging. It is important to me because it ensures no one is isolated; when everyone is heard, valued, and included, people naturally share knowledge, lift each other up, and accomplish far more together than they ever could alone. 

What most excites you about your new role at Sister?

Reena:  What excites me most is the opportunity to build that village right here at Sister. I get to open up this space so the wider local area can access it, connecting our business customers with local groups to create real, lasting social value. Bridging that gap means bringing people together to share experiences, learn from one another, and make sure everyone feels part of what we are growing here. Building those human connections from the ground up, and seeing ideas flourish is what makes this role so exciting. 

Young Manchester

Young Manchester is a youth-led partnership of over 200 local non-profit organisations and groups, dedicated to developing grassroots initiatives, providing funding, and unlocking transformative pathways for 15,000 children and young people across the city every week.

What are the biggest barriers holding Manchester’s youth back today?

Laura Smith, Youth and Partnership Lead at Young Manchester: One of the biggest barriers holding back young people in Manchester is the economic divide. While Manchester's economy grows, nearly half of young people live in poverty. This impacts access to opportunity, influence, and self-confidence. Young people have ideas, ambition and talent, but too often the systems around them aren’t designed with them in mind, and prevent access to meaningful opportunities or experiences in childhood, teenage years and early adulthood.

How does your work strengthen, connect and champion opportunities for young people?

Laura: There are so many amazing youth and play groups in Manchester that do incredible work every day, but they don't have the capacity or knowledge to access the crucial funding, support, and networks they need. We work to fill these gaps, from organising youth-led grant making to ensuring funds are being delivered to the places that really matter, to hosting members' days that allow youth workers and leaders in the space to connect and learn from one another.

What impact has this had so far?  

Laura: Through our network of 200+ member organisations, we reach tens of thousands of young people across Greater Manchester, while Youth Hacks create direct connections between young people and the people, businesses and organisations shaping their lives, transforming lives through positive outcomes, created as a co-owned responsibility in our society. We're seeing young people gain access to networks, knowledge and opportunities they might not otherwise encounter, while partners gain something equally valuable: direct actionable insight from the next generation of talent, customers, future employees and leaders. 

How do you work with Sister?

Laura: Support from partners like Sister helps us create the spaces where connections happen. It gives young people access to professional environments, people and ideas, while helping businesses and organisations build more meaningful relationships with the communities they want to serve. Creating real and reciprocal models of social value. We've had so many young people attend consultations at Sister who say that they've loved being invited into a space designed for businesses and innovation, and feeling like they belong.

Butterfly Future

A non-profit & social enterprise dedicated to breaking socioeconomic, race and gender barriers and building holistic wellbeing through the creative application of music, arts, sports and digital technology.

What invisible barriers most often hold people back from reaching their potential?

Tabi Gazele, Recording Artist & Founder of Butterfly Future: Holistic well-being is incredibly important. If you don't have a true and complete understanding of your worth and value, you’re unable to identify the right opportunities, you constantly compare yourself to others, and you feel incredibly out of place, regardless of your qualifications or skills. In this environment it is incredibly difficult to achieve your full potential.

How do you use music, arts, sports, and technology to improve wellbeing and confidence?

Tabi: Primarily, these are all tools for connection and expression. They inspire self-expression, and allow us to cultivate connections, not just with our community, but with ourselves. We host a series of adaptable projects and programs using these tools, from football and dance fitness classes to qualified therapy talks specifically for creatives & freelancers. Through creating safe spaces for self-expression, connection and community, we enable our members to develop their self-confidence, in turn their careers and relationships.

What changes in a community when people feel empowered, represented and confident? What role do partners like Sister play in making that happen? 

Tabi: There's nothing like when people feel like they have a sense of belonging, where they feel like they can contribute, feel like that they're seen for who they are. It unlocks their voice, their strength, and it allows them to talk and move with confidence. Support from partners like Sister is truly critical. Without spaces like Sister to host these community gatherings a lot of people would miss out on initiatives that improve their wellbeing and build their confidence.

Black Creative Trailblazers

Black Creative Trailblazers (BCT) is a social enterprise dedicated to supporting and showcasing black creatives. They amplify underrepresented voices and create spaces where black creativity is seen, valued and supported. They deliver training, workshops, mentoring, networking, and high-profile showcases that spotlight talent and break down structural industry barriers.

What is the biggest barrier facing black creatives in the UK industry today?

Adeola Adelakun, Co-founder of Black Creative Trailblazers: Black creatives face a number of barriers, from a lack of opportunity to not having the right network. Access to a network of other working professionals, artists and creatives is key in an industry that offers opportunities based on who you know, not what you know. So when you already have an industry that's struggling with underrepresentation, that lack of network transforms into a lack of access. It is particularly important here in Manchester, because creatives often feel the need to travel to London in order to have access to opportunity. What we're trying to do is change that and create a space right here in Manchester where the opportunities exist.

How do your workshops, mentoring, training, and showcases champion emerging talent?

Adeola: We organise a lot of Black Creative Trailblazers socials and mixers which are all about connecting people and giving them the right network. We create and curate spaces where they can meet the right people and build relationships so that when opportunities arise, they're top of mind. The largest way is through events where they can showcase their work and be seen, for example our annual showcase at Aviva Studios platformed 100 black creatives across fashion, music, poetry, art, and dance performances, ensuring people were in the room who can hire them for work.

What impact have you seen to date, and what role do partners like Sister play in supporting this?

Adeola: One of our core themes is ‘It takes a village’. It's the idea that nobody really does anything alone, and when you have a community behind you, it's so much easier to dream bigger. Sister has been so incredible. It's been amazing to build this partnership and have a space where our creatives can come to connect with each other, share resources, and feel backed by a wider ecosystem.

Driving social equity across Manchester 

The collective work of these fantastic partners illustrates how targeted, community-first initiatives construct a viable model for social equity across Greater Manchester.

By centering confidence, access and collaboration, these organisations ensure that the city's growth directly enriches the communities within it. Sister is immensely proud to stand alongside each partner, offering the physical footprint and resources needed to amplify their reach. 

To learn more about their ongoing initiatives or support their missions, please visit their respective platforms and join us in building an inclusive future for Manchester.