Don't change the permissions, that's not the problem. What, exactly, is in your footer code? This sounds very much like a problem with strict mod_security or suhosin security settings on the server. If you have an email address, or sometimes words you might not expect to trigger security rules, it will cause odd errors or even just hang the form save.
You may be able to exclude the Manager from the security rules, you may need to talk to your hosting provider about that. You also may be able to put what you want directly into the database, although that's not really recommended. You also may be able to add a newline or a space in the middle of the offending text.