Deadline: 7-Jan-22
Are you charity working in the fields of Community, Welfare or Youth? Are you based in Wales, the Midlands or the North of England? Do you have at least one paid full-time member of staff in a leadership position and an income of less than £5 million per year? Then you could be eligible to win a package of support including an unrestricted grant, worth just over £22,000.
The Weston Charity Awards (WCA) were created by the Garfield Weston Foundation and Pilotlight to celebrate and support brilliant, ambitious, front-line charities working in the fields of Community, Welfare and Youth. Together they want to help small charities thrive and not just survive following the extreme pressures following the global pandemic.
The Awards help charities to plan for sustainability, development and growth through a ten month-long programme. Award holders finish the process stronger, more effective and fit for the future.
Fields
You are eligible if you are an ambitious charity working to alleviate disadvantage in one (or more) of the following fields:
- Community: Including volunteering work, practical projects to improve the area, running community centres, providing a range of services to the local population and especially those who may be vulnerable or in need.
- Welfare: Helping vulnerable individuals, including adults experiencing exclusion, social or economic hardship or homelessness, offenders, providing support for the elderly and disabled.
- Youth: The provision of services to children and young people up to age 25, including advice and guidance, work experience, training and coaching – please note schools are not eligible for the Awards
Benefits
The 20 lucky winning charities will receive a fantastic package of benefits including:
- Access to the Pilotlight 360 programme — a ten-month package of leadership coaching worth an estimated £16,000.
- Unrestricted grants of £6,500 to support the work with Pilotlight.
- Collaborative opportunities and events through Pilotlight’s network of UK charities.
- 2 ‘Connect’ sessions with other Award Winners to share best practice.
- A celebratory event for all award-winners on conclusion of the programme.
- The enhanced profile associated with receiving this award grant for excellence.
Eligibility Criteria
You will also need to be able to show that your charity:
- is a registered charity
- has delivered a service for at least two years
- has annual income of less than £5 million
- has at least one full-time paid person in a leadership position
- provides direct services to beneficiaries (not umbrella groups)
- can demonstrate a degree of financial stability, e.g. secured funding for six months
- is willing to travel to Central London for a minimum of 4 out of 10 meetings
Organisations that have applied in previous years are welcome to apply again if there have been significant changes since your previous application.
For more information, visit https://www.pilotlight.org.uk/weston-charity-awards/about-the-awards