Best of British givers honoured by Beacon Prize
Howard Lake | 23 October 2003 | News
The finalists for the first Beacon Prize have been named. The Prize aims to raise the profile of giving in the UK by acknowledging exceptional philanthropic acts by individuals.
The fourteen philanthropists who have won various categories in the Beacon Prize 2003 are diverse. They include Carol Wiggins, an enterprising unemployed mother who helped transform her local community; Niall Quinn, International Irish footballer, who donated the £500,000 proceeds of his testimonial match to charity; and a 15 year old girl who raised £15,000 for Afghan refugees.
The 14 philanthropists were selected by an expert panel of judges from 765 nominations. They were chosen for their exceptional charitable efforts and because they are an inspiration for others to give of their time, money or expertise.
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The full list of Beacon Prize winners 2003 is:
- Professor David Morley: Lifetime Achievement
- Lord Bhatia of Hampton: Leadership
- Carol Wiggins: Leadership
- Dr Martin Fisher and Nick Moon: Creative Giving
- Tom Hunter: Creative Giving
- Jason Maude: Start Up
- Dame Stephanie Shirley: Start Up
- David Constantine: Courage
- Zac Goldsmith: Young Philanthropist
- Sarah Francis: Young Philanthropist
- Niall Quinn: Judges’ Special Prize
- John Profumo: Judges’ Special Prize
- Sir J Paul Getty: Judges’ Special Posthumous Prize
The winners will be invited to attend a ceremony in the New Year at No. 11 Downing Street. Here the winners will be presented with their prizes and the overall winner, who will receive a £20,000 donation for their charity, will also be announced.
In addition, they will be invited to become the first Beacon Fellows, who will help to shape the future of the charity and be an inspiration to other philanthropists.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.