£100k on offer to fund a solution to an everyday problem
Howard Lake | 15 June 2015 | News
CIT, the Christian Initiative Trust, and Andrews Charitable Trust are inviting applications for the 2015 CIT Awards to help bring new social impact ideas to life. The awards are worth a total of £100,000.
Previously known as the Mustard Seed Awards, and now in their fourth year, the CIT Awards are open to community groups and individuals who have an entrepreneurial idea that can make a significant difference to an everyday problem. This year the total fund has been increased to help fund previous winners to help them extend their work.
The scheme is open to organisations throughout the UK which share CIT’s Christian values and is focused on “furthering entrepreneurial spirit in order to maximise the impact that these individuals and groups can have in their own local communities”.
Michael Robson, Chairman of CIT, said:
“Our founder, Cecil Jackson Cole, was passionate that individuals and organisations should be enabled to share their faith and support those in need in their communities. That very much remains our focus today.
“There are many organisations and individuals already doing wonderful work to make a difference to those who are vulnerable or most in need of help and support. The funding that CIT is able to award through this scheme enables those with the greatest ambition and determination to make a significant impact where it is needed most. We’ve seen in the past that it’s often the smallest, more embryonic idea that, with a little support, can go on to make the most significant difference.”
Capacity Builder award of £15,000
Previous winners are being invited for the first time to apply for a follow up award. Two recipients will be awarded with these Capacity Builder awards, which is intended to top-up their previous funding and enable them to further their work and continue with the progress their initiative has already made.
Entry for the Capacity Builder Awards is by invitation only and entries for this aspect of the scheme only close on 30 June 2015.
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Main awards
The main awards scheme consist of:
* Gold – £25,000 of funding
* Silver – £20,000
* Bronze – £15,000.
Two ‘highly commended’ entries will also receive £5,000 towards their project or scheme.
One previous award winner is Stephen Addison of Box Up Crime. The charity was set up to help young people turn away from crime by taking up boxing in a safe and secure environment. He explained the difference that the awards can make:
“The difference receiving an award from this scheme makes simply can’t be underestimated. The money we received in 2013 kept Box Up Crime sustainable for almost a year. Having used a lot of my own money initially to set the charity up, the prize money enabled us to grow and extend the projects we’re involved in and reach many more kids, much more quickly, than we had thought possible. My aim is to see a Box Up Crime programme in every school in the country.”
Entries to the CIT Awards are now open and close on 6 October 2015.
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.