# Seven charities win share of £35,000 in 2020 Charity Governance Awards

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/05/22/seven-charities-win-share-35000-2020-charity-governance-awards/
- Published: 2020-05-22T09:00:14+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**Seven charities have won a share of a £35,000 prize pot in the 2020 Charity Governance
Awards.**

This year’s [Charity Governance Awards](http://www.charitygovernanceawards.co.uk)
took place online last night (21 May), with the winner of each of the seven categories
taking home a £5,000 unrestricted grant.

[Public Interest Research Centre](https://publicinterest.org.uk/) won the Board 
Diversity and Inclusivity award; Embracing Digital was won by [upReach](https://upreach.org.uk/),
Embracing Opportunity and Harnessing Risk by [Muslim Women’s Network UK](https://www.mwnuk.co.uk/),
and Managing Turnaround by Smallwood Trust.

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Judges were impressed by [Smallwood Trust](https://www.smallwoodtrust.org.uk/) (
main image) board’s bold action, which included recruiting its first permanent CEO
and more diverse trustees, and modernising the 130-year-old trust’s mission. From
helping 384 beneficiaries in 2015, the charity is now on track to hit its target
of supporting 10,000 financially vulnerable women by 2021. Its application success
rate has also risen from just 1% (in 2016) to 70% (2019), with monthly hardship 
payments rising from £29K to nearly £60K.

There were also three Improving Impact Awards: for charities with 0-3, 4-25, and
26+ paid staff. These were won by Older Citizens Advocacy York, Sport 4 Life UK,
and St Mary’s Hospice.

Judges admired the open, collaborative and continual learning approach of[ St Mary’s Hospice’s](https://www.stmaryshospice.org.uk/)
Living Well Centre, in the deprived area of Burrow-in-Furness. The hospice has developed
partnerships with eleven local organisations to reach further into the community,
with reports stating the centre helps improve well-being and connectedness for around
250 people every month.

Stories of all of the winning charities, and the shortlisted entrants, can be found
on the [Charity Governance Awards site](http://www.charitygovernanceawards.co.uk).

Michael Jarvis, who chairs the Awards for organisers [The Clothworkers’ Company](https://www.clothworkers.co.uk/),
said:

> “Every year we are hugely impressed by the commitment, creativity and ingenuity
> shown by charity boards and their trustees.
> “Those exceptional skills and ideas have never been more needed than now, as we
> face the impact of the pandemic. Tonight’s winners, like so many in the charity
> sector, are at the forefront of providing support to those affected, and the wider
> economic situation will pose great challenges for most in the coming months. But
> sharing best practice and brilliant ideas has always aided the sector, so I hope
> that we can all weather this difficult time and emerge stronger through learning
> and collaboration.”

 * **[More charities adopt Governance Code](https://fundraising.co.uk/2021/05/13/more-charities-adopt-governance-code/)**(
   13 May 2021)
 * **[Charity Governance Awards open for entries with £35k prize fund](https://fundraising.co.uk/2021/10/06/charity-governance-awards-open-for-entries-with-35k-prize-fund/)**(
   6 October 2021)
 * **[Governance guide launched for UK international NGOs](https://fundraising.co.uk/2022/07/28/governance-guide-launched-for-uk-international-ngos/)**(
   28 July 2022)

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