Charity Governance Awards offer £35k for UK’s best charity boards
Howard Lake | 4 October 2017 | News
The Charity Governance Awards are about to open for the third year, with total prizes worth £35,000 to be awarded to the UK’s most effective charity boards.
Charities large and small can enter one of seven categories that recognise outstanding charity governance.
Categories
The judging panel are seeking charity boards who have, for example:
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- successfully embraced digital opportunities
- dramatically turned around their fortunes
- created inclusive and diverse boards
- significantly improved their impact
Who runs the awards?
The Charity Governance Awards are organised by The Clothworkers’ Company, the City Livery company that supports trusteeship initiatives, together with partnership charity think thank and consultancy New Philanthropy Capital, volunteer matching charity Reach, and recruitment specialists Prospectus.
Michael Howell, Chair of The Trusteeship Committee of The Clothworkers’ Company, explained the importance of recognising the best charity governance against a backdrop of new legislation, governance guidance, and high-profile failures of charities.
He said: “Following the July launch of the revised Charity Governance Code and recent all-party House of Lords Report, there is currently real impetus behind raising the standard of charity governance, particularly in the areas of board diversity, digital innovation and trustee skills. In the shadow of high-profile failures, getting governance right – and shining a light on it – has never been more essential for charities.
“Good leadership, integrity and innovation should be rewarded and I urge any charity trustees to consider entering the Awards. Let’s help put into perspective the negative charity stories which steal the headlines, and show the public the brilliant work that charities across the country are quietly getting on with day after day.”
Prizes
The winning charity in each of the seven categories will receive a £5,000 prize as an unrestricted grant.
Winners in the 2017 Awards included Prisoners’ Education Trust, Voluntary Arts and Asthma UK, recipient of the inaugural ‘Embracing Digital’ award.
There is no charge to enter the awards. Shortlisted entrants will receive a complimentary invitation to the official awards ceremony at London’s historic Clothworkers Hall on 24 May 2018.
Eligibility
To enter the Charity Governance Awards, a charity must have been established before 31 December 2014 and be registered in the UK. A charity may submit a single entry into only one of the categories.
Entries must cover activities undertaken in the last five years (2012 – 2017); focus on the work of the main board, not sub-committees; and be made by a trustee, employee or volunteer of the charity.
Entries open tomorrow on 5 October. The deadline for entries is 23.59, Friday 12 January 2018.
WATCH: Asthma UK – Embracing Digital category winner – Charity Governance Awards 2017
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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.