The Weston Charity Awards were created by the Garfield Weston Foundation to celebrate and support great front-line charities working in the fields of Community, Welfare and Youth.

Following success in the North East of England in 2014 and the whole of the North in 2015, we were delighted to expand the Awards to the Midlands in 2016 and to Wales in 2018. For 2020, we are looking for great organisations to support across Wales, the North and Midlands of England.

The Awards help charities to plan for sustainability, development and growth through a year-long programme. Our Award holders finish the process stronger, more effective and fit for the future.

In 2020 we aim to select 20 winners who will receive a fantastic package of benefits:

• A year of support from Pilotlight.
• Unrestricted cash contribution of £6,500 to support the work with Pilotlight, this includes travel expenses to meetings.
•  Access to a network of local charities working with Pilotlight.
• 3 ‘connect’ sessions with other Award Winners across the year.

Applications for the 2020 Weston Charity Awards are now OPEN.
Applications close at 5pm on Friday 10th January 2020.

To be eligible to apply, charities must have the following:

• A registered charity number
• Be working in the fields of Welfare, Youth or Community
• At least one paid full-time member of staff in a leadership position
• Income of less than £5 million per year
• Provide direct services to beneficiaries
• Majority of activity or beneficiaries are in the Midlands, North of England or Wales. For a full list of areas eligible click here.

Winners will be selected based on their willingness to benefit from the Pilotlight programme. Please read the guidance notes to ensure your application is relevant to the type of Award on offer.

If you believe that your organisation is eligible to apply, please read our guidance notes thoroughly and read the Process page which outlines what you need to do.

Organisations who have applied previously are eligible to apply again, but only if there have been significant changes.

If your organisation would benefit from the support of the Weston Charity Awards but doesn’t quite meet the criteria, please contact The Charity Partnerships Team at Pilotlight on 020 7283 7022 or charitypartnerships(at)pilotlight.org.uk to discuss other ways in which Pilotlight may be able to support your organisation.