About the Charity Awards
The Charity Awards is Civil Society Media’s annual awards programme held to identify, recognise and reward those organisations doing exceptional work in all areas of charitable activity.
The Charity Awards is a year-round programme that uses Civil Society Media’s portfolio of magazines, reports, events and websites to celebrate and highlight best practice across the sector.
The Charity Awards are judged by a respected panel of voluntary sector heavyweights, each of them leaders in their own fields with years of experience of leading and managing civil society organisations. The judges assess each entry against our Hallmarks of Excellence – attributes that should be present in any successful project.
Awards are given out in ten categories and an overall winner is chosen from the winners in each category.
The awards have been designed so that any charity – regardless of their size, location or cause – can enter their project and be in with a chance of winning.
The best bit for me was filling in the Hallmarks of Excellence – attributes that show your organisation is up there with the best. It wasn’t easy to write, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dipped back into the application since applying, because the stuff I wrote about how we display these attributes is proving indispensable for Charity of the Year applications, web copy, and annual reports.
Chloe Rickard, communications manager, Cool Earth.
The application process requires charities to extensively evaluate their impact. The Hallmarks of Excellence are used to assess the range of attributes a charity must be able to demonstrate if it is to win an award.
The Charity Awards are always real high point of the year – an opportunity to recognise and praise the huge achievements of our colleagues working at the front line. We at the Charities Aid Foundation are delighted to sponsor the Charity Awards and believe it has never been more important to share the stories of our fellow charities.
John Low, chief executive, Charities Aid Foundation
The presentation of the 2025 Charity Awards will take place at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on the 3rd of July.