The Hurlingham Club
When you gather 27 third sector experts together in a room and ask them to give their opinions on more than 350 awards entries, there's bound to be some creative tension - especially when some of those experts are strong personalities.
So when our judges split into specialist sub-groups in the Haymarket boardroom last month and focused on the merits of the contenders in 21 of the 24 categories of the Third Sector Excellence Awards, some sparks flew. It proved to be a lively and productive day.
Some discussions went smoothly and quickly, while others were more intense and deeply felt: are the verbal or the visual elements of a campaign more important? How do you balance the benefit someone gets from volunteering against the results they achieve? How do you measure teamwork?
Once the debates were over and the scoring completed, a dominant theme among the judges was that the entries had reminded them of the abiding creativity and innovation of charities and voluntary organisations. "I found it really exhilarating," said one.
The judges' scoring was analysed to produce the list of finalists we publish today - nearly 110 examples of outstanding campaigns and projects among which are the winners and highly commended. The three Third Sector awards were judged later by the magazine's staff.
The next stage is the prestigious awards night on Thursday 20 September at the Hurlingham Club in London, pictured on the right. We hope you will be able to come and enjoy a convivial evening, celebrate the achievements of the sector, watch the winners receive their prizes - and maybe receive one yourself.
The finalists
Communications
Brand development
- Beat
- British Heart Foundation
- Forum For the Future
- Get Connected Helpline
- Myeloma UK
- Penny Brohn Cancer Care
Best use of digital media
- Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
- Crisis UK
- I Can
- NSPCC
- The Queen's Nursing Institute
- Voluntary Action Media Unit
Best website
(sponsored by Rapidata)
- Action for Blind People
- Cats Protection
- Lewis-Manning Hospice
- National Federation of Women's Institutes
- PDSA
- The Rayne Foundation
Best communications campaign
- Beatbullying
- Every Disabled Child Matters
- History Matters
- MND Association
- Myeloma UK
- National Federation of Women's Institutes
Best communications team
- British Heart Foundation
- The Children's Society
- Community Press Office
- NSPCC
- The Prince's Trust
Finance
Best annual report
- Army Benevolent Fund
- Borderline
- Hilton in the Community
- The Prostate Cancer Charity
- Refugee Council
- Sightsavers International
Best investment strategy
- Winner to be announced on the night
Best finance team
- Kent Union
- The Stroke Association
- Terrence Higgins Trust
Fundraising
Best direct marketing campaign
sponsored by Everyclick
- Amnesty International
- British Red Cross
- Crisis UK
- Norwood
- Practical Action
- RNLI
- Royal British Legion
Best fundraising event
- Ark: 2007 fundraising party
- Barnardo's: Store Wars
- Breast Cancer Campaign: Wear it Pink
- Dearne Valley Venture: Absolutely Fabulous fashion show
- North Devon Hospice: Nightwalk 2007
- Sport Relief: David Walliams' Channel swim
- Youthnet: A Million for a Million Ball
Best fundraising team
(Sponsored by Everyclick)
- The Children's Society
- Crisis
- Durham University Charities Kommittee (Duck)
- East Anglian Air Ambulance
- Leonard Cheshire
- NSPCC
- Unicef UK
Innovation
Innovation in grant making
- Futurebuilders England
- Rayne Foundation
- v
Enterprise
- Barnardo's Hamara Family Project
- Community Foundation for Greater Manchester
- Donate As You Spend
- Sue Ryder Care
At work
Best employer
(Sponsored by Charity People)
- The Children's Society
- Forum For the Future
- Leeds University Union
- ProjectScotland
- Thames Reach
Employee innovation
(Sponsored by Russam GMS)
- Winner to be announced on the night
Volunteer of the year
- - Jade Amoli Jackson, Refugee Council
- - Pam Carnegie, Mentor UK
- - Mark Liddell, National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society
- - Pamela MacInnes, Sense Scotland
- - Vickie Morton, St Giles Trust
- - Dennis Rogers, Thames Reach
Partnerships
Best charity partnership
- Charityshare: the NSPCC, the Children's Society, the Alzheimer's Society
- GreenArc project: a partnership of 13 organisations
- History Matters: National Trust, English Heritage, Historic Houses Association, the Civic Trust, Heritage Lottery Fund
- HMP Foston Hall Link Worker scheme: P3, Revolving Doors
- Mind the Gap project: Mentor UK, Adfam, Grandparents Plus
Best corporate partnership
- Cancer Research UK and Network Rail
- Leonard Cheshire and Howdens Joinery
- National Autistic Society
- QED-UK and Bradford & Bingley
- Terrence Higgins Trust and Erotica 2006
- Ulster Cancer Foundation and Gordons Chemists
- Weston Spirit and 02
Best use of the compact
- Alstrom Syndrome UK
- Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations' Council
- Hertfordshire County Council
Governance
Most improved trustee board
- BTCV
- King's College London Students' Union
- Quarriers
- St Anne's Community Services
Accountability and transparency
- AfriKids
- Cancerbackup
- School Governors' One-Stop Shop
- Shared Interest
Third Sector awards
Lifetime achievement
- Winner to be announced on the night
Small charity, big achiever
- Afrikids
- Beatbullying
- Coventry & Warwickshire YMCA
- The Relationships Centre
- SpeakersBank
- Vassall Centre Trust
The changing the world award
- ATM Watch
- Every Disabled Child Matters
The awards night
Venue
The awards will take place on Thursday 20 September at the Hurlingham Club, Ranelagh Gardens, London SW6
Ticket bookings
To book individual tickets or a table for 10 people, contact Steven Lewis, 020 8267 4042, steven.lewis@haymarket.com.
Sponsorship
If you are interested in finding out more about how to sponsor a category, contact Deniz Hassan, 020 8267 4813, deniz.hassan@haymarket.com.
The Third Sector Excellence Awards 2008
If you would like to receive an entry pack for next year's awards as soon as it is available, please send your contact details to Emma Maier.
Website
For more information, go to www.thirdsectorexcellenceawards.com.
