Stephen Hale of Refugee Action wins chief executive of the year at the Third Sector Awards

19 September 2019 by Andy Ricketts

He was among a host of people and charities recognised at a black-tie dinner in central London

Stephen Hale collects his award from host Zoe Lyons (right) and Eddy Lee from Third Sector Jobs

Stephen Hale, chief executive of Refugee Action, has been named Charity Chief Executive of the year at the Third Sector Awards.

Hale, who has led the charity through a period in which it lost more than 80 per cent of its income after the closure of a Home Office-funded programme, helped to increase Refugee Action’s funding from trusts and foundations by 450 per cent in four years and its public income by 350 per cent over the same period.

Hale was among the charities and people recognised at a dinner in central London that was hosted by the comedian Zoe Lyons. The specialist insurance firm Markel was the headline sponsor.

The sexual offender rehabilitation charity the Safer Living Foundation was named Charity of the Year at the event, while Joel Davis was name Rising Chief Executive for his work at Tutors United, which enables university students to support primary school pupils from low-income backgrounds. Davis founded the charity when he was 18.

ActionAid’s Not This Girl appeal won the Fundraising Campaign award and the first Best Charity Film award went to Hospice in the Weald for its Precious Moments video.

Scott Mitchell, husband of the actor Dame Barbara Windsor, won the Celebrity Charity Champion for his work on the Dementia Revolution campaign by the Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Dementia Revolution also won the Fundraising Event award, while the young people’s cancer charity Clic Sargent also won two awards, Fundraising Team of the Year and Best Use of Impact Reporting.

The Children’s Sleep Charity won the Small Charity, Big Achiever award for its work in reaching more than 30,000 families each year despite having just two full-time and three part-time staff.

Full list of winners

Best Charity Film Hospice in the Weald for Precious Moments

Best Use of Impact Reporting Clic Sargent

Big Impact Award Unicef

Brand development Scope with The Team

Breakthrough of the Year Carefree for Carefree – creating a sharing economy that gives carers a break

Celebrity Charity Champion Scott Mitchell, Alzheimer's Society and Alzheimer's Research UK

Charity Chief Executive Stephen Hale, Refugee Action

Charity of the Year The Safer Living Foundation

Charity Partnership of the Year Family Action with Magic Breakfast

Communications Agency Campaign of the Year Orchid with Spink for Face up to Prostate Cancer

Communications Campaign of the Year Encephalitis Society for World Encephalitis Day 2019