Beacon Foundation Seeks Charity Beacons

Do you know anyone who does inspiring charity work in their spare time? Or a charity that has really helped to make a difference? Or someone who freely gives their time or money to those in need?

If so Beacon would like to hear from you. They are introducing a new award scheme, The Beacon Prize, to highlight the achievements of those who do inspirational work within the charitable community. Their aim is to foster a greater culture of giving in the UK.

Each year Beacon will award six annual prizes to individuals who have made exceptional contributions either to charitable causes or to organisations that benefit the public. Winners are likely to have helped a charity, project or cause by giving money or by providing leadership, creative ideas, skills or time without personal reward. You can nominate an exceptional individual for one of six categories of Beacon Prize: lifetime contribution, leadership, start-ups, creative giving, young philanthropy and courageous giving. Winners will be announced in October 2003. An overall winner will be selected who will be given a cash award of £20,000 to be invested in an innovative way in a charity of their choice.

The deadline for nominations is 15 July 2003 and nomination forms are available on Beacon's website (local copy (40Kb, PDF)) or from 12 St James's Square, London SW1Y 4RB.

In awarding prizes, an independent panel of judges will focus on the impact the nominees' contributions have made. They will seek to acknowledge and honour candidates:

Whose contribution can be perceived as a paradigm
Who have developed creative and innovative approaches to solving problems that are capable of wider imitation and replication
Who show entrepreneurial spirit
Who have been willing to take risks
Who have demonstrated leadership
Who have been unusually responsive to the needs of the cause concerned

Below we give more information on each of the prizes.

The Beacon Prize for Lifetime Contribution

This prize will honour an individual who has made exceptional gifts (time, money, skills, ideas or leadership) to charity over a considerable number of years, and whose generosity will have been an inspiration to others and whose philanthropy will have made a significant impact on society.

The Beacon Prize for Leadership

This prize will honour an individual who has mobilised and united people or institutions to achieve a specific social or charitable goal, or who has acted as an advocate for the same purpose.

The Beacon Prize for Start-Ups

This prize will honour an individual who has used his or her own resources to launch a new initiative to meet a specific social or charitable need, and having a sustainable future independent of the founder's continued involvement.

The Beacon Prize for Creative Giving

This prize will honour an individual who has supported a charitable or social cause in a truly creative and innovative way. For example, they will have developed an entirely new type of fundraising or other form of income generation, or developed a new and more effective response to beneficiaries' needs, or a better and more effective way of running the charity's services, fundraising or administration.

The Beacon Prize for Courage

This prize will honour an individual who has shown considerable courage in philanthropy, for example, by supporting an unpopular or controversial cause, or by undertaking a venture which has personal or financial risk.

The Beacon Prize for Young Philanthropist

This prize will honour an individual aged under 35 who has made an exceptional contribution to charity. Their effort and contribution will have established them as a role model and a catalyst for a new young generation of givers.

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