After a successful inaugural year, the Charity Governance Awards returns with a call for entries, a larger prize pot and a new additional prize category. Entry is now open to charities of all sizes in seven categories recognising outstanding governance, including the new category of ‘Embracing Digital’. Charities from all sectors can be in with a chance of winning one of seven £5,000 prizes of an unrestricted grant. The new category Embracing Digital recognises charity boards who have successfully embraced the opportunities that digital offers, and harnessed them to innovate or improve its activities. Other award categories reward charities who have dramatically turned around their fortunes; those that have created inclusive and diverse boards; and those who have significantly improved their impact. (See full category list below) The awards are totally free to enter and shortlisted entrants will receive a complimentary invitation to the official awards ceremony in London on 24th May 2017. Case studies of the shortlisted charities will also be featured in a special ebook available as a free resource for charities. The Charity Governance Awards are organised by The Clothworkers’ Company – a City Livery company that supports trusteeship initiatives – in partnership charity think thank and consultancy NPC (New Philanthropy Capital), volunteer matching charity Reach, and recruitment specialists Prospectus. Michael Howell, Chair of The Trusteeship Committee, The Clothworkers’ Company, said: “We all learnt a lot in judging the first Charity Governance Awards – it gave us an inspiring and, sometimes surprising, picture of what great governance looks like today. I am looking forward immensely to beginning this process again and hearing about exceptional charity boards, without whom charities are simply unable to make a positive difference. “There is still more to be done in rebuilding public trust in charities, but these Awards are one way for charities to demonstrate what great work they do, often behind closed doors. Let’s open those doors, reward great practice and help raise the bar for good governance across the whole sector.” To enter, a charity must have been established before 31 December 2013 and be registered in the UK. A charity may submit a single entry into only one of the following categories: • Board Diversity & Inclusivity• Embracing Digital• Embracing Opportunity & Harnessing Risk• Improving Impact - charities with 3 paid staff or fewer (including charities with no paid staff)• Improving Impact - charities with 4–25 paid staff• Improving Impact - charities with 26 paid staff or more• Managing Turnaround Entries must cover activities undertaken in the last five years (2011 – 2016); focus on the work of the main board, not sub-committees; and be made by a trustee, employee or volunteer of the charity. The deadline for entries is 23.59, Friday 13th January 2017. The 14-strong judging panel boasts a wealth of experience in charity governance and the voluntary sector. The judges include Dawn Austwick (Chief Executive, Big Lottery Fund), Stephen Greene (CEO and co-founder, RockCorps), Sara Llewellin (Chief Executive, Barrow Cadbury Trust), Dan Corry (Chief Executive, New Philanthropy Capital), Janet Thorne (CEO, Reach volunteering) and Vinay Nair (CEO & co-founder of Lightful) among many other notable names. (See website for a full list of judges). For full details, including an entry form, details of the judging panel and stories from the 2016 award winners, visit www.charitygovernanceawards.co.uk. You can follow the awards on Twitter using hashtag #charitygov17. Andy is Head of Business Development at charity recruitment specialists Prospectus. A member of the Senior Leadership Team, Andy works closely with the CEO and Directors on business development, operational projects, marketing and maintaining and developing client relationships. He has also project managed some of the more innovative schemes that Prospectus is involved with, such as the Beyond Profit Internship scheme and their role in the Do-it partnership. Found this blog post useful? You may also like:    The Power of Storytelling: Six Top Tips by Mike Zywina   Storytelling Tips for Charities by Becky Slack 

Andy is Head of Business Development at charity recruitment specialists Prospectus. A member of the Senior Leadership Team, Andy works closely with the CEO and Directors on business development, operational projects, marketing and maintaining and developing client relationships. He has also project managed some of the more innovative schemes that Prospectus is involved with, such as the Beyond Profit Internship scheme and their role in the Do-it partnership. Entries are now open for the inaugural Charity Governance Awards – the new UK awards that recognise and reward good charity governance. The awards are being organised and funded by The Clothworkers’ Company, a City Livery company that supports trusteeship initiatives, and supported by New Philanthropy Capital, Prospectus and Reach. Award categories The Charity Governance Awards are free to enter and will shine a spotlight on the best of the sector. All the partners are keen to  use these awards to significantly “raise the bar” of governance to ensure higher standards of quality, outputs and outcomes. The award categories are: Improving impact - charities with 3 paid staff or fewer (including charities with no paid staff) Improving impact - charities with 4–25 paid staff Improving impact - charities with 26 paid staff or more Board diversity & inclusivity Managing turnaround Embracing opportunity & harnessing risk  How to enter The awards are easy to enter online, with six categories covering every kind of charitable organisation. There’s no expensive entry fee or gala dinner tickets to pay for. It’s simply a no-charge opportunity to share your charity’s work and win £5,000 to help you do more of it. The deadline for entries is Friday 15th January 2016 and short-listed entrants will also get a complimentary invitation to the awards event in London on 12th May 2016, where the winners will be announced. Entries from small and regional organisations are particularly encouraged and for any organisation that is shortlisted and has a turnover is less than £500,000 The Clothworkers’ Company will cover the rail fares to enable you to be represented on the night. Find out more You can find out more about The Charity Governance Awards, including more details on categories and the entry process here and follow the action via #charitygov16. Prospectus is a specialist recruitment consultancy and recruitment advertising and design agency working exclusively with the beyond profit sector and proud to be a key partner in the inaugural Charity Governance Awards.