If you’re looking for an effective way to get your charity’s story heard, demonstrate the impact of your work and raise awareness of what you do, then applying for awards that recognise your achievements will help you. Whether you’ve applied to a number of awards or this is your first time – awards applications can be a daunting process so here are some tips to help you get started.
- Identify your story – the journey you have been on and obstacles you’ve overcome are what makes you stand out from the crowd, don’t be afraid to shout about it!
- Read, read and then re-read the entry criteria and application form and then once you’ve completed your application – give it another read to ensure your submission answers all the points.
- Give yourself plenty of time to complete your entry, of course you have many other priorities demanding your attention (you’re a charity after all) but if you really want to feel the full benefit of winning awards then you really need to dedicate some time, focus fully and give it your best shot.
- Don’t just make a statement about what you do or what you’ve achieved, substantiate your message with evidence and supporting anecdotes – this is how you’ll really demonstrate your impact!
- Edit, edit, edit – your application needs to be clear and concise. The judges are going to receive and sift through numerous entries and you need to make it as easy as possible for them to understand why you should be given the award; do not give them pages and pages to go through with a fine tooth comb to establish the evidence for your point.
- Proof read your submission and, if possible, ask someone else to cast their eye over it for you as well – typos and errors really don’t look good on an award application.
- Plan ahead: map out what your next steps will be if you do get shortlisted for the awards. Are there any other key dates you will need to prepare presentations for? How will you maximise the exposure granted to you? What ways are there for you to utilise this in your marketing plans and raise even more awareness for what you do?
- Don’t take it to heart if you aren’t shortlisted this time, this is nothing to be disheartened about and isn’t a reason not to apply for future awards – taking part really is what matters and you certainly wouldn’t have stood a chance of being shortlisted if you hadn’t tried! You’ll come out of the process having learned a great deal (you’ll even be able to use many of these learnings in other areas of your work) and be in a better position for your next application.
We know that many of these awards open for submission at the same sort of time, so perhaps sit down with your team and draw up a calendar of the year and events like these so that you know ahead of time which ones are coming up and which ones you can devote the requisite resources to. Doing this will also help you to decide who you want to write the application (e.g. marketing team) and whether you want to enlist the help of anyone else (e.g. designers).
Entries for the Charity Awards 2015 close on the 6 March – don’t miss the chance to tell your charity’s story, apply now!
Charities Aid Foundation is the proud sponsor for the 11th year running of the Charity Awards. CAF’s mission is to motivate society to give ever more effectively, helping to transform lives and communities around the world.
Content on this page is paid for and provided by the Charities Aid Foundation sponsor of the Guardian Voluntary Sector Network’s Charity Money hub.
