Seeking the next generation of charitable gems

Ten years since its inception, the Stephen Lloyd Awards reaches an ever-expanding audience of inventive ideas people, embarking on the early stages of their journey and hungry for help. Action Planning has always supported the awards, providing pro bono support to the finalists and judges for the initial selection stage.

This year there were a huge number of entries and several of our Associates set to work helping to sift through them, looking for the gems. So as we await the announcement of this year’s finalists, let’s find out what our judges took away from the experience.

David Saint

“It has been a pleasure to be involved in the Stephen Lloyd Awards since their inception, to honour one of the sector’s great practitioners and defenders. As one of the many judges, I am always amazed by the creativity and determination of the applicants – often struggling against significant obstacles, or bureaucracy, or just apathy and inertia, to GET THINGS DONE! It is also sobering to see the extraordinary variety of issues that people face – and heartening to see people tackling these issues with such dedication.

“With entrants to the Awards from all ages and backgrounds, it is clear that charity, philanthropy, volunteering, not-for-profit enterprise – call it what you will – is alive and well and in safe hands. I look forward to mentoring one or two of the finalists again – if I am able to add some value – and to seeing further rounds of applications in the years to come.”

Shalini Jain

“Last year, I volunteered to work with Stephen LLoyd Awards finalists to develop their fundraising strategy. This year, I thought about seeing things from the other side of the table and helped in scoring six of the applications.

“I truly enjoyed learning more about these charities. I was hoping to see more of the cross-sectional themes of support with the elements of innovation. What pleasantly surprised me was how much climate change has led the charities to work towards it and how each one of them is trying to create change via education through drama or technology.

“Mostly the charities I judged were able to present a strong case for support; the only gap was in demonstrating prior evidence of success – understandably so as they have not been operating for long. Overall, it was truly a rewarding experience and I stay invested in their cause and wish them all the best in their endeavours. “

Carol Ward

“Having spoken to some of my Action Planning colleagues about their very positive experiences of supporting these awards, I thought I’d give it a go. I really had no idea what I was hoping to find but, as a fundraiser, I liked the idea of helping smaller organisations, whose projects wouldn’t necessarily attract funding from some of the more formal funders, be given a chance to develop their ideas and start to make a difference.

“What I found were some interesting ideas. A few were completely innovative and suggested a brand-new approach; others were very worthwhile but followed a more traditional methodology. I was surprised by the personal effect that some of these projects had on me – especially those that I could identify with through lived experience.

“I found the exercise both thought provoking and time consuming! I’m sure it took me much longer than anticipated to review my set of applications, simply because I wanted to make sure I understood the project and the assistance that was being requested. All of those I reviewed appreciated the support on offer from the Stephen Lloyd Partners, of which Action Planning is one.”

Angela Painter

When I heard about the Stephen Lloyd Awards, I saw in being part of the judging team an opportunity to reignite my hope in the passion, innovation and sheer brilliance within the sector; to find personalities and skill sets that could make a significant difference to people and to whole communities. 

What I found was entries that inspired by ingenuity and insight. I knew that with some financial investment but also with the shared knowledge, experience and skills of a coach, a great idea could turn into a delivery of significant life-changing impact.

Sadly, I also found some entries that left me disheartened by the lack of imagination, a sense of listlessness; leaking battle weariness from throwing together too many funding applications with little return; the tiredness of those struggling to meet unmet need with too few resources, often to the most disadvantaged and marginalised.

Now I look forward to the results and the chance to attend the award ceremony, to applaud the shining examples. I then relish giving pro bono support to a finalist through my coaching or consultancy offer, to seek to be part of turning that great idea into a great reality.