16th May 2025
Cumbria Community Foundation is delighted to announce that it has made the shortlist for this year’s Charity Awards, the longest running and most prestigious awards scheme in the charity sector.
The Foundation has been shortlisted in the Grantmaking & Funding category for its Transforming West Cumbria programme, co-created with and funded by Sellafield Ltd, which has generated £19.9m in social value since its launch in 2020.
The Charity Awards, which announces its shortlist today (16 May), is the sector’s most highly regarded excellence recognition scheme and is this year celebrating its 25th anniversary. All 30 shortlisted charities this year have been judged by an independent panel of sector leaders as having demonstrated best practice in leadership and management, from which other organisations can learn.
Transforming West Cumbria is a groundbreaking £6.5m grant making programme, developed to address the region’s toughest social challenges by working together with local partners.
Funded through the Sellafield Ltd social impact, multiplied (SiX) programme, it has delivered significant outcomes and impact across seven programme areas, including family wellbeing, mental health support, entrepreneurship, and community development.
A recent independent evaluation confirmed the programme’s success, revealing that Transforming West Cumbria has so far generated £19.9 million in social value – delivering an incredible £5.34 for every £1 invested across areas such as jobs created, savings from children not having to go into care, and improvements to mental health and wellbeing.
Dr Jenny Benson, Director of Programmes and Partnerships for Cumbria Community Foundation, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be recognised by the Chairty Awards for the Transforming West Cumbria programme, which is a shining example of partnership working. Thanks to Sellafield Ltd’s significant long-term investment, we have been able to co-create and deliver the Transforming West Cumbria programme with a range of voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) partners, to achieve great impact. Our collaborative approach has ensured that Transforming West Cumbria has remained responsive to the community’s needs, to bring about real and lasting change.”
Eirini Etoimou, Head of Corporate Sustainability & Supply Chain Development at Sellafield Ltd, said: “We know that Transforming West Cumbria has had wide-ranging, lasting impact on local communities since it was launched in 2020, as confirmed by the independent mid-programme evaluation. The programme has directly supported hundreds of local organisations and thousands of individuals and families, achieving significant outcomes in mental health support, financial wellbeing, early years development and many, many more areas.
“It is wonderful to see this work recognised by the Charity Awards and we wish Cumbria Community Foundation and the Transforming West Cumbria team the best of luck for the awards ceremony.”
The 10 category winners, plus the recipients of the Overall Award for Excellence and the Daniel Phelan Award for Outstanding Achievement, will be announced at a black-tie dinner on Thursday 3 July, held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.
The evening will be hosted by BBC news presenter Asad Ahmad, who will be joined on the night by a host of celebrities, representatives of the shortlisted charities, as well as leaders from Britain’s best known and best loved charities.
Matthew Nolan, chief executive of Civil Society Media which organises the Charity Awards, congratulated Cumbria Community Foundation on making the highly-coveted shortlist. He said: “For a quarter of a century now, the Charity Awards has been showcasing and celebrating the terrific work of UK charities large and small.
“At a time when the sector is struggling with higher costs, shrinking donations and ever-increasing demand for its work, it is reassuring and inspiring to see the extent and quality of charitable activity that is still going on across the country.
“We offer our heartfelt congratulations to all the charities on this year’s shortlist; we know that times are tough and you should all be very proud of getting this far. We wish Cumbria Community Foundation the best of luck on the night.”
Peter Hugh Smith, chief executive at CCLA, Overall Partner of the Charity Awards, said: “Every year the Charity Awards serve as a moment for the sector to reflect and acknowledge the transformative power of compassion, determination and resilience. The awards amplify the voices of those making a difference, inspiring others to join in creating positive change.
“We’re honoured to renew our role as the Charity Awards’ Overall Partner, championing the remarkable efforts of charities, large and small, right across the UK.”
The Shortlist 2025:
Animals & the environment
The Mayhew Home
StreetVet
Trees for Cities
Arts, culture & heritage
Kilmartin Museum
Scene & Heard
Services For Education
Campaigning & advocacy
Ashden Climate Solutions
The Donkey Sanctuary
National AIDS Trust
Children & youth
Delight Charity
MYTIME Young Carers
Spark Inside
Disability
The Brain Charity
icandance
National Autistic Society
Education & training
Get Further
Holocaust Education Trust
St John’s Hospice North Lancashire and South Lakes
Grantmaking & funding
Cumbria Community Foundation
Project Giving Back
Steve Morgan Foundation
Healthcare & medical research
4Louis
Friends of Moorfields Eye Hospital
Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse (STADA)
International aid & development
Alfanar Venture Philanthropy
Oxfam
Windle Trust International
Social care, advice & support
Advance Advocacy and Non Violence Community Education
Street Talk
Turning Tides Homelessness
The panel of judges for 2025 is:
- Chris Sherwood, chief executive, NSPCC (chair)
- André Clarke, director of charity development, Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales
- Martin Edwards, chief executive, Julia’s House
- Katie Ghose, chief executive, KIDS
- Gemma Gooch, head of charities distribution, Rathbones
- Richard Hawkes OBE, chief executive, British Asian Trust
- Jehangir Malik OBE, consultant and adviser to UNICEF South Asia
- Farah Nazeer, chief executive, Women’s Aid
- Cathy Phelan-Watkins, owner and chair, Civil Society Media
- Shane Ryan, senior adviser to the National Lottery Community Fund
- Sharika Sharma, head of business development, CCLA
- Dr Priya Singh, chair, NCVO and executive director, the Society for Assistance of Medical Families
- Julie Wilson-Dodd, transformation consultant
- Karin Woodley CBE, chief executive, Cambridge House