An independent evaluation report analysing the 10-year impact of the capacity building programme, the Weston Charity Awards, has revealed outcomes that are “overwhelmingly positive and long-lasting.”
Almost all leaders reported that their charity is more operationally fit after winning a Weston Charity Award (96%), with four out of five stating that the improvements are still felt to this day (83%).
Charities also reported having more effective senior leadership (98%) as well as a clearer organisational purpose and being better able to deliver impact (91%).
Founded in 2014 by Pilotlight and the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Weston Charity Awards recognise and enhance the vital work of small charities across the UK, amplifying their impact and boosting long-term resilience in the face of increasing challenges in the third sector.
Up to 22 winning charities working in the fields of community, environment, welfare or youth support are selected annually from across the Midlands, North of England and Wales. Each receive a regenerative support package valued at over £22,000. This includes free access to the Pilotlight 360 programme – a remarkable eight-month package of charity leadership coaching worth an estimated £16,000.
Expert “Pilotlighters” from private and public sectors offer professional mentoring on topics from income diversification to long-term business strategies. In addition, Award winners receive a grant of £6,500 from the Garfield Weston Foundation.
The independent evaluation of the Weston Charity Awards undertaken by Inside Impact was commissioned by Pilotlight and the Garfield Weston Foundation. The results show that the benefits of winning a Weston Charity Award do not drop off and even endure for over a decade in organisations where the leader remains in place.
The evaluation report states: “The Weston Charity Awards are achieving impressively positive outcomes for both charity leaders and their organisations, with most of the planned outcomes still being experienced today, even by the first cohort, a decade later. This enduring impact is perhaps the most distinctive evidence of the value of the programme in unlocking lasting potential in the charities that benefit from the Awards.”
Over the past decade, the Awards have helped around 200 small charities strengthen leadership, build skills and achieve long-term sustainability through strategic support and skill-based volunteering. A significant number of charity leaders credited growth in income, reserves, staff, reach, impact, and range and quality of services to the Weston Charity Awards.
Chief Executive of Pilotlight, Ed Mayo, said:
“In the field of capacity building, this is gold dust. A cheque from a donor can give a short-term boost to charities, but it will typically be transient. Support that makes a lasting difference to charities and their leaders has far more of a beneficial impact for those whom the charity is there to serve.
“I am delighted that this rigorous evaluation, looking at our work over ten years, demonstrates the transformative effect of our support.”
Nearly half of the charities attributed the creation or improvement of key strategic documents to their participation in the Awards. These include strategic plans, business plans, statements of values, mission and theories of change.
A previous winner of a Weston Charity Award said: “It’s exactly what we needed and I think it helped us enormously to get to where we are now… Since I’ve been here turnover has trebled, staff team has doubled… we’re on the up and up… and I think the programme had a huge part to play.”
The 10-year evaluation report will be officially revealed at a virtual Learning Lunch event for foundations, trusts and grantmakers on 10th July at 12.30pm. Hosted by Pilotlight Chief Executive Ed Mayo, and Director of Inside Impact Alexa Sage, the online session will share insights about the decade-long partnership between Garfield Weston Foundation and Pilotlight, and how foundations can do more for the charities they support through skilled volunteer programmes.
Ed Mayo said: “At a time when money is tight, it is all the more important for funders to focus on long-term impact. We believe that every funder could make capacity building part of what they do.”
Winners of the recently announced 2025 Weston Charity Awards include charities working across diverse specialisms, including mental health, homelessness, reoffending, poverty, health, neonatal care, community support, equality and diversity, safety, education, parenting, disability, self-esteem and sustainability.
For more information about the Weston Charity Awards, visit:
www.pilotlight.org.uk/weston-charity-awards