Small charities offered £22,000 worth of grants and support

Applications have opened for £22,000 of funding and support for small charities in the North of England, Midlands and Wales.

The Weston Charity Awards will offer unrestricted grants of £6,500 as well as £16,000 worth of leadership coaching to 20 charities.

Successful applications will have shown awards organisers how they will use the funding and support to “instigate strategic chance and accelerate innovative growth”.

This is the eighth year of the awards scheme, which is organised by Garfield Weston Foundation and its charity partner Pilotlight.

The grants and support will offer “thought-provoking leadership coaching and vital funding to nurture talent and amplify a charity’s potential impact,” said Garfield Weston Foundation director Philippa Charles.

"Successful award winners can receive the support needed to bounce back from Covid-19 and enhance their in-house leadership skills, establish long-term business plans, and take their organisations to the next level of operations.”

Among last year’s winners was Cardiff City FC Community Foundation. Its director Gavin Hawkey said the leadership support the charity received has "helped me identify some key operational improvements and commit to implementing those changes”.