The awards, set up by specialist insurer Ecclesiastical, have seen a total of £1million given to charities across the UK this summer. Five hundred charities have already been awarded donations of £1,000 and now 10 charitable organisations will benefit from £50,000 grants.
Breast Cancer UK, which aims to to prevent breast cancer through education, scientific research, collaboration and policy change, was one of 10 charities selected from over 1,000 entries.
The fund will allow the charity to launch its Digital Learning to Prevent Breast Cancer scheme, a project that will bring online education about breast cancer prevention to communities through accessible and free digital learning tools.
Each of the £50,000 awards are designed to support the advancement of education, skills, arts, culture and heritage, as well as citizenship or community development. Applications were assessed against four key areas; impact and effectiveness, sustainability, innovation, and care and compassion.
Mark Hews, Group CEO of Ecclesiastical, said: “Our Movement for Good awards have been met with an overwhelming response. A huge number of charities have submitted projects for the £50,000 grant and it’s clear that charitable organisations are in need of support now more than ever. We believe this financial boost will create long-lasting improvements for communities and support charity workers during what is an incredibly testing time for many.
"Ecclesiastical is a unique financial services group. Owned by a charity, our core purpose is to contribute to the greater good of society. Charitable giving is at the heart of our business and we are proud to be able to give all available profits to the good causes which are important to our customers. We know that £50,000 can make a huge difference to the life-changing work that charities do and we are looking forward to seeing how these awards will help make people’s lives better.”
Thalie Martini, Chief Executive at Breast Cancer UK, added: “When we heard we had won the award we were really quite surprised and very happy. We wouldn’t be able to roll out this kind of programme without this support.
“What makes us unique is that we have direct contact with our supporters and our audiences and we can see the impact of our work. People all over the country will be able to access information that will give them control over their health. For us, prevention is so important. This award will have an impact on breast cancer prevention, as well as reducing the cost on the NHS.”
An amazing 253,879 people around the UK supported the Movement for Good awards during its first phase earlier this year, with over 13,695 charitable causes up and down the country receiving votes. The 500 winning charities were picked at random from those nominated.
Phase two saw 1,059 project submissions for the £50,000 awards. Following a review of all the applications, a panel of judges made their final selection of the winning projects.
For further information on the Movement for Good awards and for a full list of the winning charities phase visit: www.ecclesiastical.com/movement-for-good