Entry advice: a note from the chair

Every year, we receive hundreds of entries for the Charity Times Awards, which makes the judging process rewarding, yet competitive. Whilst the high majority of entries are incredibly thorough, articulate and data-driven, some miss the mark through small errors that could easily be avoided.

To help navigate the entry process, I’ve compiled a short list of some of they key ‘dos and don’ts’ when entering the awards, to help give you the best possible chance at making the shortlist.

Do

• Provide a separate short but summary of what your organisation does and the mission it seeks to achieve
• Clearly title your main entry with the category you are entering for and ensure it states that you are entering for the Charity Times Awards
• Ensure you explain what your objectives are in relation to the category you are entering for and how these have all been met
• Include as much data as possible to show how your objectives have been met. We are particularly keen to see the value of the pound, diversity of income and performance statistics
• If there has been a significant change in figures, make sure these are clearly charted
• Make your data as visually appealing and accessible as you can
• Provide a short summary of why you should win the award
• Keep to the word-count
• Let us know if your charity has been under or is currently being investigated by the regulator. It’s better to let us know how you have worked or are working through this than for us to find out through our own research
• Include links to your social media accounts where applicable – whatever category you are entering, it’s always great to be able to see extra engagement
  
  

Don’t

• Duplicate your entry with one you have submitted for another awards without tailoring it, i.e. please remember to change the name of the award ceremony listed on the entry to ‘Charity Times Awards’
• Submit your annual report, or any other governance and/or marketing material as an entry. These will automatically be removed from consideration
• Make the entry too text heavy. Always include visual data where possible
• Forget to show how your objectives have been met
• Submit the same entry for multiple categories. You can enter more than once, but each entry must be tailored to the designated charity
• Include too many testimonials. Whilst these are valuable, judges are much more keen to see data-driven evidence and any testimonial only helps to back this up
  
  

These are just a few examples of how to submit an entry with the best chance of making the shortlist.