Beacon Awards – Powering UK philanthropy

Nominations are now open for the 2017 Beacon Awards!

The Beacon Awards, which are powered by UK Community Foundations, celebrate the UK’s philanthropists and the contribution they make to society.

The theme for 2017 is ‘powering philanthropy’, and the awards will honour those philanthropists who are making an impact in their own fields; delivering new solutions; and inspiring others. Whether it's lifting people out of poverty, encouraging disadvantaged people to get back into education, or building community relations, philanthropy can be incredibly powerful. The Beacon Awards not only celebrate extraordinary philanthropic work but also influence and inspire the philanthropists of the future.

There are three new categories for 2017 which celebrate local community philanthropy, philanthropy in sport and innovation. The full list of categories is:

• Beacon Award for Philanthropy
• Beacon Award for Local Community Philanthropy
• Beacon Award for Innovation
• Beacon Award for Philanthropy in Sport
• Beacon Award for City Philanthropy
• Beacon Award for Philanthropy in Arts and Culture
• Beacon Award for Impact Investment
• Beacon Award for an Outstanding Partnership between a Philanthropist and a Charity
• Beacon Trailblazer Award
• Judges’ Special Award

Beacon is more than an awards ceremony. It is a network of inspirational and diverse philanthropists, who can show others their pioneering approaches to giving and positively influence the philanthropy of future generations. What we are seeking are people whose work will inspire others, and whose achievements and lessons learned will help other philanthropists as they think about and plan their approaches to changing the world. The amount of money they give is not, on its own, important. Beacon is looking for people who are using their resources to create lasting and systemic social change.

Previous winners of Beacon Awards include J.K. Rowling, Zac Goldsmith, Plan B, Paul Marshall, Dame Stephanie Shirley, Kavita Oberoi, Jamie Carragher, Nick & Jane Ferguson and John & Alex Timpson.

UK Community Foundations, which powers the Beacon Awards by managing the full process, has the vision of making local philanthropy the norm. ‘By celebrating the tradition of philanthropy in the UK and honouring those inspirational individuals, we hope to spread the message of the importance of philanthropy and to inspire others to give,’ commented Fabian French, Chief Executive of UK Community Foundations. ‘I’d very much like to thank our sponsors for enabling us to hold the tenth Beacon Awards and for helping us take it from strength to strength’.

The Beacon awards are sponsored by J.P. Morgan, City Bridge Trust and Pears Foundation.