We are delighted to have been shortlisted for the ‘Grantmaking and Funding’ accolade in The Charity Awards 2017 for our Time to Shine Programme.

The Time to Shine programme has been amended and refined over the last seven years in line with feedback from the two main beneficiary groups, the charities and the interns. To date it has supported 180 interns in 120 different charities and social enterprises. All interns come to the programme from an underemployed starting point and bring significant and widespread life experience. They include young ex-offenders, people with disabilities, those with higher degrees and former young carers.

Their success on the programme is based on their skills set matching directly with the charity’s challenge. For some the programme offers the opportunity to develop confidence skills in a safe environment.

The value of the interns is shown by the number who have remained with their host charity. From those employed in 2016, half are staying with the host charity, 30 per cent have secured employment elsewhere, and 20 per cent have gone on to further study. All are no longer underemployed.

The Charity Awards, is the charity world’s longest-running, biggest and best-known awards ceremony. This year’s charities have been judged by an independent panel of charity leaders as having demonstrated outstanding best practice which other organisations can learn from.

The winner of the Grantmaking and Funding Award and the other nine category winners, plus the recipients of the Overall Award for Excellence and the Outstanding Achievement Award will be announced at a black-tie dinner on 8 June, held in the grounds of the Tower of London.

The evening will be hosted by BBC presenter Louise Minchin, who will be joined by representatives of the shortlisted charities, as well as leaders from Britain’s best known and best loved charities.

Julian Chislett, Chief Executive of Civil Society Media, which organises the Charity Awards, congratulated all the shortlisted charities on making the highly-coveted shortlist. He said: “The standard of entries this year was incredible, and the charities we shortlist remain a constant inspiration to all of us. Our rigorous judging process singles out those charities with the most innovative ideas and the most inspirational approaches to delivering maximum impact.”