A local charity, the BIGKID Foundation, has won the national Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI) “Small Charity Big Impact” award.
BIGKID, based in West Norwood, is dedicated to seeing that no young people lose their lives or potential to youth violence.
Pauline Broomhead, CEO of FSI, said small charities (with an annual turnover under £1.5 million) represent more than 97% of the sector, yet their work and impact can often be overlooked.
“BIGKID Foundation won their category as they clearly showed how they measure their impact, use it to improve their services and share it to build trust. We would like to congratulate BIGKID Foundation on their award and their fantastic work,” she said.
As well as winning the award, the charity will benefit from a promotional film and be featured in a book to be delivered to 10 Downing Street. It will also benefit from expert sessions on leadership and marketing and an impact audit.
Shaninga Marasha, BIGKID’s founder and CEO, said: “We’re thrilled to win this award. As a small charity with low income, but high impact on our young people, sometimes it can be a challenge to convince people that our levels of impact are possible on such a relatively small turnover.
“The FSI Small Charity Big Impact award provides us with the credibility to prove that our work with young people has the far-reaching positive effect we see with our own eyes.”
BIGKID Foundation’s recent achievements include engagement with 1,277 young people in Lambeth.
Since its launch in 2008 BIGKID has gone from working with four girls to more than 500.
Its Breaking Barriers programme last year helped to ensure that 20 out of 25 participants were taken off the “risk of exclusion” register and successfully reintegrated into school.
