Charity Retail Awards 2023: A word from our judges
As we gear up to find out who are the winners of the Charity Retail Awards 2023, we’ve asked some of our judges what they thought about taking part and why it was so difficult to judge entries this year.
Fiona Condron, Charities Partner, BDO
“It was an absolute privilege to be invited to judge the Most Supportive CEO category. The nominations were all exceptional and highlighted the passion, energy and enthusiasm that CEOs have brought to the retail activities of their organisations. The nominations focused on the role the CEO has brought to enhancing income generation from retail activities as well as growing the brand and recognition of the charity.”
Caron Bradshaw, Chief Executive, Charity Finance Group
“Scoring is always a tough thing to determine because the quality is always high and there are good reasons to praise all of the shortlisted nominees. It’s heartening to see such commitment, creativity and drive in the heart of our charity retail community.”
Becca Caddy, Journalist and Author
“The main thing would be just how blown away I was by the quality of the entries. Sometimes, I’ve done things like this in the past and I’ve had an obvious favourite, but I think every project went above and beyond. You know, it makes me feel so hopeful actually, that there’s that much creativity out there, that people are putting it towards such good causes too. It made me feel very positive.”
Esther Pugh, Senior Lecturer in Fashion Business, Leeds Beckett University
“It was an absolute pleasure to have the opportunity to judge these awards. The calibre of the entries was outstanding, and I enjoyed seeing all the innovative ideas and skilled marketing that underpinned them. Now is the time for charity shops and it is great to see such creativity in the sector. Thank you for asking this charity shop addict to judge these awards. What a privilege!”
Louise McGill, Senior Partnerships Manager, WorkNest
“I’ve judged for 2 years now and I am always blown away by the dedication, innovation and entrepreneurship of the entries. The charity retail sector is so fortunate to have such amazing inspirational and energetic employees. The calibre of the nominations is very high in my opinion. The nominations tell a wonderful story and give quantifiable facts and figures. What makes it difficult is to try and score the nominees as they are all so very good.”
Daniel O’Driscoll, Executive Coach and Consultant, Engagement Consultancy
“This year felt especially hard judging all of the nominees, with all of them demonstrating incredible stories, passion and commitment.”
View this year’s Charity Retail Awards shortlist here
The winners will be announced at the Awards gala dinner and ceremony on the evening of day 1 at the Charity Retail Conference, Wednesday 28 June and will also be published on our website.
Book your place at Conference here
Once again, we’d like to thank everyone who has nominated, entered, publicised, judged or contributed to the Awards in any way, which help us to celebrate the talent, creativity and successes within the charity retail sector.