BE:IMPACT Prize

A competition rather than a grant round, and the money is unrestricted, which is what makes it worth your time.

Blue Earth Summit runs an annual gathering of businesses, investors and funders, and the BE:IMPACT Prize is its first attempt to put small charities on that stage.

You enter one campaign, six charities are picked to pitch live in London, and £15,000 is split between them with no strings attached. It is free to enter and it closes at 21 September 2026.

• What they fund: The money is unrestricted, so if you win you decide where it goes. The funder’s own wording is that successful charities may use the funding wherever it can best support their organisation and campaign. A website, a campaign site or a digital tool are all legitimate uses, and you do not need to say so in the application.
• Prize: The winning charity will receive £10,000 in unrestricted funding to take their campaign further. Runners up will receive £1,000. Six charities reach the final, so five runner-up awards are made from the £15,000 fund. Finalists also receive professional impact storytelling support and exposure through Blue Earth’s channels.
• Who can apply: UK-registered charities with an annual income between £5,000 and £1 million, working on social or environmental impact. One campaign per charity, at any stage of development. The application must be submitted in English by an authorised representative of the charity, not by an individual acting on their own. There is no entry fee.
• The angle: This is judged like a pitch, not assessed like a grant application. The criteria are the urgency of the problem, the clarity of your campaign, evidence that you understand the people or issue you serve, the credibility of your approach, and what unrestricted funding would let you do next. Pick the campaign with the strongest story rather than the biggest budget. There is an optional 60-second video, and production quality is explicitly excluded from the scoring, so something filmed on a phone is fine and probably better.
• Worth knowing: Finalists must attend and pitch live at Blue Earth Summit at Woolwich Works, London, on 15 October 2026. Finalists are announced on 30 September, which leaves a fortnight to prepare and to cover travel, so factor that in before you enter. Shortlisted campaigns are published in a public gallery, though only the details you flag for publication appear there and your contact and financial information stays private. You can edit a draft until the deadline but not after submitting.
  
  This is the first year the prize has run, so there is no track record to judge it against, and only six of the entrants receive anything. Questions go to [email protected].

Key dates