Awards: criteria, judging and values 

Our Awards criteria and values

The SMK National Campaigner Awards recognise individuals and campaigns that have delivered meaningful social change for the public benefit. Our Awards exist to celebrate campaigning that is effective, responsible, and rooted in fairness, dignity, and respect.

Who can be nominated? Nominees must: 

• A UK Resident (for individual award categories)
• Working on a campaign based in the UK
• Be over the age of 18 (for individual award categories)
• Be involved with a campaign that fits within one of our categories
• Be campaigning on an issue that affects a wider community, not just one individual
• The campaign or work being nominated should have come to fruition, or most of it taken place, in 2025.
• You don’t have to be part of a registered charity to be nominated or to win an Award.
• Not involved in a campaign that is discriminatory, unethical, or hateful. This is intended to ensure that we celebrate campaigns that are conducted responsibly and constructively.

What do we mean by discriminatory, unethical, or hateful?

Discriminatory 

Discriminatory describes something that is unfair or unjust

It is defined as treating one person or group unfairly worse than others, often based on characteristics like race, gender, or religion. It describes unfair or prejudicial practices, rules, or measures.

Unethical 

Unethical means not conforming to accepted standards of morality, professional conduct, or law.

It is defined as not morally acceptable or not conforming to a high moral standard. It describes behaviour or actions that are wrong and unacceptable according to a society’s rules or beliefs.

Hateful 

Hateful means causing or deserving hate; loathsome; detestable, or full of or showing hate.

It is defined as meaning very unkind or unpleasant, or full of or showing hate. It can be used to describe a person, a place, an action, or words that are malicious and cause or deserve strong dislike.

We understand that many campaigns address complex, sensitive, and contested issues – this is often the nature of campaigning. Our role is not to make judgments about the legitimacy of such issues but to focus on how campaigns are conducted and the impact of the social change they have enabled, to meet the awards criteria.

You don’t have to be part of a registered charity to be nominated or to win an Award. However, the Awards can only recognise campaigns that fall within the Charities Act 2011 definition of public benefit.

How the Awards are judged

Each year, SMK receives around 100–150 nominations across 10 categories.

The SMK team reviews all eligible nominations and produces a shortlist of three to four entries per category.

Shortlisted nominations are then considered by independent external judges, who select the winners.

This process ensures the Awards are judged fairly, rigorously, and independently, recognising campaigns that have delivered real impact in line with SMK’s values.

For any questions about the Awards, please contact info@smk.org.uk.