08 November 2010
Alec Reed CBE has been awarded the overall Beacon Prize 2010 for his longstanding work in supporting hundreds of charities, including his latest project, theBigGive.org.uk; a website helping donors find charities in their field of interest.
From a pool of nine category winners, Alec received the overall award at a gala Prize Ceremony on Thursday 4th November, at the prestigious Goldsmiths’ Hall in the City of London, surrounded by key members of the charitable, political and media worlds. After keynote speeches from Nick Hurd MP, Minister for Civil Society, and Dame Stephanie Shirley, the British Government’s Founding Ambassador for Philanthropy, Alec was given the overall prize of £30,000 (sponsored by Russell Investments) to donate to the charitable cause of his choice.
Alec joins the ranks of previous Beacon winners such as Sir Bob Geldof, Jamie Oliver and environmentalist Zac Goldsmith, who have all been recognised for their charitable work with this high honour, described by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown as the 'Nobel Prize of the charity world'.
Alec has been involved in philanthropy throughout his working life. He devotes much time to developing innovative ways of supporting charities. As well as The Big Give, innovations include Challenge Funding, development charities such as Ethiopiaid, as well as the Reed Foundation itself, founded in 1986 from the sale of the drug company Medicare. He is best known for the recruitment company that bears his name, which he started at the age of 26.
The Big Give is an interactive website designed to enable philanthropists to be pro-active, showcasing over 7,000 charities working all over the world. It is free to all users thanks to the generous support of the Reed Foundation.
Broadcaster Martyn Lewis, former Chairman of Beacon, who will be hosting the Prize Ceremony, said: "Our Judges were especially impressed by Alec’s long history of generosity and entrepreneurial spirit. Bringing his own business skills into helping those who are disadvantaged has had a phenomenal effect in leveraging millions of pounds worth of charitable assistance”.
On presentation of his award, Alec said: “It’s not easy to give money away intelligently. The Big Give is introducing intelligence into giving. I’m delighted to use the £30,000 as the catalyst for a £200,000 matched funding challenge on theBigGive.org.uk, to benefit the charities of other Beacon Prize winners. My thanks to Russell Investments, and congratulations to the other category winners.”