nominating people for an OBE - advice?

[vivariumvivariumsvivaria]

I know a woman who has run a charity for decades which helps impoverished and vulnerable women abroad. She has helped at least 30k women for whom poverty was the least of their problems by issuing small grants and building a support network for women so they can set themselves up in sustainable businesses.

She's done it alone, with a small group of dedicated volunteers in the UK and women she helped run the safe houses and children's homes she established abroad, and find other women.

However, they are all getting older and I think someone who works in the 3rd sector could help future-proof the charity.

I wonder if the fastest way to get that input is by nominating her because having some letters after your name does tend to give you a bit of clout.

I don't know anything about the Honours System, but I do know that there is a knack to filling out any form and I'd like to make the best application I can for her.

Has anyone submitted a nomination, or works in the civil service and could offer me some advice? I really want to get it right!

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/902346/08684-How_to_write_a_nomination.pdf

There is some very good advice on the cabinet office website. You’ll need to find a sponsor to make the nomination. Then you need to be as specific as possible in the application. E.g. Instead of X helped many women it’s better to say things like X provided livelihoods for 30k women and was instrumental in setting up more than 10k new businesses. 50% of these now have a yield of over £70k a year and the top 10% of these employ more than 20 staff, the vast majority of which are women.

Remember there are many applications that don’t get selected so give as many hard facts to make the application stand out.

Magic, thanks for that.

I can get the detail from their records and I can get first hand accounts from the women they have helped, but I wouldn't have thought of it in exactly those terms.

There is plenty of hard evidence that she goes above and beyond. She goes to places the NGOs won't because they are too dangerous. I wish she wouldn't, but there must be something disarming about a tiny fearless woman appearing where the big charities won't and speaking fluently in their local dialect because she always gets stuff done.

I nominated someone who founded and runs a charity which has helped my family. You cannot recommend a particular award, they decide which one if any is awarded. I had no previous experience, I think there was a section on the form where it asked if professional help had been used so I think that is taken into account. I got three other people who had also received help to write letters of support. Although these were not professionally done I found what they wrote quite moving, I guess this helped as an MBE was awarded. It did take a long time to progress, I think about 18 months and it states that you should not tell anyone, including the nominated person until the formal announcement. I think it has helped the charity and I get a little kick out of seeing those letters after her name now myself. Good luck.

Thank you so much.

Good point about not telling her. I can get the data from the volunteers.

And well done on getting your person recognised. Amazing.

Can you get letters of support from others active in those areas? People from an NGO, or (ideally) the British Embassy.

I think attracting someone to take the work of her organisation forwards is utterly unrelated to a personal honour for the founder though. Have any efforts begun to recruit new staff and volunteers?

That's a great point, Chantico, and no - that's my concern.

The core group are all in their mid 60s. They go to India about 4 times a year and are, obviously, communicating with the local women running stuff daily. They don't use social media well, they don't do things the way charities normally do - and that is part of what makes them so effective, they see a need and they respond to it and because it's done WITH the women it is effective. They don't need instagram to fix the issues, they need someone in front of the woman in need.

However, things have changed and so they don't get the funding they should and they don't get the reach that they should and they are, therefore, at risk of folding when these amazing volunteers are in their mid 70s and may no longer fit to be traipsing across areas with no infrastructure.

They are too busy to think about the long term planning and they like the way it runs and don't have the time or inclination to look at the 3rd sector as an industry and see what they can learn.

So, I want to find them someone who does know all that stuff. The'yd be very happy to have the help - they are aware it is a pressing issue, but, they need to outsource that stuff to someone who understands what is possible. And that needs funding, and that needs applications and that needs time and that's all pretty much accounted for.

The trick is to keep the nomination factual and not emotive "she's amazing" isn't telling the committee anything. Usually everybody being nominated is amazing in their own way, that's why they're being nominated!

Focus and expand on the work that's been done in the first paragraph. If she's mentoring or contributing to the community in other ways that complement this work, mention that too, stating how this work supports and ultimately promotes British values (which it definitely sounds it does, particularly when one of the key HMG campaigns is ending violence against women and girls, if what I take from your vulnerable women mention in first para relates to this).

Get some supporting nominations and agree that, if abroad, a letter of recognition from the British Consulate/High Commission or Embassy doesn't hurt. She should already be on their radar if she is this active. Good luck, she does sound deserving!