A new set of charity awards have been launched to fight child poverty in the North West.

The Equilibrium Foundation has announced the launch of the Equilibrium Foundation Grant Awards, through which it will provide £60,000 in funding annually to smaller and lesser-known charities in the North West of England, centering around a different theme each year.

34 per cent of children in the North West currently live in poverty and 1.1m homes in the North have failed to meet ‘decent homes’ criteria. 

Applications are now open to charities based in the North West with a turnover of less than £1m, closing on May 26.

A judging panel made up of Equilibrium staff, clients and associates will decide on the winning charities based on application information. The winners of this year’s awards will be announced in July.

Sarah Warburton, Head of Culture and trustee of the Equilibrium Foundation, said:  “As an annual event, the awards will have a different theme each year, enabling us to spotlight a range of issues. We encourage applications from smaller, newer charities to increase awareness of how they’re making a difference.”