Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards

The Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards 2010, with over £100,000 of cash prizes and services on offer to the winners, are now officially open after club Chairman, Steve Morgan, opened the application process at Molineux.

The Chairman was at the Club to attend the first ever Wolves Community Trust Annual Reception, which aims to share with local charities and businesses some of Wolves' official charity's most significant achievement throughout the past year.

With the emphasis on local charity and enterprise it also provided the perfect opportunity to launch the Awards.

The Awards are open to charities, social enterprises, businesses and entrepreneurs from Merseyside, Cheshire, Shropshire, North Wales and the Wolverhampton area.

There are five categories and 14 cash prizes to be won plus a package of valuable professional services, including free banking advice from the main sponsor Barclays.

Full details about the Awards can be found at the dedicated website: www.mf-awards.co.uk.

Speaking at the launch, Steve Morgan OBE said, "These Awards are very different from most other Awards; not only are there substantial cash prizes, but in line with the ethos of the Morgan Foundation, there are also categories aimed specifically at entrepreneurial charities and organisations that make a social or economic contribution to the region.

"With Government cut-backs imminent, such organisations are even more important in their local communities and need all the encouragement they can get.

"These Awards really do make a difference to the organisations and individuals who take part.

"Last year's winners and runners-up have said that winning has helped them in many ways; from as a much needed capital injection into their business to improving staff morale."

Designed to encourage a whole new generation of entrepreneurial role models, the Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards categories also include Best Young Entrepreneur and Best New Business.

"The Awards attract entries from a diverse range of businesses," explains Steve. "In the current climate, young entrepreneurs and new businesses will have to be more innovative and entrepreneurial in their approach in order to succeed. I'm sure that this year the standard of entries will be as high as ever."

John Powell, Relationship Director, Barclays Corporate said, "Barclays is proud to support the Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards for the fourth year running.

"We continue to support and lend to viable small-to-medium enterprises during these challenging and unprecedented economic conditions. In 2009, we supported over 89,000 businesses in starting-up. This is more than in any year since 2003.

"Every single one of them aims to be a positive influence on their local community. I hope this year's entrants and their stories will inspire other budding entrepreneurs, to come forward and turn their own business dreams into a reality."

The Awards are free to enter and it's simple to apply. They opened on 23rd June 2010 and entrants have until 10th September 2010 to submit their applications.

A panel of independent business leaders and experts will select the finalists, who will then have the opportunity to present in person at the final judging in October.

The winners and runners-up will be announced live at a Gala Awards Dinner at the Carden Park Hotel on 11th November 2010.

For further information please contact Jane Harris, Morgan Foundation Administrator, on 01829 782800 or at jane.harris@morganfoundation.co.uk