We’re Finalists at the Hey Charity Awards 2026!

Some news genuinely made us stop and smile this week. The Freedom Project has been nominated for a Hey Charity Award, and we are proud to announce we are finalists in the Newcomer category. On 21st May, we will be heading to Hull, glammed up and fingers firmly crossed.

This recognition means a great deal to us, not because awards define what we do, but because this particular nomination reflects something we genuinely care about. The Freedom Project sits at the heart of what we have always been about, and being recognised by the Hey Charity Awards feels like acknowledgement that the work matters.

If you want to follow the awards ceremony or find out more about the other finalists, you can visit heycharityawards.co.uk.

Why This Nomination Matters to Us

We are a not-for-profit enterprise agency. That is not a throwaway description; it shapes absolutely everything we do. Our foundations stretch back to 3rd December 1985, and for forty years we have been working as community catalysts across Yorkshire, particularly along the Yorkshire Coast.

Our objects, set out in our original Memorandum of Association, have guided us through every decade. At their core, those objects ask us to do three things.

First, to give people the opportunity to explore and reach their potential through enterprise training, education, skills development, and raising aspirations, whether that leads someone toward self-employment, employment, or growing a micro-business. Second, to provide enterprise support, advice, information, and guidance that is normally free at the point of service, because barriers to support are barriers to progress. Third, to act as a community catalyst, building futures for individuals and new ventures that strengthen the well-being, innovation, sustainability, and economic growth of Yorkshire's towns.

Those are not lofty ideals written on a wall somewhere. They are the practical reality of what we do every single week.

What The Freedom Project Represents

The Freedom Project is so deeply aligned with these objects that the nomination feels like recognition of our whole mission, not just one programme.

When people arrive at the Freedom Project, they often arrive at a crossroads. They may be questioning what comes next, wondering whether enterprise is a path they can genuinely walk, or simply looking for someone to say "yes, you can do this." Our role is to meet them there, without judgement, with practical support and real guidance.

This is why government recognition, quality assurance through the National Enterprise Network (formerly the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies), and our long-standing community presence all matter. They are the infrastructure that allows us to show up for people consistently and credibly.

What We Offer the Entrepreneurs We Work With

Being nominated in the Newcomer category also gives us a moment to reflect on what we bring to the people and businesses we support across Scarborough and the wider Yorkshire Coast.

Our team of qualified business advisors carries over 100 years of combined experience working with businesses of all shapes and sizes. We work with start-ups finding their footing and with established businesses ready to grow. What stays consistent is our approach.

We start by helping people understand their "why", the purpose that sits behind the business idea and gives it staying power beyond profit. From there, we work through the fundamentals: defining a target market with real clarity, using market research techniques that are practical rather than academic, and building business plans that actually serve the person holding them rather than simply impressing a bank.

We also know that today's entrepreneurs face pressures that did not exist a decade ago. Digital presence, funding complexity, shifting consumer behaviour — these are real challenges, and they deserve real answers. That is what we try to provide, alongside the kind of peer support and networking connections that remind business owners they are not navigating this alone.

All of this, as with The Freedom Project, is normally free at the point of service. Because support should not be a luxury.

Forty Years of Showing Up

There is something quietly significant about marking this nomination against our fortieth year of operation. In 1985, the intent was to create employment opportunities and assist the economic well-being of communities. In 2026, that intent has not shifted one degree.

What has changed is the landscape around it. The challenges facing Yorkshire's entrepreneurs are more complex, the tools available to them more numerous, and the need for honest, grounded support arguably greater than ever. We have adapted continuously to meet that reality, and the Freedom Project is one of the clearest expressions of that adaptation.

Being a finalist at the Hey Charity Awards, particularly under the Newcomer category, tells us the project has made an impression quickly. That speaks to the people involved in it and to the community it serves.

Come and Cheer Us On

The ceremony takes place on 21st May in Hull. We will be there, dressed for the occasion, proud of the work, and genuinely grateful for the nomination.

Whether you are already part of our community or just coming across us for the first time, we would love for you to share in this moment. If you are a business owner, an aspiring entrepreneur, or someone connected to enterprise in Yorkshire, there is a good chance we can support you too.

Find out more about who we are and what we offer at yorkshireinbusiness.org.uk and join the community that has been building futures along the Yorkshire Coast for four decades.

Wish us luck on the 21st. We are ready for it.