Each year, the Sheila McKechnie Foundation (SMK) celebrates the best campaigns and campaigners at their National Campaigner Awards. Their interest is in finding those who have made change happen – most effectively, creatively and courageously.
Each year, JRRT sponsors the David & Goliath Award, which is all about the little guys. It celebrates individuals or small campaign groups that take on much bigger organisations and challenge vested power.
On 13 May 2026, SMK announced the shortlist for this year’s award:
Scotland for Decrim is a grassroots, sex–worker-led organisation dedicated to achieving the full decriminalisation of sex work in Scotland.
Save Windermere is dedicated to ending sewage pollution in England’s largest freshwater lake and protecting it for future generations by taking on the multi-billion-pound private water companies that have been exploiting it for profit.
Killed Women was started by Carole Gould and Julie Devey, who had had their young daughters murdered by ex-boyfriends. The campaign seeks to better protect women from the most extreme forms of violence, ensure justice for those whose lives have been taken, and strengthen the rights and support available for families left behind, particularly children.
SMK says:
“This year’s Awards celebrates a community of changemakers navigating one of the most challenging environments in recent memory – and doing so with ingenuity, courage, and a deep commitment to one another. This year we honour campaigners and changemakers who demonstrate that progress is not driven by lone heroes, but by collective effort, shared learning, and deep connection and most importantly teach us all a simple but radical truth: change is possible when we work together.”
You can discover more about the fantastic campaigns and campaigners shortlisted in all of the myriad categories on the SMK website.
The Award winners will be announced on Thursday 11 June from 6pm at a ceremony in London, which will also be live streamed on the SMK website.
Closer to the date, check out their website here for the link and instructions on how to watch.