NEWS: Groundwork and Cadent Foundation celebrate Charity Partnership of the Year win at Third Sector Awards
Groundwork and the Cadent Foundation picked up the Charity Partnership of the Year award at the 2026 Third Sector Awards for their collective efforts to support households in England living in fuel poverty through the Stay Warm, Stay Well programme.
The award recognises a partnership between two or more charities that has enabled the partners to more effectively deliver services to beneficiaries, reach new groups or reduce costs.
Groundwork and the Cadent Foundation have worked together since 2020 to provide investment and much needed support for households across England. The programme funds Groundwork Green Doctors – energy advisors – to provide in-home support to install energy saving measures, tackle causes of damp, mould and condensation and provide advice on billing and fuel debt.
The initiative has created the Cadent Foundation Green Doctor Academy, to help plug the green skills gap by training 32 new Green Doctors via a 12-month paid work placement. The Academy was open to people of all ages, with a key focus on those who have a disability, are from an ethnic minority background, a low income household or are unemployed from local communities, in order to create more accessible environmental jobs pathways and inspire people from diverse backgrounds to view green jobs as a viable career option.
Funding has also supported an Innovation Fund, investing over £140,000 into trialling targeted pilot programmes, including support to tackle damp, mould and condensation, energy advice for English Speakers of Other Languages, and post-retrofit support for residents using various retrofit installations.
Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive, said:
“We are so delighted that the Stay Warm, Stay Well programme has received this accolade. Our Green Doctors work tirelessly to help those who are most vulnerable, and we couldn’t do this without the generous support of our partners. The Cadent Foundation has helped us bring life-changing advice to many more households in need while growing our capacity to deliver through the Green Doctor Academy. We’re pleased that this long-term strategic support for our work has been recognised.”
Ranjit Blythe, Managing Director of the Cadent Foundation, said:
“The Stay Warm Stay Well partnership continues to make a significant impact to the lives of people living in vulnerable situations. Whether it’s ensuring homes are more energy efficient through the installation of in-home measures or piloting innovative new methods to keep people safe and warm, the programme has developed into something we can all be proud of. Winning this award is the icing on the cake on what is a truly fantastic partnership.”
For more information on Stay Warm, Stay Well, please visit:
Notes to editors
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About Groundwork
Groundwork is a federation of charities with a collective mission to take practical action to create a fair and green future in which people, places, and nature thrive. We support communities and businesses to build capacity and resilience in order to tackle hardship, achieve a just transition to net-zero and help nature recover in a way that reduces inequality and leads to healthier, happier lives for all: www.groundwork.org.uk