Frequently Asked Questions

The Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards, established in 2007, are the largest awards of their type in the North West, North Wales, Shropshire and the Wolverhampton area. There is significant prize money and professional services available to help entrepreneurs and their associated businesses flourish.

The Awards are due to be run for five years. From our first year of running the awards in 2007, the feedback has been fantastic, confirming that they have really helped ‘make a difference’ to the winners.

The awards are simple and straightforward to enter - and FREE! We want to encourage as many people and businesses as possible to enter so please register to take a look.

The closing date for The Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards 2009 is 5pm on Thursday 10th September 2009. Applications received after this deadline will not be considered.

All confirmed applications will be considered in the first round of judging and the shortlist from this round will be announced in early October 2009. No applications will be judged before 10th September 2009.

All completed applications are to be returned online via the Awards website.You will receive an automated email response to confirm receipt. Only applications that are returned in the prescribed manner via the Awards website and for which an automated response has been issued will be accepted.

All applications will be considered after 10th September 2009. Finalists will be announced in early October 2009. Finalists will be notified by a posting on the website and by letter. An email update will be issued at the same time. If applicants have not been contacted by us by 15th October 2009 or do not see their details on this website, they may assume that their application has not been successful.

The Morgan Foundation will be hosting an awards ceremony and gala dinner at Carden Park Hotel on 19th November 2009. Winners will be announced live on the night.

Tables will be available to buy from late summer. Please revisit the site to check for updates.

Entry to the awards is free. There may be some costs associated with your personal travel to and from a judging event; however, this cost must be borne by the finalists themselves. Any costs that have been incurred by the applicant to submit the award and travel to a judging session if required will not be reimbursed.

We have tried to make entry to the awards as simple and as straightforward as possible. However, if you do have questions about the form, please refer in the first instanceto all FAQs listed here. If you cannot find the answer you are looking for, please contact The Awards Team at awards@morganfoundation.co.uk

The Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards were launched in 2007 as part of a five year rolling programme. The intention is to provide a real boost to entrepreneurs and new businesses. The Awards highlight what can be achieved and encourage would-be entrepreneurs to go on to create wealth and prosperity for themselves and their local communities.

In the past two years we have been really encouraged by the diverse range of businesses and ideas emerging throughout the North West and the contribution they are making to the local economy. For 2009 there is an additional category of Best Individual Entrepreneur working in a Social Enterprise or Charity. This is a reflection of the Morgan Foundation's philanthropic aims, to encourage self sustainability both in the charitable and business sectors.

• June 25th - Awards open
• September 10th - Applications close
• Early October - Finalists announced
• November 19th - Awards ceremony

Finalists will be called to a judging panel on a date on 8th or 9th October 2009 and asked to present in person. This will take approximately 30 minutes, comprising a 15 minute presentation followed by a 10-15 minute Q&A session. A visit to your premises may also be arranged if considered appropriate.

The judging will take place at Carden Park Hotel near Chester.

The judging panel is independent and is made up from our sponsors and other business specialists.

Each of the six categories has a separate entry form that details the information required to enter the awards. We are particularly looking for organisations and individuals who have contributed to the North West and Wolverhampton area by creating jobs, achieving regeneration and/or have sustainable objectives. In the ‘Against all Odds’ category we are looking for individuals or businesses who have overcome disabilities and/or social disadvantage to achieve success.

There is no lower age limit as to who can enter the awards. If you are applying on behalf of a business, please ensure that you have the owners' permission. If you are applying on behalf or a charity or social enterprise, please ensure that you have the permission of the trustees or directors.

Applicants can make a submissionto more than one category (providing they fit the criteria) but will need to make a separate registration each time.

All businesses must be based in the defined geographical area.

Providing you still meet the necessary criteria, we will be accepting entries from applicants who entered in previous years.

Due to the large number of applications we expect to receive, we are sorry that we cannot create feedback reports for applicants.

All the information you need about the awards should be contained within this website. We have tried to make entering the awards and finding information as simple as possible. However, if you do have a question that isn't answered here, please contact The Awards Team at awards@morganfoundation.co.uk