Maggie Houghton, Chemists' Community Fund Support Manager, and Dawn McGahan, Chemists' Community Fund Senior Caseworker, with the 2026 ACO Charity Collaboration of the Year award
The Chemists' Community Fund (CCF) and the Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara) have won Charity Collaboration of the Year at the Association of Charitable Organisations' (ACO) Annual Awards.
Winners of the prestigious charitable awards were announced at the ACO Annual Conference, held at BMA House, London, last night.
Maggie Houghton, CCF Support Manager, and Dawn McGahan, CCF Senior Caseworker, were both in attendance and overjoyed as the verdict was announced, with the latter going up on stage to claim the award on behalf of the partnership.
The CCF and Cara were selected ahead of partnerships between the National Benevolent Charity, Albert Hunt Trust, Fear Free and the National Lottery, and between RNBT, the Naval Children's Charity and the Royal Navy Officers' Charity.
Judges described the CCF-Cara connection as "a strong partnership that combined expertise, networks and resources - this application demonstrated what a collaboration should look like, merging expertise and exceeding their initial aims."
We really are thrilled that the ACO have recognised our partnership with Cara by awarding us such a prestigious collaboration award. Working together, we have utilised the networks, expertise and resources the other brings to provide crucial support for at-risk chemists and their families. We know the impact this partnership is having, so the judges expressing that we demonstrated what a collaboration should look like is as meaningful as the award itself.
Anna Dearden, Chemists' Community Fund Manager
As the RSC's benevolent fund, the CCF has supported members and their families for more than 100 years, offering financial and wellbeing assistance in times of need.
In 2024, it entered a three-year, £360,000 partnership with Cara to help displaced and at-risk chemists rebuild their careers and lives in safety.
The collaboration is an example of the CCF being able to direct its support toward meeting the needs of the wider chemical science community as funds allow.
In the first year alone, the funding helped Cara support 18 chemistry academics from seven countries, along with 16 spouses and 33 children.
The CCF's initial £120,000 contribution also helped Cara secure a further £1.13 million in leveraged support from UK university partners.
The CCF deserve every bit of this recognition. For a chemist in immediate danger, this partnership is a lifeline: it means someone who has had to abandon a laboratory, a career and often a country can walk into a UK university and start work or study again, with their family safe alongside them. Eighteen highly skilled chemists and their families have had that chance in the first year of the grant alone. Very few funders are willing to move at the speed that at-risk academics need, and the CCF have.
Zeid Al-Bayaty, Deputy Chief Executive and Fellowship Programme Manager, Cara
Chemists' Community Fund Senior Caseworker Dawn McGahan (centre) accepts the 2026 ACO Charity Collaboration of the Year award
The CCF was also shortlisted for Small Charity of the Year, recognising its wider work supporting the chemical sciences community. There was no double delight however, with the Drinks Trust taking home the honour.
The ACO Annual Awards recognise the outstanding achievements of charities within its network that provide financial and wellbeing support to individuals. This year's awards featured 11 categories, celebrating everything from impactful campaigns and meaningful collaborations to exceptional leadership and emerging talent.