Cathy Phelan, wife of Charity Awards founder Daniel Phelan, paid tribute to him last night at the first Charity Awards ceremony since he passed away in February.

Just before WaterAid CEO Barbara Frost was presented with the first-ever Outstanding Achievement Award to be named eponymously in Dan’s memory, Cathy spent a few minutes remembering Dan and his remarkable legacy to civil society.

She said that instead of trying to find the words to do him justice, she would let him speak for himself, and quoted various sources “from the nether regions of the Civil Society website to ancient copies of NGO Finance”.

“The earliest words I could find are from the first edition of what was then known as NGO Finance, published in 1990, in which he explains ‘the magazine will provide a diet of informed and expert editorial on technical subjects as well as providing a forum for the airing of policy-shaping ideas’.

“It was a bumpy ride at the start for sure, with no money and the economy deep in recession. Daniel had however identified a need for disseminating information to the charity sector and he was on his way.”

In the service of providing a reliable and trusted editorial filter to the sector, Cathy said, “Daniel’s restless intellect and considerable creative drive was never still. And so the roster of titles, events, research and training programmes thriving under the umbrella of Civil Society Media grew year by year.”

She told the audience that he was particularly fond of the Charity Awards, and had described last year how “the Charity Awards remind us of the true purpose of our year-round journalistic vigilance and diligence - to foster an environment where the best efforts of charities can result in the best outcomes for society.”

Cathy went on to report Dan’s “growing concern and considerable pride in preserving Civil Society Media’s independent voice”, and quoted from a document he wrote last year: “Its independent stance matters because charities and NGOs increasingly operate in an environment where politicians and journalists are expressing serious concerns about their political involvement.

“Someone must have the independence to challenge party lines.

“Someone must speak truth to power.”

Condolence messages

She also mentioned some of the messages of condolence she had received from friends and colleagues of Dan after his death, telling the assembled guests: “Some of you might recognise your own words in this sample:

“A giant of the sector; genuine; modest; wickedly funny; a trailblazer; a good boss; unfailingly encouraging to others; a tenacious visionary, and everyone’s rock.”#