UK charities London Zoo, SolarAid, Integrity Action and CDI Apps for Good have each won £500,000 in Google’s Global Impact Awards, a competition looking for UK charities changing the world through innovative technology.

The judging was held yesterday at Google’s London office, where ten charities pitched their ideas to a panel of IT experts including Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Jilly Forster. Sir Richard Branson, who was also meant to judge on the panel, was unable to attend and made his decision remotely.

The judges selected SolarAid, Integrity Action and CDI Apps for Good, to each take home a £500,000 Global Impact Award, as well as mentoring from Google staff to deliver their projects.

The fourth finalist, London Zoo, was chosen by the public to receive the final £500,000 award. More than 5 million people viewed the finalists’ videos over the past ten days.

As a surprise on the night, Google also awarded the remaining six finalists £100,000 each to hone and deliver their projects.

Google consulted with Acevo on putting together the awards. Peter Kyle, deputy chief executive of Acevo, said: "From our first discussions when Google explained how they wanted to use their strengths as a business to make an impact within the charitable sector, it was clear the Global Impact Challenge was going to be an insightful and rewarding process for all involved.

“I give great credit to the open-spirited approach that Google staff showed throughout, keen to learn more about the sector and enthusiastically determined to design an application process that was simple for charities yet fun for the public. So thanks to Google for taking a risk by venturing into philanthropic giving in such an innovative and committed way, I hope it is the first step rather than a one-off, and serves as a great example to others."

Global Impact Award project details:

1. SolarAid will enable widespread access to low-cost, safe solar lighting in off-grid African communities currently reliant on kerosene lighting.

2. Integrity Action will improve public infrastructure and services in war-torn countries through an online and mobile platform for citizens to report on development projects.

3. CDI Apps For Good will revolutionise computing education by engaging youth in the hands-on creation of apps.

4. (Fan Favourite) The Zoological Society of London will use next generation camera traps, equipped with automated sensors, to better protect threatened wildlife.