The Charity Awards are bigger than the Oscars in the third sector and the standard of entries is always sky-high. We asked some of this year's winners for their secrets to capturing the judges' attention.

Bring out your secret weapon. In the case of Excellent Development, the overall winner, which helps people affected by drought in Kenya, it was technology. “Sand dams are reinforced concrete walls that you build across a valley,” says Simon Maddrell, the executive director. “When the rain comes it fills up with water - between 2 and 10 million litres - and filters it itself. It fascinated the judges.”

Forge an interesting partnership. Concern Universal, the winner in the international aid and development category, chose to partner with Haygrove, a medium-sized enterprise, in its Gambia is Good initiative. “People often recognise the big corporate partnerships that provide money,” says Dr Ian Williams, the executive director. “Haygrove is not a big business but they really shaped the strategy.”

Find creative ways of support. The Blood Pressure Association, winner of the healthcare and medical research award, relies on an army of professionals to carry out blood pressure checks for its annual Know Your Numbers week. “The volunteer nurses check 253,000 people. We couldn't do it without them,” says Sue Massey, the head of communications.

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BACKGROUND

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Help people to help themselves. “Import substitution” is the fancy name for allowing people to keep their own produce, rather than export it. “In The Gambia, farmers now supply their own markets,” Williams says. “We're giving them the business opportunity to earn a decent income.”

Give it a twist. For the Creature Discomforts campaign, which bagged the disability award for Leonard Cheshire Disability, the charity used well-loved characters in a different guise. “You don't have to be shocking or aggressive to get a message across,” says Judith Barnard, the communications director. “People often ignore disability because it makes them uncomfortable, so we went for warmth and likeability.”

Make it real. “We used the unscripted voices of disabled people talking about their priorities,” Barnard says. “It was totally authentic - they didn't even know they were being recorded.”

Set crazy goals - then achieve them. Excellent Development launched in 2002 and trebled its income year on year for four years. “It's about a good infrastructure. You need to monitor your goals to identify where you're going wrong and put it right,” Maddrell says.

Public Agenda is the media partner for the Charity Awards 2008.

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