The Givewell Good Giving Guide Charity Awards were announced yesterday in Melbourne, with the following winners:

Best Practice Not-for-Profit: The Fred Hollows Foundation
Best Community Project: Welfare Rights Centre (SA) Inc. - Housing Legal Clinic (HLC)
Best Communications Program: Lifeline Australia - 'Help a Mate’ Suicide Prevention Campaign

Now in their fifth year, the Givewell Charity Awards have previously been presented in association with Ethical Investor's Australian Sustainability Awards. This year they departed from the corporate awards to join forces with The Good Giving Guide.

The Good Giving Guide, published by Penguin Group (Australia) yesterday, is the first book of its kind and aims to inspire readers to give, or give more, to non profit organisations and charities. It includes practical tips on individual giving, setting up trusts, business giving and corporate volunteering, along with in-depth analysis of one hundred Australian charities.

Written by Lyn Amy and Mary Pearce, with fundraising and financial information supplied by Givewell, the premise of this in-depth guide is that more people would give if they had more information about the charities and how best to support them.

The Guide was launched in Melbourne yesterday, in conjunction with the announcement of the Charity Award Winners, and includes information on 100 key Australian not-for-profits, drawn from Givewell’s charity profiles. It also profiles previous Givewell Charity Award winners and outlines the process and winners for 2008.

Full details of the awards process, criteria and previous winners are available on the Givewell website, along with media releases and detailed background information outlining the winners.