It received the ‘Sponsorship Continuity’ Award in recognition of the support shown to English cricket over the past 25 years and, in conjunction with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), also received the ‘Grassroots Sport’ Award for NatWest CricketForce, which aims to bring together players and volunteers to rejuvenate the nation's cricketing facilities, making it the biggest annual volunteering event in sport.
Rosemary Sarginson, chair of judges, Hollis Publishing, said: “The Hollis Awards recognise and reward the very best sponsorship campaigns with the judges looking for evidence of innovation, creativity and above all effectiveness.
"Both of NatWest’s entries clearly demonstrated how a sponsorship property can be exploited across different timescales and at different levels to meet ever-changing business objectives.”
Last year volunteers at some of the 665 cricket clubs taking part in NatWest CricketForce were joined by England cricket stars and staff from across the NatWest branch network, who all came to play their part in the community event.
By giving up their personal time NatWest staff could also receive up to £500 for their local club as part of NatWest's Community Cashback Award Scheme. This year over 1,000 cricket clubs have already registered to take part, a 54 per cent increase on last year.
