A charity that has given hundreds of thousands of pounds to good causes has received an award for offering the best grants in East Anglia.

Catalyst, which is based in Colchester, took the title at the Institute of Fundraising’s awards night, beating off tough competition from the Big Lottery Fund.

The charity has given cash to a number of local causes, including St Helena Hospice, the Short-Term Wheelchair Loan Charity and Disabilty4Sport, which delivers sporting sessions to young disabled children.

It has also provided cash for a new birthing pool at Colchester Hospital and contributed towards the cost of a waiting room for the site’s new Radiotherapy Centre, which will open in March 2014.

Staff from the Colchester Hospitals Charity nominated Catalyst for the award.

Rodney Appleyard, Catalyst’s development officer, is delighted that the charity has won this award.

He said: “It came as a complete surprise because we did not even know we were nominated.

“We enjoy working closely with groups, to dig deep and find out exactly how they propose to help people with health problems within the area.

“The Board is very discerning over which projects they support, so we like to develop close relationships with each applicant, to fully understand their vision and strategy.

“This enables us to give their project the best chance of being understood and accepted by the board.”