A key part of my role was to grow St John’s major gifts programme by working with the College’s alumni and friends to raise funds for St John’s key priorities.I worked closely with the Development Director to develop strategies for both fundraising and alumni relations, and to create fundraising literature.I line managed three members of the team who between them were responsible for regular giving, alumni relations, and donor stewardship. I had a leadership role in those areas as well as the wider office, deputising for the Development Director as required.

My role was principally to work with the College’s alumni and friends to raise major gifts towards student support, access and outreach, and St John’s new Library and Study Centre.My other main responsibilities were legacy fundraising and line management of the Senior Development Officer, who oversees the College's regular giving programme.

I devised a strategy to improve the College's regular giving programme, which had remained static for a number of years. This resulted in a 10% increase in the number of donors in the year and a 30% increase in revenue.Key to the strategy was an increase in stewardship activities, including the introduction of face-to-face thank-you meetings for higher-level regular giving donors. This contributed to the highest donor retention figure to date.I also managed a Personal Information Form campaign, which achieved the highest response rate ever recorded by our consultants (Buffalo).

After a year as a Development Assistant I was promoted to this position, which gave me a broad experience of development activities. I carried out prospect research, assisted with the administration of the annual Telephone Campaign, and was responsible for the legacy programme.I was especially pleased to increase the number of legacy pledgers by 25%, and to raise over £100k in major gifts. I was likewise proud of contributing to the College's most successful Telephone Campaign to date.I also managed the Year Rep programme, which provided valuable experience in promoting alumni engagement and working with volunteers, and organised events for the legacy society.

In this role I was responsible for enriching the quality of the alumni database through data entry and research.

At Wadham I wrote website copy, drafted fundraising proposals, and co-managed the migration of the College's alumni database from Raiser's Edge to DARS.

I was the most successful caller for two consecutive years, achieving a giving rate of over 80%.