In the face of the climate and biodiversity emergencies, I am so pleased to be working for a charity that’s having a positive impact on our environment. When I joined Beaver Trust, responsibility for fundraising was split between people already busy with their day jobs. I am creating a more proactive and organised fundraising function. I have developed a fundraising strategy that builds on the charity’s strengths and makes the most of the opportunities available to us. Successes include a £120,000 multi-year unrestricted grant and a £250,000 project grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

By focussing entirely on trust and grant fundraising, I got to do the work I enjoy the most. - Helping my colleagues articulate the need for new projects. - Understanding what funders are looking for, whether that’s a short and sweet application or a more detailed understanding of the charity's ethos and governance. - Writing applications that explain a need, how Carers in Bedfordshire meet that need and why they the best people for the job.During my time at Carers in Bedfordshire, I secured over £1m in grants, including three year grants from both The National Lottery and the Henry Smith Charity.

Responsible for all fundraising channels (as below) plus line-managing a Communications Officer. Together we successfully ran a campaign to reach more male carers, a group underrepresented amongst the carers we support.

As Carers in Bedfordshire’s first full-time fundraiser, I invested my time primarily in trust fundraising. I secured unrestricted and project grants to support this growing charity.• I wrote applications to secure funding for existing work and new projects.• I supported my colleagues to develop project plans, explain the reasoning behind their ideas and cost projects appropriately.• I researched local and national grant funders to develop a pipeline of applications.• I managed the reporting on all grants & liaised with funders when projects did not go to plan.As a sole fundraiser, I was also responsible for other fundraising channels, including community, corporate and individual giving.

By advocating for supporters, I ensured that they had an excellent experience of donating to Barts Charity. They knew how their donations made a difference and that we appreciated their support.As part of the database champions team, I made sure that the database was not just a tool for listing donations. I set up a system to collect key information about supporters' relationship to the Barts Health Hospitals - whether they were a new parent grateful for care on the neonatal wards or remembering a loved one who had died from cancer. With this information, I tailored the information we sent supporters, building their connection to the charity. I managed a Supporter Care Officer who undertook the day-to-day processes of managing donations and responding to enquiries. Together, we created and improved processes to fit new income streams and ensure a streamlined experience for everyone.

Supporter Care and Engagement:I worked with individual supporters to show our gratitude for their generosity and tell them about the impact of their donations. Every donor did something special to improve the life of someone else and I found new ways to show that we cared.From our Opinion Team to a Supporter Blog, I developed projects that invited our most engaged supporters to get involved with our work in the way that suited them best. And for those who just wanted to donate, I researched the best way to give them the experience they wanted. Donation Processing:I managed a Fundraising Assistant and team of fundraising volunteers as they processed all incoming donations quickly and efficiently. We could handle anything our donors threw at us, from six times the expected number of new regular donors to an even-busier-than usual Christmas period.

“Just got a brilliant thank you email from @TrussellTrust after donating to the post DM appeal. Awesome” I made sure that we said thank you quickly, regularly and genuinely as well as developing the administrative systems that underpin that. As the charity grew, I kept on top of the increasing number of donations and made sure that supporters got as personal a service as possible.It’s vital that no donor feels like just a number but data is important too. I led a project to improve how we use our database across the charity so that relationships could be recorded, monitored and improved. Newly streamlined processes saved my colleagues across the organisation time and money.