Fundraising Team of the Year
Howard Lake | 24 June 2008 | Blogs
Fundraising uses a diverse range of skills, not always present in the same person. This award celebrates the principle that often “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. It is made in recognition of outstanding fundraising work by a team.
And the shortlisted entries, in alphabetical order are:
ActionAid Trusts and Foundations team
In the last 12 months the team has raised a total of more than £11m from 50 funders and secured two grants of over £4m from Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund. Once could be down to luck, but twice is down to teamwork. The team had secured its target for 2008 by the end of February and was at that point just £50K short of its 2009 target. By the end of 2008 in terms of money received, ActionAid’s annual trust income over three years will have grown by more than 100 per cent.
Penny Brohn Cancer Care
Through strong teamwork the fundraising team has increased core fundraised net income by 64 per cent over two years. The team spirit within the department is second to none and its primary concern is raising the most money for people with cancer regardless of income crediting. Events work with corporate fundraisers and pass leads on to other parts of the team. Trusts & Legacies and Events managers support the Major Appeals manager developing leads. The whole team attends the two annual Institute of Fundraising SW conferences. The united approach to fundraising has had a profound effect on team morale and its success is testimony to its effectiveness.
South Yorkshire Flood Disaster Relief Fund team
The team was substantially recruited from new after the devastating floods hit South Yorkshire in June 2007. The team of three was supported by the ceo. chairman and by a Flood Fund Board. The Foundation’s normal work involves grant giving to community groups; this team’s remit was to raise and distribute funds for flood victims. The initial target was £500K, but by November 2007 over £1m had been raised with further pledges expected to make the fund up to £1.5m. Everyone pulled together with support from trustees using their connections to great effect. It was the Right thing at the right time, with the right energy and the right vision, delivered professionally and with great care. The lessons learned have been shared with the Community Foundation Network and have been put into a ‘hub’ on their website to be accessed and replicated by others. The team has learned that everyone’s contribution counts, that you have to put yourself out to achieve something really worthwhile.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.