The Gill Astarita Fundraiser of the year
Howard Lake | 30 June 2011 | Blogs
For any fundraiser who, in the view of their peers, has shown consistent excellence and best practice in achieving high quality fundraising through either their own efforts or their vision and strategy.
This award has been renamed in memory of Gill Astarita who died in September 2008. Gill was a very special fundraiser who worked for Prisoners Abroad, Addaction, Pre-School Learning Alliance, Volunteer Reading Help and Action for Blind People. Gill was a passionate and inspirational leader who mixed fun, hard work, creativity and achievement. She displayed all the hallmarks of a great fundraiser and these, combined with her leadership as a chief executive, are a fitting inspiration for this award.
The shortlisted entries in alphabetical order are
Hannah Scott
Jools Tait
Julie Worrall
Hannah Scott, development manager, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)
During the four years Hannah has worked with JDRF she has concentrated on growing and developing the supporter base within the Greater London area, growing income from under £200k to more than £1m. She strives for excellence in everything she does. She is driven to achieve excellent results within JDRF, she is passionate about the cause and has a desire to develop and grow within the charity. She builds excellent relationships within the team and with key donors. She is a key member of the regional fundraising team and has shared her expertise with the team in a very modest way. She has Type 1 diabetes herself and is passionate about JDRF’s mission to find the cure for the condition.
Jools Tait , director of partnerships, Cancer Research UK
Jools is ‘an inspiring person, fundraiser, leader and friend’, said her nomination. She embodies the positivity, creativity and ambition most fundraisers aspire to. Her role plays to her strengths of relationship building and driving exponential growth across corporate and supporter partnerships. Jools started the Supporter Partnerships team in 2008 to provide a range of partnership options to high value and celebrity supporters. IN year one, these delivered £1m, this doubled in year two and in year three they will account for over £5m income. Jools thinks strategically, has clear vision, but makes decisions and ensures quick action. She drives excellence and inspires hard work, passion and dedication. Her energy and passion is infectious and she inspires many people to great achievements.
Julie Worrall, regional corporate fundraising manager, CLIC Sargent
Julie is an inspirational fundraiser and has been responsible for nine corporate partnerships that have collectively raised more than £8m for CLIC Sargent. She managed the Tesco Charity of the Year Partnership which passed its target of £5m and is likely to raise more than £7m. To maximise partnerships she has also sought out non-financial ways that partners can support the charity. Julie encourages her team to take a strategic approach, establishing a clear vision and objectives for every partnership. She facilitates relationships at many different levels between the charity and its corporate partners. She is committed to sharing best practice with colleagues and is an inspirational leader who has supported her teams through some difficult and stressful situations.
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.