RNLI, CHAS & SSPCA among Scottish Fundraising Awards 2024 winners
Charities including RNLI, CHAS and SSPCA, as well as individual fundraisers at Scottish charities have been recognised in this year’s Scottish Fundraising Awards.
The awards ceremony, presented with headline sponsor THINK, celebrates fundraising excellence in Scotland and took place during the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s annual Scottish Fundraising Conference.
Charity winners
Among the charity winners were RNLI’s Scottish Engagement Team for Fundraising Team of the Year. In 2023, the first full year of community fundraising post pandemic, the team raised £2.5million, supported 161 volunteer teams, recruited an additional 191 volunteers and were successful in launching their largest Regional Partnership ever, “all while delivering a challenging business as usual, offering volunteers a gold-standard level of stewardship and support”.
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Scottish SPCA won Best Individual Giving Campaign for their Cairnryan Puppies Crowdfunder, which aimed to raise £25,000 to care for 24 puppies rescued from a lorry, but through swift action and compelling storytelling, surpassed the goal and raised £39,844 from 2,100 donors.
Fundraiser of the Year
Individual winners included Louise MacLeod from Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland who won Fundraiser of the Year, having nearly doubled her region’s annual income target since joining the team. In addition, “Louise ensures supporters feel engaged and recognised, has introduced a new corporate volunteering strategy, created a peer group for professionals, and has developed new events such as the Arrochar Alps and a top-secret flagship event due to be launched in 2025.”
Fundraising Excellence Award
Isla Campbell Lupton, Chair of the Scottish Fundraising Conference and Head of Fundraising and Communications at Cerebral Palsy Scotland, and Stephen Shirres, Fundraising Governance & Compliance Manager at Cats Protection and Co-chair of the Scottish Fundraising Adjudication Panel, both won the Fundraising Excellence Award. This award celebrates people who have not only achieved great things as fundraisers over a long period but who have made a significant contribution to the sector.
Full list of winners
There were eight categories in total with the winners as follows:
- Fundraiser of the year – Louise MacLeod from Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland
- Best Legacy campaign – Worldwide Cancer Research’s ‘Be the spark’ campaign
- Best Marketing and Communications Campaign – Children’s Hospices Across Scotland’s Precious Memories Christmas Appeal
- Best Individual Giving Campaign – Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) for their Cairnryan Puppies Crowdfunder
- Best use of Event or Community Fundraising Initiative – Children’s Hospices Across Scotland’s Knit Every Day in August 2023
- Best Partner Relationship: Corporate Fundraising – Children’s Hospices Across Scotland and LoganAir
- The Rising Star Award – Emma Donald from St Vincent’s Hospice
- Fundraising Team of the Year – The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)’s Scottish Engagement Team
- Fundraising Excellence Award – Isla Campbell Lupton
- Fundraising Excellence Award – Stephen Shirres
Virginia Anderson from the Scottish Fundraising Conference and Awards Committee said:
“The provision of essential services by charities hinges on the work and dedication of fundraisers. As the world continues to evolve and present new challenges, we proudly recognise Scotland’s incredible fundraisers and celebrate their achievements with our annual Awards.
“The judges were impressed by the outstanding quality of the entries. Huge congratulations to all who were shortlisted for the awards and to all the winners.”