Yorkshire fundraising awards winners announced
Howard Lake | 19 February 2025 | News
The Chartered Institute of Fundraising Yorkshire group has announced its first awards winners since the COVID-19 period.
The awards celebrated outstanding fundraising efforts across Yorkshire, recognising both individuals and charities.
The awards event were part of the CIOF Yorkshire annual conference last week at its long-standing venue of the Leeds Marriott hotel.
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The day began with a welcome from TV star Matt Jameson, who shared insights from his 20-year career in fundraising and his experience of starring as the first gay couple on the Channel 4 hit show – Married at First Sight UK.
Charlotte Stone, Chair of the Yorkshire Chartered Institute of Fundraising Committee, said:
“This conference has been a fantastic opportunity to bring together fundraisers from across Yorkshire to learn, share, and celebrate the incredible work happening in our sector. Fundraising is not just about raising money—it’s about building connections, driving innovation, and making a real difference in people’s lives.”
The Yorkshire committee is an affiliated volunteer committee of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, the professional membership body for UK fundraisers.
Awards winners
At the end of the day the Yorkshire committee who, as volunteers, organised the conference and awards
presented the Yorkshire Fundraising Awards 2025. Judges this year were Jonathan Levy, Stacey Lavery and Hannah Jordan.
The winners were:
- Fundraising Newcomer – Olena Pfirsch, Heart Research UK
- Fundraiser of the Year – Chris Salt, Candlelighters
- Fundraising Leader – Heather Clement, University of Sheffield
- Fundraising Campaign of the Year – joint – Heart Research UK’s anonymous heART project and Martin House’s BUILD
- Fundraising Team of the Year – Martin House Hospice
Ronnie Young, Chartered Institute of Fundraising Volunteer Manager, said:
“The Yorkshire Conference has been a huge success, with more delegates for any in-person fundraising conference than ever before for the North of England… We are so grateful to the committee for the hard work, energy and commitment that they have shown in delivering such a well-received event.”
The CIOF Yorkshire runs other events, networking opportunities and training courses during the year.
- Yorkshire Building Society bond beats fundraising targets for Marie Curie (10 December 2015)
- Yorkshire homelessness charity hosts its first supporter awards (7 August 2018)
- CIOF issues call for papers for next year’s Fundraising Convention (29 August 2024)
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.