We asked five mentees how mentoring is making a difference to them and their organisation. Here’s what they had to say.
Jodie Marsden
Jodie is the Trusts Officer at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home
“My confidence has shot up massively over the last six months. One of the biggest things I went to Julie about was improving my face to face interactions with donors at meetings and events. She has guided me through that perfectly. I now feel super confident about it and am doing it more and more. I don’t get jitters anymore which is helping me in my everyday professional life but it also means I am speaking more confidently with donors at events and meetings, and ultimately have secured bigger gifts and built stronger relationships.”
Isla Campbell
Isla is the Deputy Head of Fundraising – Learning and Outreach at Poppy Scotland
“I am quite new to managing a larger team of people. I am growing a team right now and my mentor Richard’s mentoring has definitely had a positive impact on that. It’s helping guide me in how to grow that team and how to manage that process. From a personal development point of view, it has helped grow my confidence and has meant I understand myself better.”
Anaily Castellanos
Anaily is the Senior Philanthropy Manager at Anthony Nolan
“My mentor Sian has really helped me develop collaboration across teams. I think charities aren’t always great at collaborating across teams but Sian has really helped me to think more about this. She has encouraged me to think outside my remit and income stream. It’s about having that practice of always having your ears at the ready to identify how to work better across the organisation.”
Fern Haynes
Fern is the Interim Head of Fundraising at Sue Ryder
“One of the key things my mentor Claire has taught me is that leadership is about inspiring and empowering the people you work with. If you support your team, give them all the skills and information they need, they will develop and grow as a fundraisers.
The other thing Claire has taught me is about training and development – thinking about who is in your team and making sure you have the right team. Invest in all your team members but also pick out the team members who are really going to flourish – invest in them and support them.”
Alex Cooper
Alex Cooper is the Associate Manager of Donor Experience at Heart and Stroke Canada
“I’ve learned to focus my resources a lot better. A great example of this is when it comes to strategic
ideation for example – I’ve gone from a “wandering generality” who used to have 1000 ideas to improve
fundraising results to a “meaningful specific”. My bias for action has continued to increase and I now
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