Our mentees are all fundraisers with the talent, drive and ambition to be the next generation of fundraising leaders. They are learning and developing through their participation in our programme and all invest great energy and enthusiasm into their time with us to get the most from the opportunity.
Get to know some of our mentees:
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Susie York Skinner
After two decades working in arts management and fundraising, Susie recently became Chief Executive of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. This role combines Susie’s love of working with people, strategic planning, sector advocacy, fundraising and arts education. It enables her to deliver a wide range of projects, from specialist professional performances to community education projects, and to develop a working environment within which colleagues can thrive and excel.
Working with my mentor during a major professional transition, following the challenging professional and personal period of the pandemic, has enabled me to maintain long-term focus on my goals amidst much change, and to recognise both small and significant achievements along the way. It has kept me motivated and sane!
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Jenny Flack
Jenny is the Head of Community and Events Fundraising at Sense, a national charity that supports children and adults who are deafblind and have other complex disabilities. Managing both dispersed and office-based teams, she is responsible for raising over £1.5M of income across a range of events and income streams. She is passionate about delivering exceptional supporter experiences and building strong relationships that enable supporters to feel part of the charity. Before joining Sense in January 2018, Jenny had worked at Livability as well as in the London Volunteer Fundraising team at Cancer Research UK.
2020 was an incredibly difficult year for Community and Events Fundraising. Amy and the programme have helped me to build a plan to build back a stronger and more effective team. It has given me the structure to create a future focussed strategy while also dealing with continuing challenges.
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Rosie Oldham
Rosie has been fundraising in various guises for as long as she can remember! Most recently she spent seven years at London Wildlife Trust, going from leading their grant fundraising programme to Head of Fundraising, overseeing all fundraising streams including managing a £2.9 million capital campaign. In 2021, Rosie moved from the environmental sector to join arts and homelessness charity Streetwise Opera as Head of Development. She also sits on the CIoF Cultural Sector Network Committee and volunteers advising small charities on fundraising through the FSI Advice Hub. She is passionate about improving equity and inclusion in the charity sector.
Having the support of my mentor has been so incredibly helpful as I decided to change organisations mid-way through an already-stressful pandemic! Working with Richard has given me the space to focus on my goals as I moved to a more senior role, and helped me to recognise what I’ve achieved and what I still want to do to make a difference.
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Huda Wajih
Huda became interested in fundraising as a public policy student working with a school in Thailand that was boarding Myanmar refugees and migrants but whose funding was running out after 3 months. This made her realize that many organizations are doing great work worldwide but they sometimes lack the resources or skills to become financially sustainable. That’s where she wanted to help. Since then, Huda has helped non-profits fundraise in United States, Pakistan, Thailand and the United Kingdom. She is currently the sole fundraiser for Life Cycle UK and is developing the organization’s fundraising strategy for the next 5 years.
In these difficult times, I am extremely grateful to have the support of Tony Elischer Foundation. Conversations with my mentor has enabled me to be self-reflective; take a step back from day-to-day firefighting; and focus on the big picture – both in terms of organization’s long term strategy and my own professional goals.