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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Nuttapol Plukpaiboon
Nuttapol graduated from the University of Melbourne with a degree in marketing. During his studies he joined the UNICEF student club and participated in many fundraising activities ; this is where his passion for a fundraising career began. In 2008 he became a fundraising assistant for UNICEF Thailand and working here over the last 12 years has provided a great opportunity to learn and experience fundraising in the real world. He has recently been promoted to a fundraising specialist, heading the acquisition team which focusses on four fundraising channels including Face-to-Face, Telemarketing, DRTV, and Lead Generation in Thailand.
"This is a great development opportunity. And for the fact that your mentor is someone who has the full experience and skills and is not in your organization, somehow, will allow you to be more open and be able to share and learn new perspectives that might not happen if this development is within your organization".
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Nick Sankey
A gap year at an Indian school changed the direction of Nick’s life. His most successful and happiest roles have been in international development, as a project officer for Child Rescue Nepal in Kathmandu, as a Grants Fundraiser at Hope and Homes for Children, leading the Philanthropy and Partnerships Team at World Child Cancer and currently as Director of Fundraising at Pratham UK, one of the largest education NGOs in India, but relatively unknown in the UK.
The programme was really flexible and evolved with me over a year, supporting me as my role changed dramatically. Emma provided a sounding board for me to explore ideas myself but could also give solid advice where needed. It has been a great support through turbulent times, both I and my organisation have come out of it in a better state."
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Simay Sali Sevik
Simay's fundraising career began when she founded a charity- Yarina Umut Ol (Be Hope for Tomorrow) to improve the quality of education in village schools in Turkey. After running her charity for 6 years (voluntarily) while working in a full-time job, she then decided to pursue a professional career in the non-profit sector. She is now a Development Manager at the University of Westminster and is responsible for securing philanthropic income from individuals and corporate organisations. She also continues to chair her charity in Turkey and supports her team to fund educational projects.
“I feel privileged to have been part of the Tony Elischer Foundation’s Fundraising Leadership Programme. The mentoring program has given me the chance to take a step back to think about my career goals and ways to achieve them. Through my sessions with my mentor Liz, we’ve discussed successful team management which has also helped me improve my leadership skills. I feel well equipped and much more confident as I move through my career journey.”
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Matt Lawley
Matt’s career in the sector started back in 2007 when he joined Leukaemia Research after a career change, switching from Retail Management to Events Fundraising. Matt progressed to Head of Sports Events and was able forge key partnerships and grow the portfolio. After a year on the logistics side with ‘Skyline Events’, Matt moved to ‘Diabetes UK’ where he initially worked in a Project Management role and has since gained a promotion into a Senior Fundraising Management position.
"The TEF Programme couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Prior to joining Diabetes UK, I was at a career crossroads and unsure of which direction to go in. Confidence had taken a knock towards the end of my previous role, and I hadn’t really had time to take stock of my achievements, my strengths and didn’t really appreciate what I was good at or where I still had plenty to offer. TEF gave me that necessary reset and through the work on my objectives, I now had an appreciation of my key strengths and the direction that I should take. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending the TEF scheme to those at a similar point in their career".
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Leonie Dindji
Leonie got involved in fundraising when she founded Kids’ House, a non-profit organisation in Ivory Coast. While working in disadvantaged areas, she found that she could impact more lives by developing strong and sustainable mechanisms to collect resources and build partnerships. Since then, Leonie has been able to raise money to build and install 5 libraries and social centres across her country. It is more than 18.000 lives that have been impacted through diverse projects and programs. Thanks to her participation to the program, she has developed international partnerships which allow her to reach more people in need. She also works with local associations in their resource mobilization cluster.
“I am grateful to benefit from the Tony Elischer Foundation Program. The training sessions and the strong connection with my mentor Esther have helped to think out of the box by designing global and strong fundraising strategies and mechanisms of financing. I even got more confidence to train local organisations and civil society on fundraising. It is also reassuring when people recommend you at the national level about Fundraising”.