“Well, 2021 started as a surprise for me with the nomination and award as 2021 National Fundraiser of the year. After 2020, I didn’t think anything would surprise me, but it did. This award has been lovely recognition of my fundraising career over the past 20+ years.
As many of you know, fundraising is not easy but is certainly very rewarding – you have to adapt, innovate and it’s always pretty clear whether you’ve achieved your targets or not. I must say, this award made me reflect on how many incredible donors, organisations, people, and beneficiaries I have been privileged to meet and work with over my career.
It made me proud to be a fundraiser even though that title is a bit misleading – it’s a rollup of being a strategist, running transformational projects, being a leader and change-maker, crisis manager, and data analyst to name a few things. You could probably add tea maker and counsellor to the list.
It’s been a huge honour, but I’m not yet sure what it means for my future. Maybe increased expectations…. “Well you’re the fundraiser of the year – what should we do!?!?” No pressure!
I am grateful to have been nominated by my CEO Naomi Steer and our team at Australia for UNHCR. I think it’s a truly generous act to take the time to nominate people who try to make the world a better place. I encourage you to do it, because even just being nominated is a great honour.
Thank you to FIA for promoting the important role we play as fundraisers.”
