Shortlist for Fundraiser of the Year
Punyapriya Singh, Noah's Ark Children's hospice
Priya has been a driving force behind Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice’s fundraising success. When she joined in 2006, community fundraising brought in just £19k annually. By 2019, she led a team raising £432k, and by 2024, that figure had soared to £1m. Over five years, Priya’s leadership of the flagship match-funded campaign has generated £5.5m, significantly boosting the charity’s brand reach.
Priya established a volunteer ambassador programme that evolved into a department of 8 staff managing 170 volunteers, earning the prestigious ‘Investing in Volunteers’ status. She has also driven key fundraising initiatives, including challenge events, legacy giving, and school engagement programmes.
Priya exemplifies the values of excellence, courage, and kindness, fostering a culture of ambition and collaboration. She encourages her team to embrace challenges and continuously push boundaries. Through her leadership, Priya has driven sustainable growth, ensuring that the hospice can provide even greater support to children and families in need.
The judges said: "Priya’s longevity, dedication, commitment and achievement over a long period were exemplary and really shone through. She’s delivered consistently strong fundraising growth over a long period, innovating and adapting as circumstances changed. She's had a lifetime of impact at the charity through responding to challenges as well as maximising long term growth in fundraising over a long period of time. She’s used insight to benchmark and therefore improve performance and clearly cares about colleagues and volunteers."
Lamis Serroukh, Unicef UK
Lamis has demonstrated exceptional fundraising excellence, securing nearly $13 million since 2022 through strategic partnerships with leading companies like Accenture and Deloitte. Her innovative approach aligns corporate objectives with UNICEF’s mission, creating high-impact, sustainable partnerships.
As a leader, mentor, and wellbeing champion, Lamis has significantly enhanced UNICEF UK's fundraising capabilities and inspired a culture of continuous improvement. She has delivered numerous knowledge-sharing sessions for colleagues in the corporate partnerships team, both in the UK and globally. Her efforts have expanded UNICEF’s reach, engaging new audiences and communities, and setting sector-leading examples of best-practice models.
Beyond internal initiatives, Lamis contributes to sector-wide best practices by participating in industry forums and conferences. By sharing her innovative strategies and successful approaches, her ambition is to position herself as a thought leader in the fundraising community, inspiring others to deliver meaningful impact.
The judges said: "Lamis has delivered a step-change in fundraising in her area of expertise. She had superb examples of securing support through aligning Unicef's mission with the interests of the companies they had secured support from. She has an intuitive understanding for the symbiosis that is inherent to any partnership, and positions Unicef at the right events and platforms. She’s demonstrated her passion for fundraising through mentoring colleagues and working collaboratively and is committed to professional development, she will no doubt continue to thrive and deliver great fundraising."
Natalie Robertson, Young Lives vs Cancer
Natalie is the Virtual Fundraising Manager for Young Lives vs Cancer, who leads a small yet highly impactful team responsible for generating over £1 million annually through virtual fundraising challenges. Under her leadership, the team has achieved remarkable success, with gross income growing by 102% and net income by 138% over the past two years. These achievements directly enable the charity to provide essential support to children and young people facing cancer, setting a benchmark for success across all fundraising departments.
Natalie’s resilience and innovation in navigating the unpredictable world of virtual fundraising have been instrumental in achieving these results. She continuously adapts to industry changes, leveraging her deep understanding of virtual fundraising trends to stay ahead of the curve. Natalie’s always engaged, listening attentively to feedback and considering its potential impact on her team and fundraising strategies. Her collaborative approach has fostered strong relationships across the charity, and she’s widely respected for her dedication and leadership.
The judges said: "Natalie's nomination had some great examples of how she has fostered collaboration within the charity to achieve impressive results and delivered outstanding fundraising growth in a relatively short period of time. She has improved both ROI and net income through her digital fundraising expertise and has worked with a small team to deliver a phenomenal amount of work and consequent income. In a way, her achievements are even more impressive given the challenges that Challenge/Events fundraising has been facing."