The 2025 Award winners

A game-changing Legacy innovation, launched in June 2023 by Christian Aid brought together key faith partners: The Church of England, The Church of Scotland and The Quakers in Britain to launch a joint legacy campaign called Faith Will. With strong partnership at the heart of the campaign, they broke new ground in the sector, coming together to ask congregations to consider leaving a gift to both their church and to Christian Aid, addressing both local and global need.

In their pilot year, they engaged more than 200% of their target number of churches, kickstarting legacy conversations across the UK. They successfully tested a partnership campaign model and have since grown to an incredible seven denominational partners for Faith Will 2025. The campaign is evolving and starting to build a movement. Faith Will 2025 will see the introduction of ‘Faith Will Week’, building momentum for even more partners to get involved.

The judges said

"This campaign has generated significant future legacy income and enabled the charity to connect with previously unknown supporters. Central to the campaign rationale is partnership - core to the way Christian Aid works. The campaign is superbly innovative, clever, insightful and a genuine and rare example of successful fresh thinking."

It wasn't just Luke Littler who had a life-changing 2023-24 World Darts Championship (WDC). 'The BIG 180' campaign between Paddy Power, Prostate Cancer UK, and the Professional Darts Corporation hit the target – in more ways than one!

During Paddy Power’s first year as headline sponsor of WDC, The BIG 180 saw them pledge £1000 to the charity for every 180 thrown. The players landed a record total of 914, which Paddy Power rounded up to £1 million. The biggest charity donation in darts history.

The lifesaving partnership saw over 136,000 men check their risk of prostate cancer through the online risk-checker on the Prostate Cancer UK website. A five-fold increase year on year. 71% of these men were found to be at higher-risk of the disease.

The campaign gained widespread support, with darts stars, celebrities, and even Prime Minister Rishi Sunak endorsing it. New champion Luke Humphries also donated some of his winnings.

The judges said

"This campaign was special for the bulls-eye precision with which it targeted its audience.  They really understood the audience, maximised on a key moment and raised a huge amount. The partner and the execution were perfectly chosen, and the results were impressive: £1m raised, 136,000 men completing the online risk checker, and huge visibility for the cause."

Laura has demonstrated innovation and creativity, significantly contributing to The Bone Cancer Research Trust's success in 2024.

In her first role in the charity sector, Laura has led on several fundraising events and is a vital team member, stewarding the largest London Marathon team the charity has seen. She brought valuable insights from her work as a volunteer and experience as a patient, allowing her to connect with supporters and tailor fundraising strategies to resonate with them.

Laura's creativity shone through in the creation of the Rowing and Knitting virtual challenges, which raised £78,000 and achieved an impressive ROI of 4.3:1 and £128,000 with over 6,000 group members, respectively, while connecting with families affected by primary bone cancer.

Laura’s ability to manage and energise volunteers and her proactive approach to engaging audiences has expanded our charity's reach. Her positivity, enthusiasm and dedication highlight her potential for a bright future in fundraising.

The judges said

"Laura leads by example. She has successfully grown the product portfolio, motivated others, and excelled in volunteer management. Demonstrating strong leadership and relationship skills, she consistently engages new communities in the work of the charity, showcasing clear potential for an amazing future."

Founded in memory of Lyndsey Roughton, the charity grants life-enhancing wishes to adults aged 18–55 facing terminal illnesses. Born from loss and guided by compassion, the charity seeks to create moments of happiness during life’s darkest chapters—allowing individuals to experience something extraordinary when they need it most.

Purple Heart Wishes revolutionised its approach to fundraising by introducing a performance-based, volunteer-led kiosk model that breaks away from traditional methods.

Volunteers operate kiosks at events, earning a share of profits directly linked to their service quality and teamwork. This innovative system provides a consistent, sustainable income stream, allowing Purple Heart Wishes to grant far more wishes than previously possible. It also empowers volunteers, builds community engagement, and enhances the charity’s reputation as a forward-thinking, impactful organisation.

This story is about more than just fundraising success—it’s a testament to resilience, legacy, and the unwavering belief that, with creativity and dedication, even a small charity can make a profound difference.

The judges said

"This was a great demonstration of innovation and utilising volunteers to save costs but also increasing income. They clearly defined their fundraising objectives and were clear about what services they deliver as a result. Their overall strategy and vision was impressive and professional and one which spoke of the desire to grow and achieve more in the future."

In April 2021 and emerging out of the pandemic GOSH charity launched a fundraising strategy which set out an ambitious pathway to grow our sustainable net income.

The need to raise £300m for a Children’s Cancer Centre saw the launch of the biggest appeal in the charity’s history, the ‘Build it. Beat it’ appeal.

In just three years we made significant progress, and our net income has exceeded our projections by £25 million overall, all whilst investing to grow our fundraising team and activities, and securing pledges that enabled us to reach the halfway mark of £150 million for our appeal in October 2023.

In 2023/24 our charity’s income hit £131.2 million, the highest in our history. This was supported by an incredible fundraising income of £117.6 million, up 68% from £70 million in 2021/22. Of this £82 million was net income, compared to £50 million in 2020/21.

These incredible results were driven by a phenomenal level of teamwork, ambition and collaboration.

The judges said

"We were very impressed at the planning, focus and exceptional results of the GOSH. Across all categories the performance of the team was absolutely exceptional, and it was clear that these results could only have been achieved by the different teams working closely together. It is often hard for large established charities to engage with donors for major projects and to find new and engaging ways to speak to the heart of their donors, however you did with great skill and the results speak for themselves."

In 2009 at just 34 years old Deb Gascoyne was diagnosed with smouldering myeloma. The mother-of-two was diagnosed with the incurable blood cancer when her children were just 2 and 4.

Deb has organised and taken part in many fundraising challenges and events since diagnosis. From coffee mornings to Glitz and Glamour fundraising balls, climbing three peaks and cycling from London to Paris, to completing 40 challenges before turning 40 and another 50 challenges before turning 50 she’s willing to try and do everything to raise awareness and funds. She’s built a big community of family, friends, colleagues and others affected by myeloma that support her and Myeloma UK.

Deb has dedicated the last 16 years to supporting Myeloma UK by fundraising at every opportunity, supporting our services, volunteering for panels, and offering her time as a peer supporter. Deb is the heart of Myeloma UK volunteering!

The judges said

"Deb has been a true inspiration. For over a decade, they’ve been deeply involved with the charity, all while undergoing treatment and raising young children within a busy family life. Deb's unwavering dedication has led to more than £225,000 raised - a remarkable contribution. Her determination, resilience, and passion are nothing short of admirable."

For the 475,000 men living with or after prostate cancer in the UK, most will experience urinary incontinence as a side effect of treatment, some for the rest of their lives. Yet this subject is rarely spoken about. Even rarer, are facilities for men to dispose of incontinence products in public, which is causing stress, isolation, and shame.

To address this, Prostate Cancer UK joined forces with the UK’s largest hygiene services provider, phs Group, to create the Dispose with Dignity campaign. The campaign is tackling the taboo around male incontinence, increasing the provision of incontinence bins, and pushing Government to legislate for the provision of incontinence bins in male toilets. This will empower thousands of men to dispose of their pads and any associated products, safely, hygienically and with dignity.

The judges said

"This partnership stood out for its multi-faceted and meaningfully integrated approach to strategic partnership.  Playing to the strengths of both the charity and business to amplify their collective impact while also building a long-lasting partnership leading to significant new funds being raised too."

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

"The longevity, dedication and commitment of this year’s winner really shone through for us and were exemplary. She's clearly 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 deeply about colleagues and volunteers.  An inspirational fundraiser."

This year marks Kerys’ twentieth year as a career fundraiser and third sector volunteer. During that time, she has worked directly for charities in Wales in the realms of hospice care, the arts, housing and homelessness where she has raised millions of pounds, which has enabled a huge amount of impactful and essential work to take place, changing and saving lives. She is currently the Head of Fundraising at Shelter Cymru, where she works to help people across Wales find safe and stable housing. Before joining Shelter Cymru, Kerys was Head of Philanthropy at the Wales Millennium Centre, where she helped support the arts and cultural projects. 

Her voluntary contribution spans even wider and includes education, sport, community engagement, music, domestic violence and animal welfare. She has also given her time as a trustee for the Cardiff City FC Community Foundation, helping run programmes that use sport to support local communities, and has been a long-standing member and volunteer with the Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIOF), where she has played a pivotal role in raising the profile of the CIOF and the role fundraisers play across Wales. As a former trustee she also played a pivotal role supporting fudraisers during the COVID pandemic, creating spaces for support for fundraisers and supporting CIOF Cymru to deliver its fundraising health checks to charities across Wales.

A passionate and values-driven fundraiser, Kerys is a prominent figure in the fundraising sector in Wales. She is an experienced and well-respected fundraising practitioner, leader and trustee who has developed her network locally, regionally and nationally. She champions fundraising as a career, and more so the people who – in her own words – power the third sector. 

She has dedicated herself to developing the fundraising leaders of the future, ensuring the sector replenishes its talent pool at a time when many people are choosing to leave the profession behind and passionately believes that fundraisers should have a seat at the table when it comes to running charities, as they bring valuable insights and help keep organisations strong. Her work shows a deep commitment to fairness, teamwork, and the idea that fundraising can drive real, lasting change.