First Global Fundraising Award Winners Announced

29 October 2010

The winners of the Resource Alliance Global Awards for fundraising – the world’s first global awards for fundraising, were unveiled at a glittering ceremony at the International Fundraising Congress (IFC) in the Netherlands. The awards are endorsed and supported by national fundraising associations from around the globe. In 2011, winners of Fundraising ireland Awards (which only our members can be nominated for) will be nomiated for these global awards.

The Resource Alliance Global Awards for Fundraising rewards creative work that demonstrates best practice in fundraising. It recognises excellence in 4 categories from Big Idea, Small Budget to Outstanding Volunteer and is open to both organisations and individuals.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service – Victorian Section, Australia, which provides emergency evacuation for patients requiring care in specialist hospitals, beat off competition from three other shortlisted entries in the Big Idea, Small Budget category, Action Aid UK, which aims to harness and enable local people to secure their rights to food, water, education and safety from conflicts and disasters, triumphed in the category for Innovative Fundraising Campaign.

Neelam Makhijani, chief executive of the Resource Alliance said: “There was excitement and enthusiasm from those who entered the Awards, even though it was across boundaries and a range of causes and the judging panel showed equal enthusiasm when considering the entries.”

Per Stenbeck, Executive Director, WaterAid Sweden and one of the judges said: "These inaugural Awards had entries submitted from around the world. The winners demonstrated a level of work that the judges found to be particularly impressive."

The winners are:

Category: Big Idea, Small Budget

Royal Flying Doctor Service - Victorian Section, Australia

Transferring patients over long distances is very challenging, with the average trip taking 6 hours and 20 minutes. The Royal Flying Doctor Service launched an appeal which raised over AUS$1mln to acquire a jet that would reduce the flying time for patients by half. This heralded a new era for the future of patient care.

Category: Innovative Fundraising Campaign

ActionAid, UK

In October 2009, the charity focused on one area in the UK, Yorkshire, Leeds, with the aim of working closely with supporters and the community to recruit supporters. In the first week, the campaign took up 20% of prime airtime of the main regional TV news programme and response rates to inserts were 192% higher than its national campaign, which took place at the same time.

Category: Fundraiser of the Year

Arundhati Ghosh, India

As deputy director of India Foundation for the Arts, Arundhati Ghosh has raised funds from a variety of donors, including foundations, family trusts, corporate and individuals.

Category: Outstanding Volunteer

Michael Cowan, Australia

As a volunteer for Asthma Foundation NSW, Michael Cowan rode a Penny Farthing continuously for 9 days covering distances of up to 170km a day. He raised AUS$75,000, double the previous year’s income form volunteer fundraisers.

The high-profile international panel of judges included some of the sector’s leading lights:

Dame Stephanie Shirley, Founder and Executive Producer, The British Government's Founding Ambassador for Philanthropy, UK
Ashvin Dayal, Managing Director, Rockefeller Foundation, Asia;
Kumi Naidoo, International Executive Director, Greenpeace International, Netherlands;
Paulette V. Maehara, President and CEO, Association of Fundraising Professionals, International Headquarters, USA
Per Stenbeck, Executive Director, Water Aid, Sweden.

Over the past 30 years The Resource Alliance has played an integral role in helping many national fundraising associations to create and run their own national awards schemes. The Resource Alliance launched the first of its Awards programmes in 2004 with the Asia Pacific NGO Awards. Over the next few years, annual awards schemes were extended into Malaysia, Kenya and India, continuing to set the bar for best practice in fundraising resource mobilisation across each region.

Source: The Resource Alliance