Love Fundraising, hate apathy

Mark Terris - Section Manager
Based: London

I have been with Gift since 2006 with an 8 month break when I travelled to see South East Asia and managed to catch the Olympics which were incredible. Before that I coached football in America for a year. Gift gives me what I need in a job I love the sense of challenge each day brings.

Being a manager allows me to use my coaching skill and I get a great feeling of well being when I coach some brand new people and they blossom on the street. Having a psychology degree has been a great help as it’s all about dealing with people. I like the sense of progress at Gift if you are proactive you will be promoted quickly.

All in all, fundraising gives me a chance to work with good people and engage my competitive spirit whilst raising loads for the charities. Get in!

Kasia Bailey - Head of London Fundraising
Based: London

I was a manager at TOPSHOP for 4 years and I took a sabbatical for a year to go travelling and to work in the charity sector. I came across this wacky advert in a paper for street fundraisers and I thought "yeah I'll give that a go for the summer". That was three years ago!

I love working for Gift and the variety of the job and the sense of community it has to offer. There is a huge cocktail of personalities working here, from all walks of life and it’s really allowed me meet and gets to know some superb people.

This job has grounded me on a professional and personal basis. It has opened my mind on charities, people and their circumstances. Above all the realization that a simple act on my behalf, like fundraising on the street, can have such a positive impact on someone else’s life.

Lisa Kent - Fundraiser
Based: London

Three years ago I came to Gift and fell in love! With what you may ask me? Firstly the charities. I have had so many great opportunities to see what our how work does first hand, like the time I visited Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.

Secondly, the people and relationships I have formed along the way. I work with some of my best friends, and meet some people on the street that are so incredible that they leave an ever-lasting impression on me.

And finally the places I see, every high street in London is my office, the great outdoors! Why did I fall in love with Gift, coz it is good for my soul.

Carl Street - Manager (Manchester)
Based: Manchester

It was a freezing November in 2004 when I was bitten by the ‘chug bug’. I’d tried my hand at many jobs from bar work and working as a chef to building and construction to Sales and promotions, none of which got me jumping out of bed in the morning.

Street fundraising however, fitted me perfectly, and let’s face it, I had the right name for it. Within the first few days out on the street I realised I didn’t want this to be just a winter job as previously planned, but with early encouragement to progress to team leader from my then manager, I thought hey, I’d like to make this my career. 4 and a half years on and I’ve been running my own region for 2 years!

Street fundraising has been and still is a journey for me, I’ve met some amazing people, I’ve learnt a lot about myself and been introduced to so many amazing charities I would otherwise know nothing about!

Ordinary job Vs My job – no contest!!!

Zoe Notley - Fundraiser
Based: Bristol

Before I came to Bristol I was adamant that a career in nursing was the way for me to go; so with experience and my diploma in hand I moved from Gloucester to do mental health nursing; after a few months in what I found to be a stressful situation, I was advised by my matron to try something new to get my confidence back, and then came along gift fundraising and I’m not looking back.

At first I was really unsure on how I would feel and cope doing this job, but every day, or minute rather, I love it more and more. It can do wonders for communication skills and confidence as you meet so many different people from different walks of life - people I would probably have never had the chance to talk to. When you get the sign ups in for the charity the feeling is amazing, and when my pay slip comes at the end of the week it has karma written all over it, when I think of the money the team has raised for some magnificent charities.

Working in the teams is fantastic as we’re a bunch of versatile personalities that bounce off each other and lean on each other to get the job done. Travelling to different sites every day keeps my week fresh and different – no two days fundraising is the same other than that good feeling at the end of the day.

Paul Maher - Head of National Fundraising
Based: London

After graduating from Uni, I started as a fundraiser in Glasgow in 2001. Since then I’ve worked my way up to Regional Head and now Head of Fundraising. Working at Gift was just a bit of a fun experiment for me in the beginning. I had to take a lot of ribbing from my friends as apparently ‘chugging’ wasn’t a real job. The longer I stay the more I have progressed and believe me this is a very real job! When on any one day you are responsible for a 300 people strong operation spread out across the whole of Britain anything can really happen! Why should people join us? Because it will do your karma a world of good, you get to meet some lovely people and ultimately help those who need it.

Charlotte Forrest - Head of Regions
Based: London

I started working for Gift in Bristol, during my gap year in the summer of 2004. It was only supposed to be a temporary job that tided me over until I started my drama degree, but it kept drawing me back in! Every summer I’d be back at Gift, and whilst all my friends were working boring office jobs, I’d be running around in the sunshine, raising loads of money for some amazing charities and generally having a lot of fun! Back then, I never thought that this job would end up being my career, but I’ve since worked my way up to Head of Regional Fundraising and can’t see myself leaving anytime soon. The people I work with are the most enthusiastic, positive and life-affirming people I know. That’s a definite perk of the job!

I feel like I’ve grown up in this company and I think that, so far, my time at Gift has been my most valuable form of education. I’ve learnt a lot about myself on both a professional and personal level, I’ve become more confident within myself and learnt many valuable leadership skills. Fundraising isn’t always an easy job to do (...it’d be boring if it was...) The general public can be quite mean, and even worse than that, annoyingly apathetic! But it’s worth it when you get your first sign up, or your team hits target, or your region has a great day. It makes it even more worthwhile when you remember why we’re here, when someone who’s been using the services provided by the charities we fundraise for, approaches you on the street and says ‘thank you’, nothing beats that. That’s why I’m still here. And that’s why you should give it a go. Good Luck!

Katie Dervin - Team Leader
Based: Manchester

I have been working for Gift for over two and a half years and in that time I’ve raised near to 2 million pounds for a number of amazing charities.

Over that time I’ve moved up in the ranks from fundraiser to team leader and am now recruitment rep within my region.

As well as the amazing feeling I get going home every night having raised hundreds of thousands for charity, I have benefited from generous and frequent pay rises, and team bonuses due to my hard work and commitment and I even recently won an all expenses trip to Paris, Eurostar of course!

I honestly can say I love my job and I’m proud to work for Gift and everything they stand for as a company.