HELEN MCCARTAN
Bristol,BS13LL
Summary
Strategic Senior Fundraising Leader with a proven track record in developing effective fundraising strategies and enhancing donor relations. Expert in cultivating stakeholder relationships through impactful communication, driving innovative campaigns that align with organizational goals. Demonstrated ability to motivate teams towards achieving fundraising objectives while fostering collaboration and operational efficiency. Successful in enhancing donor engagement and streamlining processes to improve overall effectiveness.
Overview
20
20
years of professional experience
Work History
Head of Public Fundraising and Communications
Caring in Bristol
10.2022 - Current
- Responsible for circa £500,000 P/A unrestricted income and overall charity communications consistently surpassing budget income
- Achieved 120% of annual fundraising target last year
- Leading a high performing multi-disciplinary team to deliver outstanding and innovative fundraising, marketing, and stewardship
- Responsible for compliance, including Data Protection, GDPR, PECR, the Fundraising Code of Practice and advertising standards
- Implementation of Major Donor Fundraising (10% over target)
- Developing income targets, expenditure budgets, and key metrics for Individual Giving, Corporate, Community, and Supporter Care and monitoring and reporting progress against these to the Board
- Developing and delivering effective fundraising data strategy; including identifying core data sets, data analysis, and fundraising data compliance
- Overseeing supporter care, delivering quality cross-functional donor journeys that maximize retention rates and feed major donor pipelines
- Managing relationships with key external service providers and agencies, including negotiating and managing contracts
- Overseeing the creation and implementation of new website
- Developed and implemented a Fundraising strategy to support Caring in Bristol's strategic objectives
- Collaborated with our previous CEO to develop position papers on homelessness policy, which were presented to local government officials
- Organised a successful roundtable discussion with key sector stakeholders, resulting in a joint advocacy campaign for improved homeless services
Fundraising Manager
Caring in Bristol
11.2021 - 10.2022
- Increased regular donations by 34%
- 12% Individual Giving income increase from previous year
- Implemented a data-driven segmentation strategy, improving campaign ROI by 35%
- Successfully launched impactful acquisition initiatives across various platforms
- Planned and delivered Individual Giving, Corporate, and Community fundraising activities to achieve income targets
- Direct line management, support and development of our Corporate & Community Fundraiser, Storytelling Co-Ordinator and Fundraising Assistant
- Contributed as a crucial member of the senior leadership team
- Identified opportunities to test and introduce new income streams
- Spearheaded a comprehensive donor journey program, resulting in a 40% increase in lifetime donor value
Supporter Engagement Coordinator
Caring in Bristol
11.2020 - 11.2021
- Supported the growth of the charity by developing a strong relationship with supporters, retaining donors and ensuring a deeper commitment to our work
- Managed donor database, tracked donations, and assisted in creating fundraising appeals for core external communications
- Organised and optimized CRM to meet compliance standards and provide accurate data for fundraising appeals and budgeting
- Increased RG donors by nearly 50% through strategic fundraising efforts
- Developed and deployed successful offline and online acquisition campaigns
- Implemented campaign analysis
- Reduced donor attrition rate by 20% through donor stewardship
Individual Giving Officer
Bristol and Weston Hospital Charity
05.2019 - 11.2020
- Creation and delivery of successful cold and warm mailing appeals, including copywriting, data selection, and working with external fulfilment agencies
- Doubled the number of RG supporters by implementing new donor acquisition channels such as cold mailing and private site fundraising
- Responsible for creating, overseeing, and analyzing fundraising initiatives to acquire new supporters while maximizing contributions from current donors
- Involved in the development of new acquisition channels (online and F2F) working with an external agency
- Achieving agreed financial and non-financial targets at an acceptable cost-to-income ratio
- In-depth campaign analysis to inform future appeals
Marketing and Communications Executive
Bristol Water
10.2018 - 05.2019
- Implemented online and offline marketing strategies with a focus on water conservation to meet OFWAT obligations
- Executed end-to-end marketing campaigns including their creation, development, evaluation and presentation of analysis to key stakeholders
- Budget management and reporting on performance against targets
- Effectively oversaw the partnership with an external marketing agency
Account Manager & Client Relationship Manager
NTT Fundraising
01.2014 - 10.2018
- Raised over £6.8m for charity clients
- Delivered cross-platform fundraising campaigns in a target-driven setting, fostering long-term, productive relationships with key clients
- Excellent client retention rate (87% against a target of 60%)
- 62% of my clients increased their spend in 2018 (target of 50%)
- Met targets, SLA's, and business needs while delivering the highest level of customer service through a collaborative and customer-centric approach to account management
- Successfully delivered sales pitches that built trust, provided genuine solutions and contributed to business growth
- Performed in-depth analysis on campaigns, leveraging complex data sets to produce detailed reports for presentation to Key Stakeholders
- Negotiated KPI's, budgets, and targets to maximize ROI for clients while maintaining a healthy Gross Margin
- Developed strong partnerships and long-term relationships to retain client loyalty and inspire trust
Quality and Development Manager
NTT Fundraising
11.2010 - 01.2014
- Successfully managed, trained, and provided support to a team of 15 individuals in an achievement-focused setting while consistently leading by example and adopting a proactive approach
- Implemented Training Needs Analysis across the business- identifying training requirements and skills gaps
- Designed training evaluation policies and feedback systems to enhance the quality of all training sessions
- Monitored and analysed operational processes and performance, innovating strategy for ongoing company growth
Trainer
NTT Fundraising
12.2007 - 11.2011
- Designed and delivered dynamic and engaging training in Sales Skills, Communications Skills, Coaching and Development skills, as well as induction of new employees
- Created inspiring and effective copy for digital, TM, and print mediums
Team Coach
NTT Fundraising
01.2006 - 12.2007
Telephone Sales and Fundraising
NTT Fundraising
08.2004 - 01.2006
Education
Higher National Diploma - Fundraising
10-2025
Master of Arts - European Philosophy
01.2010
Bachelor of Arts - English Literature
01.2006
Skills
- Multi-channel fundraising strategy development
- Data analysis and donor segmentation
- Team leadership and performance management
- Budget management and financial forecasting
- CRM systems (Raiser's Edge, Donorfy) proficiency
- GDPR and fundraising regulations compliance
- Inspiring and effective Senior leader
- Fundraising, marketing and communications
- Ability to influence and drive change
- Emotional intelligence with supportive management style
- Passionate and driven
- Experienced in working with agencies and external partners
- Strategy development
- Excellent communication
- Troubleshooting
- Interpersonal communication
- Relationship building
- Problem-solving
- Nonprofit leadership
- Individual giving
- Prospect research
- Stewardship
- Donor relations
- Philanthropy
- Fundraising strategy
- Visionary leadership
- Creativity and innovation
- Negotiation
- Non-profit management
- Charismatic leader
- Strategies and goals
- Financial analysis
- Strategic planning
- Partnerships and alliances
- Organizational development
- Story pitching
- Verbal and written communication
- Leadership development
- Media relations
- Budget management
- Stakeholder engagement
Additionalinformation
Trustee for St Francis Dogs Home, 08/2021 - 09/2022, Passionate specialist in Individual Giving Fundraising - acquisition, retention and stewardship., Experienced in Direct Mail, Telephone, Face to face and online fundraising., Proven success in designing and delivering online and offline fundraising campaigns., Experienced Senior Manager of both projects and people., Proficient in Raisers Edge, Mail Chimp and Donorfy, Knowledge of GDPR, PECR, Data Protection Laws and fundraising Regulations, Exceptional report writing skills, including data analysis, recommendation reports and strategic plans
Timeline
Head of Public Fundraising and Communications - Caring in Bristol
10.2022 - Current
Fundraising Manager - Caring in Bristol
11.2021 - 10.2022
Supporter Engagement Coordinator - Caring in Bristol
11.2020 - 11.2021
Individual Giving Officer - Bristol and Weston Hospital Charity
05.2019 - 11.2020
Marketing and Communications Executive - Bristol Water
10.2018 - 05.2019
Account Manager & Client Relationship Manager - NTT Fundraising
01.2014 - 10.2018
Quality and Development Manager - NTT Fundraising
11.2010 - 01.2014
Trainer - NTT Fundraising
12.2007 - 11.2011
Team Coach - NTT Fundraising
01.2006 - 12.2007
Telephone Sales and Fundraising - NTT Fundraising
08.2004 - 01.2006
Chartered Institute of Fundraising - Higher National Diploma, Fundraising
University of the West of England - Master of Arts, European Philosophy
University of the West of England - Bachelor of Arts, English Literature
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