Britain's Most Inspiring Fundraiser announced

Fundraising | 5 Aug 2008

A teenager with spinal cancer has taken out the inaugural Britain’s Most Inspiring Fundraiser award.

19-year-old Nicole Dryburgh, who is wheelchair-bound and also nearly blind and deaf, was selected by Everyclick from a shortlist of ten exceptional volunteer fundraisers to receive the honour at a ceremony in London on June 11.

Mike Tomlinson, husband of the prolific volunteer fundraiser Jane Tomlinson, was on the panel selecting the finalists for the award held in memory of his late wife. Tomlinson said it was “just about impossible” to decide on who to name as Britain’s Most Inspiring Fundraiser.

The entire award process, he said, “recognises ordinary people who make an extraordinary difference to people’s lives in the UK”.

Since beginning her fundraising efforts in 2004, Dryburgh has raised over £18,000 for Kings College Hospital fundraising appeals and thousands for other causes – often fundraising in the midst of radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments. On receiving the award and a £20,000 cheque for her cause, Dryburgh said that she was in shock.

“I don't fundraise to win awards or get praise, so it's nice when people recognise what you're doing, and it makes me want to continue with my fundraising,” she said.

The ten finalists were selected from over 550 nominations submitted to Everyclick.

Everyclick founder Polly Gowers said the organisation was surprised by the volume and quality of nominations they received.

Among the finalists was Simon Beresford, the first person with Down’s syndrome to run the London Marathon, and 91-year-old Molli Turner who has been raising money for St Anne’s Hospice for 40 years. Other short-listed nominees included a 16-year-old who spent a year living in a tent to raise money for Demelza House and Barbara Doherty, who raised £750,000 for Isabel Hospice over 20 years of dedicated fundraising.

The awards ceremony were held on the same day as the launch of a dedicated volunteer fundraising website by the Institute of Fundraising, indicating that the industry is poised to better support and encourage volunteer fundraisers as a whole in the future.

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