Major donor fundraiser jobs in milton keynes

Community Fundraiser - Home Counties

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Are you ready to take on a new challenge with a leading charity making a real difference in brain tumour research? ​

Brain Tumour Research is seeking an experienced and motivated fundraiser to join our team. As a key part of our fundraising efforts in our high-performing East region, you will have the opportunity to drive income generation through a variety of initiatives, including challenge events, fundraising groups, and corporate partnerships such as charity of the year. You will also be responsible for driving initiatives to increase our profile and supporter base within Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire and Essex. 

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Key Responsibilities: ​

• ​Generate income across a range of community fundraising initiatives and events, with the opportunity to lead on key projects 
• Steward supporters to help drive the charity’s fundraising activities and growth 
• ​Work with the fundraising team to develop and maintain strong relationships with fundraisers, donors, partners, and key stakeholders ​
• Contribute towards the growth and success of fundraising efforts, ensuring a sustainable income stream for the vital ongoing funding of brain tumour research ​

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Requirements: ​​

• At least one year of fundraising experience, with a proven track record in income generation 
• Strong experience in supporter stewardship  
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage and inspire supporters and partners alike ​
• Passion for Brain Tumour Research and its mission to fund research and ultimately find a cure 

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If you are looking for a fulfilling and impactful role and have the level of experience and skill we are looking for, we welcome your application.

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​We will give preference to those candidates living in the Bucks, Beds and Northants areas of this region.​​​

​We reserve the right to close the application window early and advise candidates to apply in good time to avoid disappointment.​

We are asking for a CV as the first step but applicants may be asked to provide a targeted covering letter as part of the selection process.  Interviews will be conducted during the application window as appropriate, and will consist of a first interview via MS Teams, progressing, if successful to a face to face second interview, held at our offices in Milton Keynes.

Closing Date: 26th September 2025

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We are looking for people who share our passion for finding a cure for brain tumours and who have the skills and experience to make a difference. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds, cultures, genders, sexual orientations, abilities, and ages. We believe that diversity enriches our organisation and helps us achieve our mission. We are committed to providing an inclusive and supportive environment where everyone can be themselves and contribute to our vision.

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You will be joining us at a time that holds the greatest potential for fundraising in our history, following the launch of the UK Government’s Delivery Plan for ME and initial findings of the DecodeME genetics study (co-led by Action for ME) in Summer 2025. 

Building on our charity’s already established level of support from major donors, you will provide exceptional relationship management to existing donors alongside growing our network of high value supporters.

Working closely with the CEO, alongside managing a portfolio of donors and prospects ensuring excellent stewardship, you will support our Breakthrough-ME Group (a group of high net worth and highly networked individuals). There is an established level of support from major donors at Action for ME so this is a role that will require exceptional relationship management to retain our current valued supporters while growing this crucial area of fundraising. 

This would be an ideal role for an experienced philanthropy professional seeking to work for a small but ambitious charity, helping us to achieve our mission to improve the lives of all people affected by ME – better meeting their needs today while taking action to secure change for tomorrow.

Key duties

Major Donor Fundraising

• Successfully develop and implement the philanthropy strategy to secure and maximise funds from high value individuals for Action for ME achieving annual income of £250k+

• Set plans and budgets which will deliver income through major gift fundraising and philanthropic giving through family trusts and foundations, including quarterly forecasting.

• Manage a portfolio of prospects and donors at the £5k to £100k level, to develop and maintain strong and long-standing partnerships

• Work closely with the Director of Fundraising and Development and other colleagues to ensure that plans and activities for fundraising from high value individuals are integrated into the overall fundraising strategy and plan for significant growth.

• Be responsible for our Breakthrough-ME Group with high quality proposition development.  Contribution to Group fundraising activities with a specific focus on ensuring their networks support pipeline growth for future fundraising.

• Lead the delivery of our biennial fundraising gala dinner, maximising income and new opportunities from attendees.

• Develop engaging and inspiring opportunities to steward and cultivate support creating a calendar of activities including events, presentations, approaches, networking and meetings.

• Utilise the CRM database (Raisers Edge) to provide the data required to strategise your approach to philanthropy, monitor progress and provide a high-quality donor experience.

• Ensure utilisation of insight & data, producing management information data to inform planning and strategy development.

• With the Director of Fundraising & Development, create inspiring cases for support and resulting propositions with clear budgets and outcomes.

• Create adequate systems and processes to support the major donor programme.

• Undertake and manage research into prospects and major donors, preparing for approaches and presentations and briefing senior leadership and trustees for donor meetings and events.

• Develop and maintain relationships with donors, a wide range of staff and volunteers from trustee level down.

• Provide regular feedback and internal reporting to line management.

• Work with other fundraisers to ensure that all fundraising opportunities and leads are followed up – particularly in corporate, community and trust fundraising.

• Work with Trustees, the Chief Executive and members of the Leadership Team to develop relationships with major donors.

• Self-administrate including managing your own diary and meetings, keeping accurate and up to date records of activity

• Occasional travel to London, Bristol & events

Other duties

• To positively promote the work and activities of Action for M.E. at all times.

• To contribute to the team’s overall, ongoing and annual planning and budgeting.

• To undertake any other reasonable activity in line with the responsibilities of the post as requested by the Director of Fundraising and Development, Chief Executive or any other senior Action for ME management.

• Act as an advocate for the Charity and its work.

• To work in accordance with Action for ME’s values of collaboration, equity and empathy.

About the role

Kids Cancer Charity have been supporting children affected by cancer from all over the UK since 1989.  Life changes when a child is diagnosed with cancer, every aspect of their life and that of their family is thrown into turmoil.  We offer support through our care breaks and Play Therapy during treatment and beyond.

We are looking for a passionate, talented Trusts and Foundations Manager to join our ambitious, successful Fundraising team that has been growing year-on-year since 1989 as we approach our new fundraising strategy.

Role summary and purpose

This role is responsible for managing and developing the charity’s portfolio of Trusts and Foundations, securing significant gifts and growing the long-term potential of this portfolio.  There are no direct reports, however the successful candidate will be expected to work closely with the General Manager, to build and develop cases for support to help fund our much-needed work.

The successful candidate will utilise their expert writing skills to shape those cases for support into compelling, high-quality proposals and reports.

Building relationships with a wide range of audiences including funders is key. Inspiring them to support families affected by cancer across the UK.

A dynamic, self-motivated, ambitious and pro-active fundraiser is required for this role, demonstrating enthusiasm for the projects and services we are seeking funds to support.

About you

The ideal candidate for this role will have experience and a proven track record of successful income generation and delivering against targets.

You will have demonstratable experience in researching potential Trust funders, submitting compelling proposals, securing funding and project managing successful bids through to completion of the grant award.

You will also have a background in report writing and demonstrating grant impact whilst being able to build relationships with funders, individual/major donors and senior stakeholders.

Experience of providing excellent supporter care, building mutually beneficial long-term relationships with funders is a must for this role.

Key responsibilities

Research and process management

· Work closely with our General Manager and fundraising team to fully understand our work, and the costs of delivering our work.

· Build strong cases for support, ensuring that you have all the information needed to create compelling proposals and reports for high and mid-value funders.

· Research and identify prospective trusts and foundations and other grant giving bodies.

· Grow and maintain a strong trust funding pipeline, creating new trust prospects for our priority funding areas.

· Develop our long-term trusts and foundations strategy and agree ongoing budgets and targets for this income stream.

· Maintain accurate records including tracking and analysing opportunities, results, and outcomes.

Fundraising 

· Identify and manage a pipeline of high-value prospects and opportunities which have the potential to deliver five- and six-figure grants.

.         Oversee the Trusts Team in delivering to develop and deliver persuasive and timely funding applications.

· Develop relationships with staff members and other key stakeholders across the charity maximising every opportunity for cultivation and development.

· Plan and organise opportunities for funders to view Kids Cancers Charity’s work first-hand, ensuring all safeguarding procedures are followed and met.

Reporting

· Compile comprehensive and compelling progress reports to feed back to grant makers in a timely fashion and incentivise continued support.

· Alongside the General Manager prepare accurate budgets detailing spending of specific grants.

· Draw down on any multi-year grants as outlined in our annual budget.

· Provide briefing notes and income pipeline on donor activities and potential funding opportunities.

We are looking for a warm, flexible and highly motivated fundraiser to work across all areas of our fundraising, from securing income from trusts and foundations and corporate partners to staying on top of our individual giving. 

You’ll benefit from regular mentoring sessions with an external fundraising consultant and be able to foster close relationships with our board of trustees and other key stakeholders. 

BYO has a very small core team, which you’ll be part of, and a large number of freelancers and external staff that join for programmes, events and performances. Our registered office is at the London Coliseum but day-to-day, when our big
programmes aren’t running, we work remotely. 

You’ll find yourself inputting across the organisation – for an inquisitive and proactive person there are plenty of opportunities to take on more responsibility as we grow. Here at BYO we actively support professional development and are very open to flexible working.

Join Our Fundraising Team ! 

At Scripture Union, we’re looking for two experienced and driven fundraisers to join our team. The fundraising team work to a target of around £2m per year, generated from a range of channels and segments. We’re looking for two more people to grow this team as we expand our mission to reveal Jesus to the younger generations in England and Wales. 

About the roles    

We’re looking for two fundraisers to tackle the following areas: 

• Individual Giving, working to maintain and grow our portfolio of donors giving between £10pa -  £1,500 pa each.

• Fundraising Innovation, coming up with fresh new ideas that will generate more income for the mission that take us beyond our tried and tested fundraising activities. 

Between them, the two roles account for 1.8 FTE, and we’re flexible about how that’s allocated. It could be that both roles work 4.5 days a week each, or one full time and the other four days. We’re open to suggestions as we seek the right candidates for the team.

The salary for both roles will be £31,500 - £34,800  per annum for an FTE. 

What You'll Do  

• Individual Giving: Grow income from individual donors through the management of campaigns, regular giving and invitations to increase gifts from general individual donors and mid-level donors. Work to acquire and retain new donors and reactivate lapsed donors. 

• Fundraising Innovation: Develop, trial and implement new and innovative approaches to income generation, contributing to our annual target through new strategic ideas. Work with the fundraising team to ensure these activities align with our fundraising strategy and relationships with grant making trusts, major donors and legacy income. 

Why Scripture Union  

• Hybrid working (minimum 1 day/week in Milton Keynes HQ)  

• Flexible hours (full-time or part-time from 29 hours/week)  

• Generous benefits: 23 days holiday + bank holidays + 5 volunteering days, up to 12% pension contribution, life insurance, and enhanced family leave.  

• Free Bible Reading Guide

• A supportive, faith-filled environment where your work has eternal impact  

Important things to note before you apply.   

• We are committed to building a culturally diverse workforce. As part of this commitment, we welcome applications from people, regardless of their background.   

• The Movement takes Safeguarding seriously. This role will require a Disclosure from the Disclosure & Barring Service and has an occupational requirement to be filled by a committed Christian, active in church life. Equality Act 2010, Part 1, Schedule 9 applies.   

• Please note that we do not provide visa sponsorship arrangements so applicants will need to have the right to live and be employed in a permanent job in the UK. 

Who We're Looking For: Our Ideal Candidate    

Some say that Scripture Union’s supporters are the best in the world. We’re inclined to agree, though we do admit we’re probably biased. We’re looking for two individuals to join our fundraising team who will be committed to championing and supporting our existing donors and extending the invitation to others, and who can bring fresh new approaches to how we generate income. 

We think the right people will be

• Relationship Driven: You work to identify, build and maintain positive long-term relationships with donors, colleagues and contacts. 

• Results Oriented: You set challenging yet realistic goals and objectives and strive to achieve them within an agreed timescale 

• Concerned for Excellence: You drive consistently towards excellence and improvement in your work. 

• Deeply Committed to Faith: You have a strong personal commitment to God and live as an active Christian disciple, bringing your faith into your daily work.   

• Committed to SU’s goals and values: You’re totally behind our values, goals and objectives as we seek to resource and equip the Church to reveal Jesus to the 95. 

You’ll have relevant qualifications and/or experience in fundraising, with a demonstrable track record of maintaining and increasing gift income.

As with all our team members, you will also:   

• Be a committed Christian who resonates with Scripture Union's mission and values, actively participating in a local church community.    

• Strive for a strong understanding of the Bible, applying its teachings to your daily life and inspiring others to do the same.    

How to Apply   

If this describes you, and you are in agreement with the aims and beliefs of Scripture Union, then we would like to hear from you. To apply for this role, download a copy of the job profile. You will need to upload your CV (2 A4 pages max) and a covering letter (2 A4 pages max) detailing how your skills and experience reflect the person specification via Charity Jobs. All screening questions provided as part of your application, must be answered.   

Closing Date: 6th October 2025

Interview Date: 21st October 2025

Interview Location: Milton Keynes

Are you a creative fundraiser who loves writing compelling proposals and building meaningful relationships with funders? Join Let Me Know’s small, ambitious team as a Trusts and Foundations Fundraiser and help us secure vital funds to educate thousands more young people about the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships, supporting them to live happy, healthy lives, free from abuse.

This role is perfect for you if:

• You love crafting engaging, persuasive funding proposals and reports that inspire support.

• You enjoy building and nurturing strong relationships with funders who share our vision.

• You value a mix of independent and collaborative working.

• You're looking for an organisation that embraces flexibility; this role’s 17.5 hours can be spread over the week to fit your home life.

• You enjoy being part of a small team, and an organisation where you feel close to the impact you’re making.

So, if you’re passionate about ending relationship abuse and domestic violence, and have a track record of success in Trusts & Foundations fundraising, we’d love to hear from you.

Role Summary

• 17.5 hours per week (ideally spread over 3-4 days)

• £35,400 pro-rata (£17,700 for 17.5 hours)

• Working from home with some travel to Central London, including one day per month for an in-person team meeting / work day. 

About Let Me Know (LMK)

Good relationships shape our health and happiness, yet we are taught so little about them. LMK (Let Me Know) is on a mission to change that. We are a young and thriving charity providing education about healthy and unhealthy behaviours so that young people have the knowledge and skills to avoid abuse and thrive in their relationships. We work in schools, community organisations and workplaces across London. 

LMK is growing at pace and we are ambitious in our plans for the future. We’ve already engaged 21,000 young people and professionals in our workshops in our first five years and we want to reach 18,000 young people over the next two years. We will achieve this by engaging new schools, community groups and workplaces in our offer, whilst also continuing to provide a high-quality service to those who have already experienced LMK workshops. 

Key to our success is raising the funds to support our work. Our fundraising is primarily from grants received from charitable trusts and foundations, but we have a focus on diversifying income to include major donors, individual giving, and corporate fundraising.

We have:

✔ A clear plan for our workshop delivery over the next three years, and a fundraising plan to support it

✔ An engaged leadership team and Board of Trustees

✔ Evidenced outcomes, rich data/statistics and compelling case studies

✔ Diversity and strong social purpose

✔ A new organisational strategy that sets our vision from 2024-2027

✔ A new CRM system that has been built to support our ambitions

Job Description

This is a new role, joining a small and growing fundraising team. The purpose of this Trusts and Foundations Fundraising Manager role is to grow LMK’s income generation from Charitable Trusts and Foundations, to support delivery of LMK’s mission. 

The role is a true combination of independent and collaborative working. Independent in the writing of bespoke funding applications and reports, maintaining accurate records on LMK’s CRM, and researching to continually build LMK’s pipeline of Trusts & Foundation prospects. 

And collaborative in the close working with LMK’s core team to monitor and report on restricted grants, and working together with the wider fundraising team on creative projects such as: maintaining an updated library of cases for support, implementation of fresh and creative stewardship strategies that bring LMK supporters closer to our work, and cultivation strategies that engage supporters to whom LMK is brand new. 

The role requires strong relationship building skills, which will be drawn upon in your direct working with Trust & Foundation supporters and internally with LMK colleagues. 

Key Responsibilities

• Writing bespoke funding applications: you will be responsible for maintaining a regular pipeline of applications, writing and submitting proposals to new and existing Trust & Foundation supporters, including six-figure and multi-year grants, working to targets for both income generated and outputs (e.g. number of proposals per month).

• Grant reporting: using LMK’s CRM system and working collaboratively with the core team to produce high quality, timely reports for both restricted and unrestricted grants.

• Providing excellent relationship management: to build trusted and lasting relationships with existing and new supporters, including delivery of stewardship and cultivation strategies.

• Case for support development: with support from the wider fundraising team, you will maintain a library of creative and compelling cases for support for use in Trusts & Foundations fundraising. 

• Researching Prospects: identifying suitable new Trusts & Foundations for LMK to approach, and developing and delivering approaches to cultivate early, new relationships. 

• Maintaining accurate, data-compliant records on LMK’s CRM: ensuring all grant records are stored securely, and delivery commitments are effectively communicated to relevant staff members in a timely manner.

Other responsibilities

• Comply with LMK’s policies and procedures, including those relating to safeguarding, bullying and harassment, health & safety, confidentiality, complaints and data protection

• Work in a way that celebrates diversity, upholds LMK values and respects everyone LMK interacts with (including freelancers, staff members, volunteers and workshop participants)

Reporting to LMK’s Head of Fundraising & Development, you will work collaboratively with LMK’s core team, including three fundraising colleagues: one part-time Fundraising Manager, one freelance Grants Fundraiser and one full-time Head of Fundraising & Development.

Person Specification 

• Proven experience of leading on Trust & Foundation applications generating  high 5-figure and multi-year grants.

• Experience of working with colleagues to provide financial information to funders e.g. developing budgets for grant requests and financial reporting at the end of a grant.

• At least 3 years’ experience in successfully delivering and/or supporting a grant fundraising programme, including demonstrable experience of working to targets and managing multiple deadlines, and understanding the trust & foundations fundraising landscape.

• Successfully managing a portfolio of at least 15 Trusts and Foundation relationships, with evidence of providing excellent relationship management and stewardship strategies resulting in renewed and/or increased levels of financial support from partners.

• Experience of using a CRM system to manage all aspects of grant fundraising, including maintaining a pipeline of grant prospects, managing live grants, and regular data input that helps to store a full picture of our funder relationships.

• Excellent written skills, with proven experience of developing a compelling case for support that connects prospective funders with the charity’s mission and is grounded in the charity’s strategic priorities and funding needs.

• Highly organised to manage a diverse workload with excellent time management and attention to detail. 

• Strong MS Office/Google knowledge, numerate, comfortable with data

Safeguarding

This role is subject to a Basic DBS check

In return for your dedication, we will offer you

✔ The opportunity to help prevent relationship abuse and domestic violence in young people

✔ A competitive salary

✔ Working from home

✔ A genuinely flexible working environment 

✔ Pension of 6%

✔ 32 Days of annual leave, (including bank holidays), prorated for part time roles

✔ Employee Assistance Programme

✔ Wellbeing perks

✔ A diverse, bold and collaborative culture with two social meet-ups annually in London

Reasons for applying for this post

We need you to give us specific information to support your application so that we can shortlist in a fair and unbiased way. We recommend that you use a covering letter to provide as much evidence as possible to show how your skills, abilities, knowledge and experience meet each of the selection criteria in the person specification for the role. Please provide examples which are relevant to the role you are applying for (if you prefer, you can provide us with a video of no longer than 3 mins - please email this to us once you have submitted your application)

Interviews will be held in person (London) on Wednesday, 1st October

Are you passionate about generating income for charitable causes? Do you have experience building strong relationships and leading applications to institutional funders?

We are looking for a motivated and experienced Grants & Trusts Manager to join our Income Generation Directorate. You will play a key part in securing vital income to support our work and mission. As the Grants & Trusts Manager, you will lead and inspire a dedicated team to deliver essential funding for the Association.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the identification and development of a portfolio of grants, trusts, and foundations.
• Build and nurture strong relationships with funders to secure long-term partnerships.
• Lead, motivate and manage the Trusts team, including the line management of two Trusts Fundraising Officers, providing ongoing support and team development.
• Deliver high levels of donor stewardship through a proactive approach.
• Oversee the Trusts Team in delivering to develop and deliver persuasive and timely funding applications.
• Collaborate with the Prospect Researcher to identify and champion the development of new funding sources and opportunities.
• Work across the organisation to create compelling propositions that align with funders’ priorities.
• Ensure clarity and alignment with other fundraising teams on donor stewardship and contact strategies.
• Manage reporting, ensuring compliance with all terms and conditions of awarded grants.
• Assist with the creation of income and expenditure budgets and provide regular progress reports.
• Champion the use of our CRM system to ensure accurate and accessible donor information.

About You:

• Experience in growing income through grants, trusts, and foundations, with strong bid writing skills.
• Proven leadership skills with the ability to develop and motivate a high-performing team.
• Strong relationship management and communication skills, including the ability to influence at senior levels.
• Financial expertise including analytical skills with experience in budget management and the ability to develop funding pipelines.
• Proficiency in CRM systems and fundraising software.
• A commitment to the mission and values of the MND Association.

About Us:

Our vision is a world free from MND. Our mission is to improve care and support for people with MND, their families and carers. We fund and promote research that leads to new understanding and treatments and brings us closer to a cure for MND. The Association also campaigns and raises awareness so the needs of people with MND, and everyone who cares for them, are recognised, and addressed by wider society.

What We Offer:

• 28 days holiday, increasing to 33 days after 5 years, plus Bank Holidays.
• Access to UK Healthcare, including dental, eyecare, health screenings, and therapies.
• 24/7 GP access via phone and video.
• Life assurance and confidential counselling helplines.
• Salary sacrifice schemes (Cycle to Work, Buy/Sell Annual Leave).
• Access to Benefit Hub for discounts on everyday shopping.
• Enhanced pension scheme.
• Opportunities for training and personal development.
• Hybrid working.

The full job description and further information about working for the MND Association is available in the candidate pack.

We are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusivity. We work to remove barriers for everyone affected by MND, employees, volunteers, and stakeholders.

As part of the Disability Confident Scheme, we guarantee interviews for disabled applicants who meet the role's requirements.

Hybrid Working and Flexibility: This role offers hybrid working, with the expectation to attend the office 1 - 2 days per week.