Head of Fundraising

Leah Selinger | Head of Fundraising, Central Office

Responsible to the Director of External Affairs, the Head of Fundraising manages the national fundraising team to achieve agreed income goals, whilst ensuring that income is raised to meet operational needs. The post also has a wider remit to raise quality within fundraising across the organisation and embed efficient fundraising processes and systems.

What is your name and what do you do at Fairbridge?

Leah Selinger, Head of Fundraising – based at central office since early 2007. I used to work in the Kennington team for two years before I got this job.

So what does Head of Fundraising do?

No one day is like the next! An average week might involve writing a large national funding application, supporting a team fundraiser to put a budget together, giving sales advice to a team manager, chasing up income from around the country, showing a potential funder round one of our centres, or interviewing for a new member of staff!

What is the best thing about your role?

I get to be in touch with teams all around the country, and find out about the amazing projects and courses they are running – and the amazing outcomes that our young people achieve. The best bit about being a fundraiser is seeing what the money you bought in has enabled our staff and young people to achieve.

So where did you go on your first access course and what did you do?

I was working in the London team when I started with Fairbridge, so I undertook my Access Course with them. After the first couple of days in London (and a memorable day getting very muddy in Sydenham Woods) we went to the Brecon Beacons in South Wales and stayed on a farm in a barn. There was just one long bed which we all laid on in our sleeping bags shivering in the cold. One day we did a waterfall walk, starting at the bottom of a stream and working our way up various waterfalls to the top. It was absolutely freezing, but once we got moving, you soon warmed up. One young person was really scared of water, but with the support of everyone else, he made it to the end and came out with a big grin on his face. My biggest achievement was abseiling off a 140 cliff. I was really proud as I was the only girl on the course to do it. Never been so scared in my life though! My certificate is still pinned up by my desk!

Best moment at Fairbridge?

There was a young person who attended the Kennington Centre when I worked there – she enjoyed sitting in my office talking to me about East Enders. She was really lacking in confidence and hid behind excuses to move on a lot.

An excellent youth worker called Darren really helped her to move on and she went off to start a college course locally. I lived locally at the time and about six months later I bumped into her on a bus. She looked really grown up and confident and came up to me to say hello, and how she was doing really well at college and looking into going to university in the future, and how much Fairbridge had really helped her – and of course, to pass on her hellos to all the staff who made it happen.

What have you learned from young people?

Never give up - you can achieve anything if you really want to. And ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS try to see the funny side…

What advice would you give for someone thinking of working for Fairbridge?

Bring a sense of humour, and willingness to try anything!