WRITE GOOD STUFF
Rebecca Turner
Freelance fundraiser & bid writer
Testimonials
One of the most rewarding parts of my work is getting positive feedback from my clients, and I’m proud to share some of their reviews here. When you work with me, you’re not just commissioning a freelance fundraiser - I hope you will agree you’re gaining a partner to provide the help, support and guidance that you need. Read through my client testimonials below to learn more, and please do get in touch if you would like to see a copy of my CV and full work history.
No5 Young People
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Rebecca has transformed the way that we articulate our work and impact; she is expert in understanding her audience and writing to meet their needs and expectations as well as writing with such passion and effect.
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Rebecca quickly built a fantastic ‘case for support’ that has helped us to secure an additional £100,000 over the last year in restricted and unrestricted funds.
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She has invaluable knowledge on the backgrounds and motivations of many funders, trusts and foundations and the environment in which they work. This has made a huge difference to the way in which we approach them, and what we approach them for, making many more bids successful.
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Rebecca continues to provide essential advice about our funding priorities and balances ‘quick wins’ with a longer-term funding strategy.
Investing in Rebecca is the best decision we’ve made in the last 2 years and was well worth the time it took to convince our Trustees. She is a joy to work alongside and No5 would be lost without her!
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Carly Newman, Relationships Officer, No5 Young People
Straight Talking Peer Education
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This time last year, Straight Talking Peer Education was coming close to going under but thanks to Rebecca, we are now in a better position than we could have ever thought possible. We had found it so hard to raise unrestricted income but now have a healthy 6 months running costs and several long term bids have been successful, ensuring stability for the future.
Rebecca is well organised and delivers the goods. We have spent £20,000 and she has so far helped us raise £200,000. With her expertise, Straight Talking is moving forward, developing and expanding.
Rebecca is not just a fundraiser to Straight Talking; she is an important member of the team, understanding the details of our work, supporting, contributing to and focussing our ideas and she has as much a commitment to our success as we have.
Hilary Pannack, CEO, Straight Talking Peer Education
mac Birmingham
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As Artistic Director and CEO of mac birmingham (www.macbirmingham.co.uk) I was charged with the development and delivery of a capital development to transform the centre to a place of creativity and engagement for all fit for the 21st century. It was apparent that the buildings and their plant were worn out. Unless mac received a major £15.4m investment, we would have to close.
Arts Council England and Birmingham City Council could see the need for investment and their spectacular contributions left us with a target of £2.23m to raise, which our feasibility study suggested would come largely from trusts and foundations.
We were enormously fortunate to secure the services of Rebecca Turner as a freelance trusts and foundations fundraiser. The initial fundraising feasibility study, followed by a capital fundraising plan, resulted in a successful refurbishment and development project which, following completion, increased footfall from 550,000 each year to over 1.2 million annually in 2018. Working closely with board, staff and external stakeholders, the fundraising team was able to raise £2.25m to complete the capital campaign.
Our working partnership with Rebecca Turner was a game changer for mac. Being able to rely on Rebecca to support us through timely and effective research, jointly created fundraising and attendant communications was a huge strength of the campaign. Having her alongside to help make the ask, finalise and finesse the applications processes, and share the challenges and rewards of reaching a successful outcome was a relationship delivered well above our expectations and it was a thorough pleasure to work alongside Rebecca as such a key component of the fundraising team.
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Dorothy Wilson, former CEO, mac Birmingham
BLISS - the premature baby charity
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Her responsibilities included gaining lucrative partnerships with private sector companies, and managing those relationships. This was an area of fundraising which was new to us and Rebecca's challenge included raising the professional standards of our fundraising approach in order to be able to present us as a credible partner. In particular she convinced her colleagues that we should be clear about the marketing possibilities our cause presented to corporates and we should also be confident enough to expect them to pay the full value for the benefits we were bringing to the table. Companies often tell us that they are surprised at the high level of commercial awareness we bring to a partnership.
Rebecca has shown strong research and organisational skills. She is a natural networker and leaves us with a wide circle of corporate friends which we did not have before she arrived, including a top city law firm who now do all our legal work on a pro-bono basis. She has shown great persistence in building up our corporate fundraising from a low base, into an income stream that contributes £600,000 a year – over 25% of our income.
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Rob Williams, then CEO of BLISS (now CEO of War Child)