A new cohort of mentees has now been selected to take part in the Nurturing Future Leaders programme – a 12-month mentorship programme we have designed in collaboration with The Elischer Foundation to support fundraisers in developing their careers and working towards positions of charity leadership.

Participants meet regularly throughout the year with their mentors to help further their development pathway, benefit from quarterly learning sessions with expert speakers and are introduced to The Elischer Foundation’s alumni of programme graduates for further support and networking.

This year, more mentees than ever were chosen to go through the programme – a record 19! And out of these, 6 are legacy fundraisers.

Mentees have come from all over the world, including the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and represent many different types and sizes of organisations, from education and the arts to cancer research and humanitarian aid.

Huge congratulations to all those selected, some of whom are:

Viet Anh Hua – Legacies Manager, the London School of Economics, UK

Viet Anh began her fundraising career at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 2004. She is an experienced fundraiser across multiple fundraising strands, including regular giving, major gifts and legacy fundraising. She is currently legacies manager with oversight of legacy fundraising, stewardship, marketing and administration. More recently in-memory giving has featured in her role, and she works proactively to support the growth of legacy and in-memory income for LSE institutional priorities.

Ruchika Jayatilaka, Bequests and Major Donor Specialist, Mary Potter Hospice, New Zealand

Ruchika moved to New Zealand from Sri Lanka amid the civil war. It was then, with her first volunteering role, that she found her passion for connecting community skills and needs to find solutions to make a meaningful difference for everyone. For the past 22 years, she has been working as a fundraiser in various roles doing just that - bringing people together. She is now a bequests and major donor specialist at the Mary Potter Hospice.

Bethan Hazell, Gifts in Wills and Estates Manager at Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation Australia

Bethan’s role encompasses both strategy and operations, driving significant future income for Australia’s largest cancer research centre. An active member within the Australian gifts in Wills space, Bethan presents at conferences, sits on various committees, and mentors new fundraisers.

Georgia Earl, Head of Legacies and In Memory, ActionAid, UK

Georgia wanted to build a career around making a difference and has been working within the charity sector for almost 10 years, specifically across legacy and in memory fundraising. Georgia is always so touched by those who support a charity either through a gift in their Will or in memory of their loved ones – legacy and in memory giving are such personal and special ways of giving to a charity to celebrate the life of a loved one and ensure memories of them live on in the gifts left behind.

Sophia Last, Legacies Manager, Victoria and Albert Museum, UK

After graduating from a fine art degree in 2018, Sophia started a legacy and in memory fundraising role at St Gemma’s Hospice, and instantly fell in love with the job: engaging with supporters, bringing innovation to products, developing marketing campaigns and networking across the sector. After 5 years working for end-of-life charities, Sophia took a new role at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2023 as Legacies Manager – to encompass her passion for arts and culture with her existing fundraising experience.

Renae Randle, Philanthropy Manager – Gifts in Wills, Guide Dogs, Australia

Renae is proud to have worked in the not-for-profit space as a fundraiser for more than 10 years. During this time, she has worked for small and large charities and held roles in corporate partnerships, major gifts and prospect research, data management, individual giving, marketing and communications, community fundraising and most recently gifts in wills. Renae loves the not-for-profit world and truly feels at home working alongside those who want to make the world a better place by supporting others