Crossing over from the corporate world to the charity sector
Marie talks about her experience moving from a corporate job to a role at a charity here at St Ann's.
I’ve been working at St Ann’s since the end of October last year. After over 30 years in corporate roles, almost 22 years with the same company, my role was made redundant in 2018. I took some time out to consider my options then found an exciting new role as Innovation and Digital Fundraiser here at St Ann’s.
It’s a brand new role and it’s my job to look for new fundraising innovations and opportunities and bring them to life for the hospice.
Since I’ve been here I’ve implemented a number of new initiatives. One example is the roll-out of two different types of contactless collection devices. As fewer people are carrying cash these days we needed to look at new ways to allow supporters to continue to donate.
The first project I worked on was re-branding the wrappers for our collection tins and buckets, these now include NFC chips and QR codes enabling supporters to donate with their smartphones. I then went on to roll-out some contactless devices which accept card and smartphone payments. These are proving popular on our receptions and at events, as well as with corporate supporters for fundraising.
Thinking about the crossover from the corporate world to the charity sector, obviously working in a hospice is totally different to going into a normal office environment – I wondered what it would be like working somewhere where I would see patients and families during difficult times. However, I find the hospice is a really positive place to work.
As with any job, there’s lots of new stuff to learn but the skills I use day-to-day at the hospice are the same as previous roles. As in the corporate world, work is all about relationship building and collaboration. We have targets to achieve here, which can be tough in the current climate, but we are a great team and work to get the best out of each other. There is no shortage of support from my colleagues.
I now have a real sense of fulfilment and achievement knowing that what I do here, contributes to how we support our patients and their families. I love the feeling that every day I come to work, really does make a difference.
