An interview with….

Susie Murray, Head of Fundraising

Welcome to LIFE.  You joined us this March - where were you before you came to work here?

I've been working in the charity sector for just over ten years.  I started at the national children's charity, the NSPCC, spending six years raising money in their London office for the FULL STOP Campaign, which aimed to prevent cruelty to children.  I moved up to the Midlands in 2005 and set up a fundraising department at Coventry University before I went freelance in 2007.   This gave me a great opportunity to work with lots of smaller charities on a local level.

So in that time, what was the biggest single gift you managed to secure?

I've put together lots of funding bids and applications to charitable trusts and foundations.  I remember the university was awarded about £500,000 from a trust and I've worked on a few successful lottery bids that brought in five or six figure gifts as well.

Do you see yourself raising similar sorts of donations for LIFE?

Hopefully, yes.  There's lots of groundwork for us to do in the fundraising team but certainly within a few months we'll start putting some big applications together.  I want to do that in parallel with other applications to smaller local trusts and would like to encourage companies to support the fantastic work LIFE is doing in so many communities.  We have exciting plans for our network of charity shops and community fundraising too.

We already have a very generous supporter base and I'd like to thank them for all their gifts so far.  However, I think it would be good to diversify and attract new donors who might not have thought of getting involved with LIFE in the past.

The money LIFE receives from bequests in people's wills is also incredibly valuable to us and it would be great to make supporters more aware of this option.

What attracted you to work for LIFE?

This is a truly inspirational place to work.  It's a privilege to be able to support such a worthwhile cause through my job - whether it's helping to generate income to support mothers at a time of crisis, encouraging young people to develop an opinion on sensitive issues or supporting couples who are struggling with fertility problems. 

And how do you relax in your spare time?

I'm happiest when I'm up a mountain - whether I'm skiing down or climbing up!  I love any sort of outdoor activity.  I'm a member of a local walking group and a keen cyclist.  Last summer my sister and I peddled from Land's End to John O'Groats for charity which was hugely rewarding.  This year we plan to cycle across the North of England along the Coast-to-Coast route, which follows a more leisurely - and much shorter - path!