Whizz Kidz: the facts

Over 75,000 young people aren’t getting the wheelchair or support that fully meets their needs. Without the ability to be independent young wheelchair users are restricted in their ability to socialise and participate in society.

We’re here to change that.

As the UK’s leading charity for young wheelchair users (9 months -25 years old), we empower young people by providing the wheelchairs, equipment, support and confidence-building experiences they need, and campaigning for a more inclusive society.

And we won’t stop until they are mobile, enabled and included.

The Trusts and Foundations Team is part of the Fundraising, Marketing and Communications Department and is central to Whizz Kidz contributing to its ambitious goal of ensuring that every young wheelchair user in the UK is mobile, enabled and included. The six-strong team is responsible for delivering over £3m a year for the organisation’s services.

Our vision

A society in which every young wheelchair user is mobile, enabled and included.

Our values

We are young people focused, ambitious, collaborative and inclusive.

 Job summary

This role will be responsible for researching and applying to small Trusts and managing an existing portfolio (up to 10K) alongside supporting larger grant applications where required. The post holder will create and maintain a prospect list, apply for relevant opportunities and effectively steward existing funders, preparing reports and updates ensuring they meet donor guidelines. The postholder will also support the migration of our CRM from Raisers Edge to Microsoft Dynamics.  

The person

You will have Trust fundraising experience with excellent research and writing skills with ability to identify new Trusts to apply to, prepare accurate and compelling donor reports and case studies and be confident in approaching donors and promoting the work of Whizz-Kidz.  You will have strong donor stewardship skills with ability to tailor approaches to the needs of the donor. You will also have strong time management skills with ability to manage and prioritise your workload and ideally experience of using a CRM for Trust Fundraising.  

 Key accountabilities

·     Research new prospects (under 10K) and maintain a schedule of planned applications (20% of the role).

·     Manage and nurture an existing warm small Trusts portfolio through writing grant applications and reports, and through telephone, email and or meetings.   

·     Meet /exceed agreed annual income targets.

·     Undertake effective stewardship and reporting to donors with the aim of ensuring their on-going and increasing support.

·     Ensure a high quantity of tailored applications are sent to cold and lapsed supporters on a regular basis.

·     Support the Head of Trusts and Foundations with higher value grant applications.

·     Develop an in-depth knowledge of Whizz Kidz services and operations and contribute to the writing up of new activities and programmes.

·     Build strong internal working relationships with colleagues to facilitate the gathering of information for updates to funders.  

·     Maintain accurate and up-to-date records on Whizz-Kidz’s CRM (currently Raiser’s Edge).

·     Support the team’s migration from Raisers Edge to MSD.

·     Prepare monthly reports on KPIs and income.

·     Play a key role in the strategy for small Trust Fundraising contributing information and ideas to grow income in this area.

·     Undertake other tasks, as required, that support the Trusts and Foundations Team as directed by the Head of Trusts and Foundations.

The post holder will also

·     Work within all policies, procedures and budgets set by Whizz Kidz.

·     Act at all times in the best interest of Whizz Kidz.

·     Form effective working relationships with all colleagues members, volunteers and outside organisations as appropriate.

·     Take responsibility for ensuring that the policies and procedures relating to Health & Safety in the workplace are adhered to at all times.

·     Respect the confidentiality of data stored electronically and by other means in line with the Data Protection Act.

·     Not disclose to an unauthorised person any confidential information acquired through official duties unless they have received official permission to do so.

 The above list is not exclusive or exhaustive and the post holder will be required to undertake such duties as may reasonably be expected within the scope and job rank of the post.

 Please note: This post is subject to a Basic level DBS Disclosure, which will be sought prior to the confirmation of a job offer.

Person specification

Skills and knowledge

·     Skilled in writing creatively and accurately and presenting a strong case for support to funders.

·     Confident in verbal communication.

·     Prospecting skills and creative in finding new donors to support Whizz Kidz.

·     Ability to work to prioritise and meet deadlines

·     Numerate and financial skills

·     Data entry and analysis skills

Experience

·     Successfully raising income from Trusts, and/or Major Donors or  Corporate funders

·     Preparing and writing funding applications and reports

·     Preparing budgets for funding applications

·     Researching new funding opportunities and presenting findings clearly

·     Experience of using a CRM system for fundraising

Personal qualities

·     Alignment with our values – young people focused, ambitious, inclusive and collaborative

·     Passionate about supporting young wheelchair users and creating societal change

·     A positive ‘can-do’ attitude and the ability to work on own initiative with limited supervision

·     Willingness to work flexibly and creatively to respond to the emerging needs

·     The ability to enthuse and engage others to support Whizz Kidz

·     Goals driven and creative problem solver

 A few perks

The wellbeing of our colleagues is of paramount importance to our success as an organisation, and we want to ensure that our benefits package provides something of value for everyone, whether it is our generous holiday entitlement, wellbeing days, Healthcare cash plan, long-service awards. We hope you agree!

Annual leave

25 days of annual leave per annum plus Bank Holiday (pro-rata for part time colleagues).

Christmas closure

In addition to annual leave, employees get three days of paid Christmas leave.

Pension

Automatic enrolment for all colleagues with the option to opt out. Contributions of 5% gross salary made by both Whizz Kidz and employees. We will match higher contributions of up to 6% of gross basic salary.

Simply health

Automatic enrolment in a fully paid for cash plan that assists you with everyday health costs. This scheme is also available to your families for an extra charge.

Season ticket loan

An interest free loan of up to £5,000 following the successful completion of the Probationary Period.

 You can find out more about our perks at Whizz Kidz.org.uk/charity/careers