Rachael Lynch

Experience

• 

  Loughborough Students' Union

  May 2014 - Jul 2016

  - Responsible for the top student fundraising organisation in the country which raised £1.1 million under my tenure for local, national and international charities.- Worked with ten other sabbatical officers to ensure the Students' Union was providing the best student experience, and presented regular updates to staff and students on recent projects and plans.- Managed a team of two full-time staff, nine committee members, and responsible for hundreds of volunteers. Responsible for workload delegation, project plan reporting, team leader training and volunteer briefings.- Worked with a £60,000 budget to initiate, run and evaluate events and also develop strategic plans throughout the year. One event was a record-breaking fireworks night that raised over £26,000 with 5500 people in attendance.- Organised an awards evening for 200 guests, liaised with catering, AV and staging, photography and video highlights, created digital and printed assets, ordered trophies, wrote speeches, and hosted the evening.- Built relationships with charity partners and challenge event providers to facilitate the recruitment and running of several UK and international challenge events. - Conducted a small grants application service awarding over £20,000 to local Leicestershire charities. Show less - Provided direct support to the duty manager through the organisation and set up of events hosted at LSU (grad balls, event dinners, award ceremonies etc).- Responsible for managing and overseeing the running of multiple bars in a large venue with near 200 staff and supervisors.- As a senior member of student staff, was involved with the hiring, training and development of new members.- Trained as a first aider for union night out events- Responsible for cash handling and counting at the end of each event Show less

  • VP Rag: Head of Student Fundraising

    Jul 2015 - Jul 2016

  • Assistant Venue Manager

    May 2014 - Jun 2015
• 

  Meningitis Research Foundation

  Jul 2014 - Sept 2014

  Events Fundraising Assistant

  - Account managed multiple universities with hundreds of challenge event participants, and created local fundraising opportunities in the form of street collections, community days and bag packs.- Performed numerous administrative tasks: maintenance of the CRM database and fundraising spreadsheets, managed street collection permits, and monitored the inbox and telephone enquiries.- Developed and introduced new fundraising materials including workshops, newsletters and presentations. Designed and scheduled regular stewardship content, and assembled supporter packs. Show less

• 

  The National Autistic Society

  Sept 2016 - Oct 2019

  - During my time at NAS, I generated £1.5 million and supported over 2800 participants. Managed several challenge and bespoke events, such as the London marathon, Royal Parks half marathon, Yorkshire three peaks trek and more.- Generated two new income streams from reviewing trends within the fundraising market. Founded a student fundraising programme which secured 13 university partners and has raised over £200,000 since 2017. Introduced virtual events which engaged 3000 people and raised £27,000 in its first year, with an ROI of 122:1.- Assisted in organisation of special events; carol concert with 500 donors raising £10,000, an awards and showcase ceremony with high-value donors, and a comedy night raising £17,000. Adhered to run times, coordinated with stage management, led volunteer delegation, promoted marketing, assisted in event set up and arranged photography.- Assessed supporter journeys and developed personalised stewardship approaches to deliver high-quality regular support via phone, post, face to face, email and social media; including social events and handwritten occasion cards.- Devised digital and physical marketing assets, regularly reviewed and updated content to improve effectiveness. Developed a new marketing strategy which increased registration interest by 57% for the London marathon.- Conducted event evaluations, gathering qualitative and quantitative data through surveys, event debriefs and CRM analysis. Presented report findings to senior management making recommendations for future event development.- Created budgets, agreed ROIs, conducted phasing and completed regular income and expenditure reports.- Responsible for managing the Events Assistant and conducted 1-2-1s, appraisals, set targets and KPIs, administered database training and encouraged personal development. Show less - Increased London marathon income by 20%, raising over £440,000 with 200 runners, including securing a £25,000 donation. Boosted the retention rate, with numerous runners returning multiple times and fundraising even more.- Project managed multiple large-scale annual events, including All Aboard for Autism, a bespoke autism-friendly sponsored walk. Over three years the event raised over £100,000 engaging more than 1200 supporters.- Organised event day logistics, staff travel and accommodation, risk assessments, booked AV, staging, catering and performers, processed invoices, and worked with third-party suppliers in line with service level agreements.- Coordinated volunteer recruitment, devised briefings, monitored expenses and conducted thanking and feedback.- Produced various mediums of content, such as newsletters, marketing and appeal emails, social media posts, thanking letters, press releases, fundraising guides, information packs, flyers, posters and event reporting.- Monitored the Supporter Fundraising Team's social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter), creating case studies and engaging visual content through Brand Stencil and Canva, and scheduling regular team content.- Supported the Campaigns Team during World Autism Awareness Week, by assisting with the management of the Manchester, Glasgow and Bristol Night Walks over three years, also supported Individual Giving with 'Member's Day', 'Thanking Day' and AGM.- Proficient with CRM databases, imported sensitive and confidential information, updated marketing preferences and extrapolated data to create tailored marketing, which enhanced donor experience and increased sign up rates. Show less

  • Senior Events Fundraising Officer

    Mar 2018 - Oct 2019

  • Events Fundraising Officer

    Sept 2016 - Feb 2018
• 

  MSSC (Marine Society & Sea Cadets)

  Jun 2020 - Feb 2021

  Senior Events Coordinator

  Managing the events portfolio, which consists of:- Special events such as boating launches and thanking events- Function events such as the Annual Court and cadet and staff conferences- Challenge events such as runs, treks, cycles, swims, virtual and more.Assist with organising uniformed events such as the Trafalgar Day parade and the National Band Competition hosted at the Tower of London.

• 

  UK Civil Service

  Feb 2021 - now

  • Senior Executive Officer

    Oct 2023 - now

  • Higher Executive Officer

    Sept 2022 - Oct 2023

  • Policy Officer

    Feb 2021 - Sept 2022