Aussie Fundraisers Win Global Awards

Two Australians have been recognised on the global stage after being named the world’s most outstanding fundraiser and volunteer at an awards ceremony in the Netherlands.

Melissa Smith was recognised as 2011 Global Fundraiser and Ada Banks as the 2011 Outstanding Volunteer as part of The Resource Alliance Global Awards for Fundraising, presented before representatives from 60 countries at the International Fundraising Congress in the Netherlands.

Above: Melissa Smith, winner of the 2011 Global Fundraiser Award.

Melissa Smith, a former development manager at the University of Technology, Sydney, secured a $25 million gift for the University – the largest gift to an Australian university building.

The gift from Dr Chau Chak Wing – which is also the largest donation from a mainland Chinese individual to any international institution – will see $20 million directed towards building a business school, and $5 million towards establishing an endowment fund for scholarships for Australia-China exchange.

The international judging panel for the awards said Smith had secured “a gift not only of such magnitude, but also from a very new market that it has earned her a place in the history books of Australian philanthropy.”

Above: 2011 Outstanding Volunteer Award Winner, Ada Banks

Smith said she hopes the award provides an opportunity profile the importance of continuing to build a culture of philanthropy in Australia.

Winner of the Outstanding Volunteer Award, Ada Banks began volunteering with the Cancer Council Queensland after losing her son to a rare type of cancer 16 years ago. Over the past 15 years she has raised more than $300,000 for cancer research, as well as creating a volunteer movement in her local area.

Relay for Life state manager Natalie Wust said Banks has dedicated thousands of hours over the years to her volunteer work, and is an inspiring and selfless leader.

The two women were in the running for the awards as national winners of the Fundraising Institute Australia’s National Awards for Excellence in Fundraising 2011.