MF's Fundraising Director Wins Top Charity Award

The Medical Foundation's Director of Fundraising, Jasvir Kaur, has been named Fundraising Manager of the Year in the UK Charity Awards 2004 organised by Charity Times magazine.

"Jaz" was presented with the award by former BBC royal correspondent Jenni Bond at a gala dinner at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London's Mayfair last night.

In making the award, the judges paid tribute not just to Jaz's skills in raising enough income for the Medical Foundation to operate, but also her work in helping raise the £5.4m needed for the new Isledon Road treatment centre in Finsbury Park, north London.

The citation read: "In the face of increasing hostility to refugees and asylum seekers, Jasvir has successfully raised enough funding not only to maintain the charity but also to allow it to buy more equipment and move to a new premises.

By using fundraising methods that draw upon all aspects of the media, she has enabled the Foundation to increase its income substantially each year she has been a manager."

A Charity Times spokesperson said: "The UK Charity Awards are designed to recognise and reward excellence in the management and co-ordination of all charitable activities. This aim is enforced by the make-up of the judging panel, which represents the leading figures in the UK charity sector, and thus ensures the highest possible standards are set for the largest awards ceremony in the charity calendar."

After the awards Jaz, aged 36, who has worked at the Medical Foundation for the past eight years said: "This is an award to the Medical Foundation's entire fundraising department. Many people would rather ignore the fact that torture is a daily reality in many parts of the world. Others believe that the vast majority of asylum seekers are bogus.

"We appeal to people's compassion, informing them and shattering myths at the same time. The response from the clients' we help is prove enough of the value of our work.

"The real challenge we now face is to convince supporters to move towards committed giving, with regular direct debits or standing orders. The more we can raise in that fashion, the further ahead we can plan for the future."

Jaz, who began her fundraising career in direct marketing with Greenpeace, is a graduate of Aberystwyth University, and was awarded a scholarship to Aalborg University in Denmark where she gained an MBA. She was brought up in Walsall, West Midlands after her parents arrived in Britain from the Punjab in the early 1960's.