Lucy Barnard , London, United Kingdom

I have four years of experience identifying, soliciting and cultivating corporates for strategic, commercial (brand licensing) and Charity of the Year partnerships, building relationships and stewarding corporate partners. I am a good communicator with the ability to network and form relationships easily. Some highlights of my career are that I am delighted to have secured a six-figure partnership with a respectable British supermarket during my career, as well as several smaller, five figure partnerships with a couple of opportunities due to be secured within the next few months. I am particularly strong in developing programmes and identifying opportunities for engagement, as well as forging new relationships and maximising established ones.

In my current role (day job) as a Corporate Partnerships Manager, I am responsible for the development and implementation of the Corporate Partnerships strategy targeted at fundraising £1.6 million each year. £500,000 of this is a mix of new business and event fundraising as well as managing a portfolio of corporate partners worth £1.1 million each year. I am involved in all aspects of corporate partnerships from identification, solicitation and cultivation to building and developing relationships with key stakeholders. In just over 12 months I have secured almost £200,000 in new corporate partnerships and £75,000 in event sponsorship.

As part of my account management strategy, I create bespoke account management and communication plans for each partner. Working for a small charity has developed my skills in business development and account management substantially as I have a great deal of responsibility and expectation. Therefore, I have a great track record of developing successful proposals, writing for diverse audiences as I work across different sectors and a great deal of experience with budget plans and managing expenditure.

I have a good knowledge of Corporate Social Responsibility, as well strong project and time management skills with a Prince 2 Foundation and Practitioner qualification to help formalise my project management skills. I have a great deal of experience working with many stakeholders to deliver a project successfully, particularly from my experience in events management where this is necessary.

I have very large new business targets in my current role, and therefore utilising networks and cultivations is incredibly important. As part of my role I have formed a Development/ Fundraising committee made up of current trustees, high value supporters of the charity and members of our existing corporate partners. The main objective of the Development Committee is to discuss new business strategy and help in making approaches to the companies which I have identified as the ‘dream 10’ companies or industries. There are many senior representatives on the Development Committee and therefore my experience of stakeholder engagement is very strong, as is my ability to prepare briefings and reports.