A new cohort of mentees have been selected to take part in a 12-month mentorship programme, designed to help fundraisers into leadership positions.

The programme, spearheaded by Legacy Futures and The Eilscher Foundation, assigns mentees with their own mentor, each of which is a senior leader within the sector.

Mentees meet regularly throughout the year and mentors help to support them in their development pathway to enhance their career.

This year saw a record number of fundraisers applying to take part in the programme, with three times as many applications as last year.

Our of the 19 candidates chosen for mentee positions, six are legacy fundraisers.

"The Leaders of the Future programme is an excellent opportunity for participants to gain the knowledge and contacts that will help them become inspiring charity leaders," Legacy Futures CEO, Ashley Rowthorn said.

“That almost a third of this year’s intake is from a legacy background should be welcomed news for the sector, as it means the leaders of the future will have a solid understanding of the importance of legacies – key for helping to secure and stabilise organisations.

"In previous years, we haven’t seen enough legacy fundraisers following leadership pathways, so it’s a very positive step that that’s now starting to change.”

The Elischer Foundation interim director, Laura Swan added: “Pooling our resources with Legacy Futures on this initiative has meant we’ve been able to invite even more fundraisers onto the mentorship programme.

"Mentees have come from all over the world, including the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and represent many different types and sizes of organisations, from education and the arts to cancer research and humanitarian aid.

"We’re fortunate to have some very high calibre mentors on board who are selflessly sharing their years of experience and expertise for the benefit of the sector and the next generation of leaders, and to them we are enormously grateful.”

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