The online fundraising platform JustGiving has announced its top fundraisers of 2015 – and John Taylor Hospice’s CEO Kate Phipps is delighted to be one of them. Out of 532,124 fundraisers worldwide, Kate’s JustGiving page for her tandem skydive was one of the most successful last year, raising more than £14,000 for John Taylor Hospice.
“For a page about John Taylor Hospice to be up there in the top 1% of JustGiving fundraisers is the icing on the cake after a fantastic year,” said Kate. “It’s a testament to our strong local supporter base that grows day by day.”
JustGiving enables supporters to make online donations as an alternative to traditional sponsorship forms. The service includes many large charities and non-profit organisations and is used in more than 160 countries.
Kate set herself the skyscraping fundraising target of £14,000 after being inspired by one of the Birmingham-based hospice’s corporate supporters, Connect Distribution.
“Thinking about our own supporters and everything they have done for the hospice was what spurred me on to go big in 2015 – they’re incredible,” Kate said. “Taking on a challenge of my own was the best way I could think of to say thank you.”
For Kate’s personal fundraising challenge, the plucky CEO took part in a tandem skydive, having first lost 41lbs in order to reach the required BMI set by the skydiving centre.
The £14,000 raised through JustGiving paid for Christmas Eve at John Taylor Hospice – a full 24 hours of expert palliative care at the hospice and in people’s own homes across the Birmingham and the West Midlands.
“Every penny donated to John Taylor Hospice, whether that’s a cash or online donation, or at any number of our events throughout the year helps us to make sure every moment matters,” added Kate.
“Here’s to 2016 and all of the exciting challenges that our supporters on JustGiving have set themselves. The very best of luck to you all – and be sure to enjoy it, too!”