£6,000 raised in her first campaign, new partnerships won: the results of one apprenticeship

From learning the fundamentals to leading campaigns, Mya's journey at Making Space shows how hands-on fundraising training can translate directly into new income for a charity.

When Mya joined Making Space, a charity supporting communities across a wide range of services, the team knew that communicating their impact and capturing every stream of income mattered more than ever. Through her Fundraiser apprenticeship with The Juice Academy, Mya has helped bring both to life.

Her first campaign set the tone for what was to come: a skydive that raised around £6,000 for her service, an early, tangible result that gave her the confidence and credibility to go further.

"The course and mentorship from Nichola helped me achieve my first fundraising campaign, which was a skydive which ultimately raised around £6,000 for my service. From there, and with the course materials, I felt my confidence grow as a fundraiser alongside my knowledge of the profession and wider industry," Mya reflects.

That early win opened the door to new income streams the charity hadn't had access to before. Armed with new skills in pitch deck creation, donor research and cross-sector relationship building, Mya went on to secure fundraising partnerships with Stockport County Football Club, local institutions across Stockport and bus operator Stagecoach.

The Juice Academy's mentorship went further than campaign mechanics. Mya credits their support with helping her understand market factors and the real value of communicating impact, exactly the skill Making Space needed most from her.

Her line manager, Natalie Bargery, has seen that impact land firsthand: "I feel the role of a fundraiser is often underestimated and undervalued by the general public but the training reflected the importance of fundraising work and variety that a fundraising role offers. Mya clearly relished the diversity in the role and has grown hugely as a fundraiser in this time."

Mya now leads on communicating Making Space's impact and has taken on tracking in-kind donations across the charity's services, a type of income that had previously been difficult to monitor given how widespread those services are. Natalie has seen the difference this has made to the wider team: "Adding Mya to our team has helped us greatly. We expect Mya's work to increase our total in-kind donations this year and this will have a positive impact on our overall income."

For Mya, the growth has enabled her to take on more responsibilities. "I'm now being trusted to create and launch national campaigns, gather internal and external constituent data and stories, and regular impact reporting," she explains. She now works across both Fundraising and Social Value for Making Space.

For Making Space, the numbers tell their own story: £6,000 raised from Mya's very first campaign, new corporate partnerships that didn't exist before and an expected increase in in-kind donations this year as tracking finally catches up with reality. That is what real investment in fundraising talent looks like.

Connect with the team at Making Space

Natalie Bargery, Corporate Fundraising Lead

Mya Chandegrea, Fundraising & Social Value Assistant