Norfolk social enterprise, Minidonks, makes the final 21 for this year’s JustGiving Awards

Sarah McPherson from Hempnall in South Norfolk has been named as a finalist in this year’s GoCardless JustGiving Awards after setting up a Crowdfunding page for the social enterprise she founded in memory of her late mum, Pat – Miniature Donkeys for Wellbeing, “Minidonks”.

Minidonks is small social enterprise that takes miniature donkeys to visit people with life limiting conditions, special needs and mental health challenges. Every year its team deliver hundreds of visits across Norfolk and Suffolk to places such as care homes, psychiatric units, special schools and dementia settings. So far it has delivered more than 800 wellbeing visits.

Sarah, 59, was selected by a panel of judges which included Radio DJ Rickie Haywood-Williams, Actress Angela Griffin, longstanding fundraiser, famous for wearing a charity shop outfit every day for one year, Caroline Jones and the general manager of JustGiving, Pascale Harvie.

Sarah, one of three finalists nominated for the Community category, said: “I am delighted to be a Justgiving Awards finalist. Since starting Minidonks in 2017, after losing my mum to dementia, donations have been vital to us in funding our much-needed work. When I take one of my precious little donkeys upstairs in a lift at a care home and see the look of delight and wonder on the face of someone who is confined to their bed through ill health, it makes all the 6am starts and sleepless nights worthwhile”.

“JustGiving has been a vital part of our fundraising strategy, and to have been recognised as a finalist in this category is very humbling. We are aiming to raise £10,000 and are nearly halfway there so hopefully this will raise awareness so that more people donate to help us reach our goal to make this a long-term sustainable enterprise for those who it brings so much joy to.”

This is the eleventh year of the JustGiving Awards and the judges agreed that this year’s event will be an incredibly emotional yet truly inspiring evening. From more than 13,000 nominations, the judges worked hard to shortlist 21 inspiring finalists, three for each of the seven awards categories.

Pascale Harvie, President and general manager at JustGiving said: “Our fundraisers and crowdfunders are amazing and whilst they don’t do what they do for praise and recognition, every single person like Sarah deserves it”.

“The ceremony is a magical evening but most importantly it’s a moment for us at JustGiving to thank, formally recognise and celebrate the individuals, groups and charities who have done extraordinary things in the interest of others.”

Members of the public now have the opportunity to vote for the fundraisers they want to see crowned for their efforts via https://page.justgiving.com/awardsvoting2023

Seven winners as well as JustGiving’s Charity of the Year will be announced at the ceremony which takes place at London’s Roundhouse on the evening of September 25th. Winners will be presented with their official trophy by well-known faces from the world of celebrities and sport.

Previous JustGiving Award winners include Max Woosey, who was crowned 2022 Young Fundraiser of the Year for camping outside for hundreds of nights in memory of his neighbour and raising funds for North Devon Hospice.

Three dads walking were awarded Fundraising Team of the Year for raising significant awareness for suicide prevention and funds for Papyrus and the late Dame Deborah James’ family received a special recognition award after she created wide-scale awareness of Bowel cancer and its symptoms and raised millions of pounds for the Bowelbabe Fund.

Pat Phelan, MD of UK & Ireland and Chief Customer Officer at GoCardless added: “We’re proud to recognise the finalists and everyone nominated for this year’s GoCardless JustGiving Awards. We’re also grateful to all of the donors who support them. By combining the energy and enthusiasm of fundraisers like Sarah with the generosity of the nation, truly amazing things can happen.“

NOTES TO EDITOR

For further information contact  press@justgiving.com

*All figures quoted include GiftAid and are accurate at the time of releasing this press release.

Figures quoted relate to fundraising activity on JustGiving only. JustGiving is one of many fundraising platforms that people can choose from when fundraising for events such as the London Marathon.

About JustGiving
JustGiving is the world’s most trusted platform for online giving. We help people raise money for the charities and people they care about the most. In 2000, JustGiving.com began with one simple goal – to enable charities to receive donations online from anywhere in the world. Fast forward 22 years and over £5 billion has been raised for good causes in almost every single country in the world.

JustGiving became part of Blackbaud, the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good in 2017.

To note – JustGiving does not charge a fee on donations but instead operates a voluntary contribution model, meaning people donating can choose to leave a ‘tip’ if they wish. The only non-optional fee is a 1.9% + 20p to cover card payment charges.