Oaks Consultancy, specialists in fundraising and strategic planning for socially-minded organisations has announced the first organisations that have successfully been shortlisted to take part in its inaugural North American Sport for Development Fundraising Accelerator. Commencing this month, the brand-new programme will provide over $10,000 worth of value-in-kind support per cohort member.

The first six successful applicants – including Girls on the Run Chicago, South Bronx United and PeacePlayers USA – will be taking part in the free, virtual accelerator over the next three months and will benefit from group workshops and bespoke, one-to-one mentoring each week.

The intensive programme has been designed to provide the specific skills, structure and confidence necessary to successfully build and implement an effective fundraising strategy during the remainder of 2021 and beyond.

Commenting on the launch of the accelerator and the announcement of its successful applicants, Rahul Bissoonauth, Director of Business Development at Oaks Consultancy, said:

“We’re so excited to kick off the first phase of our brand new Fundraising Accelerator programme, in partnership with Laureus USA. After receiving a diverse range of applications, we’ve selected six successful North American sports organisations that will benefit from 12 weeks of professional mentoring, tailored to suit their key strengths, concerns and challenges.

We were blown away by the number of applications received, which made the process of filtering down to the final cohort incredibly challenging. However, we felt that the chosen organisations would benefit most from the programme and its objectives, and will leave the programme with solutions in place and a clear plan of action to improve their fundraising for years to come.”

Julia Lankford, Director of Operations at Laureus USA, added:

“We are so excited to begin working alongside our inaugural cohort, as we move out of an incredibly challenging financial period for the sector.

“We are confident that the program will provide participants with a solid foundation to enhance their fundraising strategy and expand their reach, which will ultimately allow them to change more lives.”

Oaks has worked in sport for development for over 13 years and to date, and its team has collectively raised over £80m from trusts, foundations, major donors and corporates; empowering a group of socially-minded organisations to grow their work, reach more vulnerable people, and ultimately change lives across the globe.

For more information on the North American Sport for Development Fundraising Accelerator, visit: www.oaksconsultancy.co.uk/post/we-re-launching-in-the-usa. To find out more about Oaks Consultancy and Laureus Sport for Good visit: www.oaksconsultancy.co.uk and www.laureus.com/sport-for-good