And the winners are…

At ILM’s annual conference in May, Legacy Link announced the winners of this year’s Crispin Ellison Bursary Awards, who were selected by a panel including Crispin Ellison. The winners were Laura Kennedy from Action on Hearing Loss, and Amanda Hyatt from St Peter & St James Hospice. 

Both Amanda and Laura were delighted to win the awards. Amanda said:

Amanda Hyatt receiving her certificate from Sharon Comfort of Legacy Link

“A month on and I am still surprised to have been chosen as one of the winners of the Crispin Ellison Bursary Award for 2019, and absolutely delighted too. I work for a local hospice (St Peter & St James Hospice, in Mid-Sussex) and only started dealing with legacy administration a year ago. It has been a steep learning curve but I find it really interesting and I realise legacy administration is the area I want to focus on in the future.

“What I particularly hope to gain from studying CiCLA is to expand and improve my technical knowledge. For example dealing with complex Wills, Wills where there is a life interest or assets passing outside of the Will and contested Wills as well as some of the more complex (to me) financial questions, such as charity tax exemptions and when income or capital gains tax needs to be paid. As with many charities, legacies are a very important, and growing, source of income for our hospice.  At the end of the course I hope I will be able to maximise legacies for our hospice, manage an increasing caseload of legacies and be better equipped to work sensitively and cooperatively with executors and solicitors.

Laura said:

Laura Kennedy collects her certificate from Sharon Comfort of Legacy Link

“I feel really honoured to have won a Crispin Ellison Bursary Award and am so excited about the opportunity to complete the Certificate in Charity Legacy Administration (CiCLA). It will make such a difference not only to my career and personal development, but to Action on Hearing Loss where over two thirds of our voluntary income is from legacies.

“As the Legacy Marketing Manager, I’m really thrilled to have the chance to bring our legacy administration and marketing together and to bring about positive change where these areas are viewed more cohesively. The CiCLA will allow me to further my passion and interest in legacy administration and hopefully inspire other legacy marketers like myself of the benefits of developing an understanding of legacy administration. I want to thank Legacy Link and ILM for making this opportunity possible and Action on Hearing Loss for being so supportive with my application and desire to further my skills in this area.”

Sharon Comfort from Legacy Link who took part in the selection panel and presented the winners with their certificates, said:

“We are really delighted with this years winners and we believe they both put together strong applications, showing passion and real commitment to the sector. Both demonstrated the desire to build knowledge and confidence throughout their charities and breaking down the myths and taboos that surround legacies by training colleagues and discussing legacies with Trustees.

“We wish Laura and Helen every success as they begin their studies for the ILM Certificate in Charity Legacy Administration, and we welcome new applicants for the bursary in 2020.”