Mark Astarita OBE was a dear friend and colleague who died suddenly on the 26th April 2024 at the age of 64.

I am joining individuals and companies across the charity sector to raise funds in Mark's memory.

To recognise Mark's life and his unswerving dedication to diversity and fundraising, we have selected Charityworks, the UK's talent programme for the non-profit sector to create the Mark Astarita Fellowship.

Mark was passionate about ensuring that charities had access to the very best fundraising talent. Mark's route into Fundraising and subsequent leadership was not traditional. He was the adopted son of a British-Italian working class family. On leaving school at 15, he worked his way through the Union Movement and then into the charity sector at a time when it was perhaps even more difficult for people of his background to get a solid footing in this field.

As Mark's career developed, he continued to always champion diversity in all its forms and was particularly interested in helping individuals from non traditional backgrounds get into fundraising.

The Fellowship will target candidates who have faced a range of barriers to entering the charity sector, including those from working class backgrounds (a particular passion of Mark's), and support them into fundraising roles across the charity sector. The programme will also provide ILM certified Leadership training and support to Fellows.

We are planning to support 20 Fellows in our first year and a further 20 in the second year and need to raise a total of £100,000 to do this.

A Gift Aided donation of £2,000 (£2,500 with GA) will support one Fellow for a year.

£500 plus Gift Aid will support one Fellow for a quarter.

But whatever you feel able to donate will make a difference and will help us remember Mark in a way that we know he would be proud of.

To find out more about the Fellowship and CharityWorks visit the AAW Website