A day in the life of our…Fundraising & Finance Coordinator
We asked our Fundraising & Finance Coordinator, Emily to jot down what a typical day looks like. Here it is:
7am: My daughter, 1-year old Olivia has decided that my underwear is her favourite thing, so I’m chasing her around the house trying to get dressed – lots of laughter.
8am: Things are getting serious. We both need to get ready and Daddy has now left for work, so the pressure is on! Where are Olivia’s shoes? Where are my shoes? Note to self: don’t forget your lunch (and a jumper as the office is freezing)!!
9am: Drop off at childminders successful – no tears – woohoo! Quick dash to get into St. Mary’s – morning traffic = argh!
9.20am: Arrive at work. Battle with the parking bollards (if I’m lucky enough to get a space) and then a quick hello before vital job of putting the kettle on.
9.30am: Start work. Check emails, pay volunteer expenses, check social media notifications and reply to messages. Note to self: I must meet and recruit Sheila @ The Co-op as our social media guru.
10am: Grants. Check the grants schedule – are we up to date? Monitoring due – what is required for this specific grant? Accounts, statistics, client and volunteer case studies with photos. Wow – this is going to take up a couple of days. Check in with Vicky for statistics – she’s on top of them, fab!! Send out a message to volunteers asking for stories; quickly end up resorting to begging on the phone. Think up some questions that will encourage answers new volunteers might be interested in.
12.30pm: Lunch! Throw a sandwich in my mouth whilst typing up said story. Go to the loo – ah how I appreciate a solo loo break these days.
12.45pm: Contact our website hero for advice on setting up a ‘volunteer only’ section and impress myself with remembering how to log-in to our WordPress account after a year’s maternity leave. Update website and schedule social media stories for the next few days.
2pm: Collect Olivia. She’s had a lovely day and has created a masterpiece of a paper plate wreath. Pray she naps this afternoon.
4pm: No nap – this is not the productive ‘work from home’ afternoon I was hoping for. Continue playing – create so much mess it might be better to just go out, bump into neighbour on 45min walk to the shop that’s 5mins away, serve dinner etc. etc.
5.30pm: Daddy is home. He leads play and bath time while I run around the house tidying up the mess we’ve created.
7pm: Olivia’s bedtime. Snuggle up with stories and then she goes to sleep after a 30min wriggle. Think how thankful I am for her and that she loves sleep as much as we do.
7.30pm: Open up laptop and work further on the grant report. It’s online so it’s easy to pick up where I left off – isn’t technology great! Wow – 2hrs have flown by. Is there any dinner?! Is Olivia’s breakfast, lunch and bag prepped for tomorrow? Husband is on the case – dream team.
9.45pm: Dinner eaten so now start invoicing for my other job (Finance Manager at Spectrum Signs). Olivia not fancying an afternoon nap really does drag out the day!
Juggling work and life can be challenging but also so rewarding. Overall, I’m very thankful for what I have and that I am fortunate enough to be able to make a difference at work and at home.