My name is Grant Wells and, as the founder of Create, I have over 20 years of management and fundraising experience within the charitable sector.
I am a proven fundraiser with a successful track record in securing funds, particularly from grant making trusts and the National Lottery Community Fund.
Create celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and continues to support clients across the sector, throughout the UK, via on-going contracts at very competitive rates, and with excellent returns. I have successfully forged positive relationships with a range of charities and developed an effective process of information gathering that enables me to compile compelling ‘cases for support’ that appeal to funders and get results. I rarely have to market Create as I get the majority of work through repeat contracts and recommendations from satisfied clients. I have trained and mentored several clients over the years supporting them to develop the skills to become independent fundraisers in their own right.
Before Create, I worked for four years as Chief Executive of Landau, a successful disability charity based in Shropshire. During this time I trebled turnover and developed the charity into a regional organisation. I secured Lottery, Connexions, ESF and Jobcentre Plus funding as well as major grants from leading trusts and foundations including the Lloyds Bank Foundation, Esmee Fairbairn, Henry Smith and Garfield Weston. I also gained the biggest grant in the UK from the prestigious Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund (300k).
In 2005 I co-founded The Bren Project and secured significant funding to enable the charity to get up and running. Nineteen years on, the charity has expanded and become sustainable and developed an excellent reputation in the field of supported employment. I became a Trustee, overseeing the fundraising function for many years but decided to stand down in 2017 to enable me to explore other volunteering options in the charitable sector a bit closer to home in Shropshire.
I am a Full Member of the Institute of Fundraising.