Recipients of Crispin Ellison Bursary Award 2025 announced
Bursary Description
Becky Jedrzejewski, Legacy Officer at Essex Wildlife Trust, and Michelle Pagett, Head of Individual Giving at The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice, are the two recipients of this year’s Crispin Ellison Bursary Award 2025.
Both recipients receive a training package from the Institute of Legacy Management worth £1,000.
The Crispin Ellison Bursary Award is awarded each year by Legacy Futures and Smee & Ford. It is named in memory of former director Crispin Ellison, who dedicated his career to advancing professional knowledge in the legacy sector. It honours his legacy by supporting the next generation of legacy professionals.
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The bursary will cover the cost of attaining, for example, the Certificate in Charity Legacy Administration or any equivalent training package.
It is open to UK applicants looking to further their professional development in the area of legacy administration and management.
Becky Jedrzejewski said:
“I‘m grateful and delighted to be a recipient of the Crispin Ellison Bursary Award. The legacy sector is a wonderfully collaborative place and I’m looking forward to being able to support others through my own personal development and learning, thanks to this special opportunity.
“This award will make a huge difference to my work at Essex Wildlife Trust – a local charity, with a small fundraising team. The training will allow me to confidently maximise our legacy income, whilst also ensuring that I can provide the highest level of care to our pledgers and the executors and families of our legators.”
Fellow bursary recipient Michelle Pagett said:
“This bursary will make a real difference — not only in my personal professional development but also in supporting the vital work we do at The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice. Legacy giving is an increasingly important source of income for our hospice, helping us to provide specialist palliative care and support to patients and families when they need it most. The training package will allow me to deepen my knowledge and confidence in legacy administration, ensuring we are stewarding these incredibly generous gifts with the care, accuracy, and gratitude they deserve.”
Beth Brook, Head of Legacy and In-Memory Fundraising at ActionAid UK helped judged the award. She said:
“I was very impressed by this year’s candidates. Not only are they dedicated to their team and charity; they’re also committed to providing the best possible service to lay executors, service users and the many different parties legacy officers have to work with. Just reading the applications made me feel proud to be a legacy fundraiser.”
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.