Company: Cause4, London, United Kingdom
Company Description: Cause4 supports charities, social enterprises and philanthropists as development and fundraising partners across the community, arts, sports and education sectors. Cause4 specialises in the development of excellent charitable programmes and innovative campaigns with strong potential to attract charitable support. We then work in partnership with an organisation to implement fundraising.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Woman of the Year - Business Services

Nomination Title: Michelle Wright, CEO

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated woman since the beginning of July last year (up to 525 words):

About Cause4    

Cause4 was founded in the UK by entrepreneur Michelle Wright in May 2009 to provide business services to support charities and social enterprises to grow. The organisation works across the charity, arts, sports and educational sectors in three main areas: strategy and fundraising, philanthropy and enterprise development.    
    
The organisation’s influence lies in the development of excellent charitable initiatives and innovation and also the level of funds raised - over £36m since set-up in May 2009 and already over £11m in charitable funds raised this year since beginning of the financial year in April 2014.    
    
About Michelle Wright      

Michelle trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and played the violin professionally. She founded Cause4 on leaving her role at the London Symphony Orchestra, where her achievements in private sector fundraising led to her being judged the Best Upcoming Fundraiser at the National Fundraising Awards in 2008.     
    
Very quickly Michelle established herself as an entrepreneur with potential, winning the female entrepreneur category in the Natwest Startup awards 2011 and being cited in the top 10 of the Ernst and Young Future 100 awards 2011 for social entrepreneurs under 35.    
    
Since July 2013 Awards have come thick and fast. Michelle was also one of only 10 women and the only social enterprise appearing in the 2013 Silicon Valley 100 UK list for businesses with potential to achieve £100m revenues and was one of the first 50 businesses to be selected as part of Lord Young’s Accelerate 250 for high potential businesses.     
    
Why this award?    

Michelle is an inspirational leader for female entrepreneurs. In her own time she is a mentor to some five other female social entrepreneurs and writes regularly for Guardian Women in Leadership and Huffington Post on entrepreneurship.    
    
But what is most impressive is Michelle’s commitment to creating employment opportunities for others and to train the next generation of diverse leaders. Cause4’s flagship employment programme is our graduate Entrepreneurship programme, which seeks to address the widely-acknowledged shortage of entrepreneurial fundraising personnel across the charitable sector.     
    
Cause4 has also developed an accredited Fellowship graduate training programme for the main arts funder in the UK, Arts Council England and 50 (graduates/apprenticeships) will be trained nationally each year from September 2014.     
    
Also in partnership with the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Michelle is setting up an international centre for Creative Entrepreneurship to support the emergence of new creative businesses across the world. Nine creative businesses were developed last year.    
    
Michelle led the training of 30 graduates last year and will train 45 graduates and apprentices next year. Last year our graduates contributed £4m in charitable fundraising to clients.    
    
The company now has a clear international growth plan with hubs developing in Amsterdam and New York and with major international clients to take forward including work with Malaria No More, with the IRC in Water Sanitation and to establish a Global Centre for Philanthropy in the UK.     
    
Our other key innovation is a thriving Philanthropy Service. This service targets top artists, entrepreneurs and sportspeople, as a professional, one-stop shop to develop programmes and through effective fundraising enables it individuals to at least triple their investment.

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Provide a brief biography of the nominated woman (up to 125 words):

Michelle trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and played the violin professionally. She founded Cause4 on leaving her role at the London Symphony Orchestra, where as Development Director her achievements in private sector fundraising led to her being judged the Best Upcoming Fundraiser at the National Fundraising Awards in 2008.  
 
Very quickly Michelle established herself as an entrepreneur with potential, winning the female entrepreneur category in the Natwest Startup awards 2011 and being one of only 10 women appearing in the 2013 Silicon Valley 100 UK list for businesses with potential to achieve £100m revenues.

Michelle has a passion for social enterprise and female entrepreneurship and mentors a number of female-led start up businesses.