“At the time, I had only been freelance in the sector for just over a year and winning the award was an immense honour.” 

Kirsty already had a growing portfolio of work and an active presence on socials when she took her first steps into the freelance world.  

There’s always an adjustment when you go from in-house to freelance, drumming up engagement with you and your work, but, as Kirsty points out, increasing your visibility in the sector helps: “Most of my work is very much word-of-mouth so it helps to network and get your name out there”.   

Kirsty was nominated (and ultimately won an Inspiring Communicator Award) for many reasons – from her generosity of advice giving, her memorable training workshops, to her impact with socials and words demonstrated in press columns, social media posts, and the effective moderation of a Facebook network for PR and comms professionals in the sector, which is still going strong today.  

“When I found out I was one of the winners, I couldn’t really believe it… it was a wonderful surprise and I felt really proud”.  

Alongside the immediate feelings that come from being recognised, Kirsty shared how the awards gave her a moment to reflect on her approach and ultimately offered an ethos to hold onto during her career:  

“I still have the printed booklet where every winner that year was featured along with their nomination,” Kirsty notes.   

“The standout quote was ‘She brings people together in a way that nobody else does.’ And that’s something I still try to do every day, almost 10 years on – connecting people, sharing knowledge and facilitating discussions.”  

Kirsty’s career has seen her complete projects for the likes of Great Ormond Street Hospital charity, RNLI and Cancer Research UK. She’s even been a proud member of the CharityComms Board since 2019, supporting us with strategic thinking and our responses to digital developments affecting the sector.  

It’s clear to see that this running thread of connecting people and ideas together has laid the groundwork for a fruitful career, and being seen and valued through initiatives like the Inspiring Communicator Awards has helped to springboard Kirsty forward with confidence:  

“My award is listed on my website because it’s one of my proudest career achievements. Whether it helps me to stand out, or win work, I don’t know. For me, it’s a reminder of what I achieved and what I can still achieve.”  

For Kirsty, it’s not really about what she has gained that drives her but being part of communities which share openly and generously: “For me, the best thing about our sector is our willingness to collaborate, share and learn from each other”.  

And that’s what the awards brings to the sector: a way to meaningfully connect and champion each other as charity communicators. 

When we asked Kirsty whether she would recommend the award scheme to others, here is what she had to say: “I’d urge anyone who believes they deserve to be recognised for being an inspiring communicator to put themselves forward or ask someone to nominate them (don’t be shy!). Or if you know of someone who deserves recognition to put them forward.  

“I have nominated someone in the past who went on to win an award and I know the pride and joy they felt at being recognised and honoured by their peers. There’s no better feeling!” 

Bio: Kirsty Marrins is a Digital Communications Specialist and one of the winners of our Inspiring Communicator Awards back in 2016. She works as a freelancer on strategy, copywriting and training for charities, covering a range of digital communication areas. Before going freelance, Kirsty had worked for organisations like Dementia UK and Just Giving. 

Prior to their win the Engagement Team were feeling motivated by their work, covering a breadth of delivery from advocacy to podcasting. Yet, as Laura reflects, the team were exceptionally busy, which meant they didn’t necessarily have the time to take stock of their collective progress over the year:

“While we always try to make time to celebrate and reflect on achievements across the team, I don’t think we’d necessarily been able to draw breath and really absorb just how much we’d achieved together over the last 18 months, and the role we had played in delivering impact for the charity”.

This is not an uncommon challenge for communication teams in charities. When time is scarce, by necessity the delivery of the work can often be the main focus. Moving onto the next project can often mean that looking more reflectively at the impact over time is reserved for dedicated activities like annual reporting with specific requirements.

Putting forward their nomination for Team of the Year triggered the Engagement Team to look over their accomplishments over 2024, with a simple and broad set of award category questions and open criteria points which asked them to summarise their impact over the year, in their own words and with no prescriptive formula.

But the reflections weren’t just measured against their own benchmarks or previous annual reports. Their application was considered alongside other worthy applicants from the sector, all delivering impactful communications and recording impressive team achievements themselves, which meant that the award recognition had a significant impact for them:

“It has been a real boost to our confidence, collectively and at an individual level across the team. While we always evaluate and celebrate internally, winning an award as a team feels different. It’s both the external and internal recognition that all the work the team has been doing has resulted in impactful achievements.”

When we interviewed Laura in January 2025 for our 2024 winner stories series, the more immediate effects included an instant boost for the team into the new year from December’s announcement, particularly when some of the activities they were recognised for were new endeavours for the team.

It’s great to hear that the win continues to have a ripple effect for them, establishing a much deeper benefit that extends beyond the team itself and into the wider organisation.

“We’re still quite new as a team,” Laura says. “It’s helped to cement our reputation internally as a really skilled and creative team who can help our colleagues achieve their goals too”.

Externally, it’s felt that their initial efforts towards “all the thinking, planning and creativity”, right through to the results of “getting decision makers to listen to young people’s voices, amplifying their views and experiences, to supporting participants, volunteers and staff with clear, engaging, accessible resource and comms”, is all being firmly seen as part of the charity’s impact and part of building its awareness.

Laura would encourage other team leaders to consider the role that wider recognition can have on motivation and morale, and recommends schemes like the Inspiring Communicator Awards as an influential way to demonstrate the impact your team is having.

Bio: Laura McIntosh is the Head of Brand Marketing at The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a youth charity that helps young people build lifelong belief in themselves, supporting them to take on their own challenges, follow their passions and discover talents they never knew they had. Their Engagement Team won the ‘Team of the Year’ in the Inspiring Communicator Awards 2024.