Mark Astarita has this morning announced that he will be standing down from his role as director of fundraising with the British Red Cross, but will remain within the movement.
Astarita made the announcement on his personal Twitter channel in a short video in which he said he would be leaving the British Red Cross after 14 years in the role. However, Astarita said that while he is leaving the British Red Cross, he would not be leaving the Red Cross as an organisation.
Astarita said: “I’m leaving the British Red Cross, but I’m not leaving the Red Cross. I’m going to be setting up a global hub for the whole of the Red Cross movement and be its director.” In the video, Astarita also confirmed that he would be setting up a new company alongside fundraising consultants Tobin Aldrich and Imogen Ward to help run the hub on behalf of the Red Cross.
Well now here is my news pic.twitter.com/rI51C1Pa11
— Mark Astarita OBE (@AstaritaMark) July 25, 2017
Aldrich and Ward currently run a consultancy together, with clients including Macmillan, WWF and the Disasters Emergency Committee. Astarita confirmed the consultancy will now be known as Astarita, Aldrich and Ward.
The British Red Cross confirmed that Astarita would stay with the organisation until the end of October.
In an official statement, Astarita said: “It has been a huge honour to lead such a talented and committed fundraising team at the British Red Cross. I have felt enormous pride during the last 14 years at what we have been able to achieve together.
The last few months in particular will stay with me forever. The attacks in London and Manchester shocked us all and launching three emergency appeals in the UK in two months is unprecedented. The £23m we have raised so far will help hundreds of families affected by those terrible events.
"I am pleased to say that I will be staying within the Red Cross family. In November I will take up the position as director of a new global fundraising hub for the Red Cross Movement. The hub will provide fundraising capacity, insight, data and expertise to 190 Red Cross national societies."
Astarita joined the British Red Cross in 2003 as its fundraising director and has since been responsible for launching over 60 emergency appeals for the charity. In his time with the organisation he had management responsibility of £150m of income, nearly 1,000 staff and over 10,000 volunteers.
In Fundraising Magazine
Prior to joining the Red Cross, Astarita was deputy chief executive of The National Deaf Children’s Society and has worked in the fundraising sector for over 25 years.
Astarita was also previously chair of the Institute of Fundraising, serving a term between 2011 and 2014 and was named an IoF trustee in 2008. He was also a trustee of St Joseph's Hospice.
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