Amanda Spink is one of those individuals who follow through when they say they are going to give back. Amanda spent her early adulthood forging an awe inspiring career in the realm of Information Science.
In fact, while working as a Professor of Information Science and Technology in the UK, Amanda published a research paper that continues to exist as one of the top two most highly cited articles in her field. She similarly played a hand in the development of the Search Engine Optimisation industry worldwide. However, in 2012, Amanda became restless in the world of academia, and she decided to move into the business world to realise her own ideas.
Amanda and her husband relocated back to Australia and, armed with their observations of the fundraising events industries in the US and the UK, they spent 12 months developing the digital platform CharityDOs. CharityDOs is an Australian fundraising events calendar that has helped promote more than 25,000 events, raising funds to support thousands of charities and not-for-profit organisations. Since launching in March 2013, CharityDOs has already had more than 2 million users, and it continues to grow at approximately 40 per cent per year. Amanda explains that CharityDOs can accommodate any “ordinary Australians holding fundraisers to support their favourite charity or not for profit.”
The team at CharityDos attend on average two fundraisers each week, with Amanda testifying to CharityDOs ethos to unconditionally assist “any and all charities and their supporters holding fundraising events.” Amanda admits that she is partial to events supporting research into Breast Cancer and Parkinsons Disease, given that her own family members have had to endure the pain of these diagnoses. Amanda’s selflessness is seemingly insatiable, and she was recently nominated for a Telstra Business Award. In her trademark, unassuming style, Spink said that she was thankful for the nomination as it would help her “bring some more publicity to the many thousands of fundraisers held in Australia every year for such important causes.”
