UNESCO

Project: Fundraising Consultancy

I have worked with UNESCO since 2023. ‘Local to Global’ was a project funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. As an external fundraising consultant, I worked with a range of UK UNESCO designated sites developing detailed fundraising strategies and feasibility reports to support their long term sustainability. An overarching report to the UK National Commission for UNESCO made recommendations for developing fundraising capacity for the Commission and wider UNESCO network in the UK, and I delivered training and best practice guidelines across the UK UNESCO sites.

During 2025 I supported a national data led project which aimed to develop data led solutions to climate change at UNESCO sites in the UK, developing shareable open source tools and models replicable by natural and heritage sites worldwide.

I continue to support a range of designated sites across the UK UNESCO network with fundraising advice, bid writing, and mentoring as well as bespoke projects to develop strategies and plans for income generation, governance reviews and advice around charity registration.

Testimonial: Matt Rabagliati, Head of Policy & Research, UK National Commission for UNESCO

I’ve had the great pleasure of working with Claire over the past two years at UNESCO UK. She is an exceptionally dedicated and effective fundraiser and strategist, instrumental in helping us and our UNESCO sites communicate their impact and diversify their funding. What sets Claire apart is her honesty, her remarkable ability to synthesise large amounts of complex information, and her talent for crafting clear, fundable, and high-value propositions for a wide range of funders, but also senior internal audiences and stakeholders. She is also incredibly discreet and organised, someone you can fully trust with sensitive and confidential information. I couldn’t recommend Claire highly enough, not only for her fundraising expertise, but for her skill in helping organisations articulate and deliver their value with clarity and confidence.

Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site (2024)

I worked closely with the World Heritage Site Coordination Unit (hosted by Wiltshire Council) to develop their plans to diversify and increase vital funding for the development of work to preserve and protect the Outstanding Universal Value of this iconic World Heritage Site.  The work included advising on governance issues, developing a fundraising case for support and a project pipeline for funding bids, providing training, and setting out options to improve and enhance ways of working across a complex multi-agency environment. 

Testimonials from UNESCO designated sites 2023-24:

Claire Selman, Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site Partnership Manager

Claire worked with the Stonehenge & Avebury World Heritage Site Partnership as part of a National Lottery Heritage Fund project exploring financial resilience and diversification of funding for increased project delivery. Our experience of working with Claire is perfectly summarised by several partners stating they wish Claire had joined us sooner. Claire’s work explored in depth how a new charity could operate and seek funding, producing a Strategic Plan and Fundraising Strategy. Claire applied a wealth of experience and insight invaluable to the advancement of our project and the longevity of its outcomes. She is an excellent communicator, consulting successfully with a wide range of large organisations and local stakeholders. I’m particularly grateful that Claire without hesitation adapted to the needs of our project and partners and she quickly became a trusted and well-respected member of our project team.

Stephen Balfour, Project Manager at Antonine Wall World Heritage Site

Claire’s input has been invaluable. Claire analysed a vast amount of data and then translated this into an easy to understand and actionable Fundraising Strategy which we will utilise in future funding bids.

Dyfi Biosphere Coordinator

Claire went the extra mile in making sure she understood our position and potential, absorbing a large amount of material before and during a series of meetings. Through a series of drafts, she then provided us with a really useful fundraising strategy accompanies by an analysis of potential funding sources for us to work up into more specific plans.

Graham Worton, Black Country UNESCO Global Geopark Coordinator

Claire is a very able communicator, very thoughtful and considerate in approach, very knowledgeable and responsive to project and partner demands. She has demonstrated particular commitment and dedication throughout the process of creating a pragmatic fundraising strategy for the Black Country UNESCO Global Geopark. This work included listening to the ambitions of multiple partners, rationalising these against corporate plans and national priorities, to develop a thorough strategic appraisal of options and opportunities to guide our future choices and decisions. This work will be a major asset to securing our future sustainability and growing as a UK heritage territory.