The Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RSABI) has announced the appointment of Laura Young as its new fundraising executive.
In the role, Young will execute a fundraising strategy to support the RSABI’s work to provide financial, practical and emotional support to people involved in Scottish agriculture.
The charity said demand for its services is steadily increasing, and that Young’s support will help ensure that it has the income needed to meet expected demand in the coming years.
On her new role, Young said she was delighted to have joined the inspirational team at RSABI.
“I’m excited to be working in an industry I am passionate about and playing a part in the great work RSABI does to support people in Scottish agriculture,” she said.
“Having built up my marketing experience in the premium spirits industry, I’m really enjoying getting back to my roots in Scottish agricultural and look forward to putting my experience into practice for such a good cause.”
Laura Young
With a background in global brand marketing, Young brings over a decade of experience in brand management to her new role.
Her most recent role was as a brand manager for International Beverage, where she was responsible for planning, managing and implementing brand strategy for two single malts within the portfolio.
She grew up on a dairy farm near Fochabers, where her family farmed from 1979 until 2013.
Prior to farming at The Den, her family had dairy farms at Arradoul Mains, Auchintae and Muirton at Buckie, as well as breeding and showing Clydesdale horses for 140 years.
For the past eight years, Young has volunteered as a steward for the Belted Galloway and dairy sections at the Royal Highland Show which she took on after a number of years working in the shows livestock and competitions department.
Her role in the fundraising team at RSABI will see her join the charity’s head of fundraising, Pauline Macmillan and fundraising executive Margo Wills.
Chief executive of RSABI, Carol McLaren, said the charity was delighted to have Young on board.
“This is an incredibly important time for the work of RSABI, with a period of change on the horizon for Scottish agriculture and many farmers and crofters struggling with increased input costs,” McLaren said.
“One of the great strengths of the charity is the valuable support we receive from people in the Scottish agricultural industry and it is vital we make the most of this to ensure we can continue to deliver strongly for those in our industry who need our help to get back on track.”
