F A S T . . . F U N . . . F U N D – R A I S I N G . . .

 

CHARITY/FUND-RAISING AUCTIONEER & MC

 

JOHN“FINGERS” FINGLETON

John “Fingers” Fingleton has undertaken almost 400 Charity and Fundraising Auctions, raising well over

£6 million for numerous worthwhile causes and, in the process, attracting a welter of glittering testimonials.

 

He has worked often for The Lord’s (and Lady) Taverners, and Chance to Shine, two of cricket’s foremost charities, as well as for rugby’s Wooden Spoon Society. Amongst the other multitude of good causes he has assisted are Action Aid in Cambodia, Alzheimer’s Society, Animal Health Trust, Asthma UK, Autism Speaks,  Breast Cancer Care, Brian Johnston Memorial Trust, British Forces Foundation, British Heart Foundation,  Bunburys Cricket Club, Burma Star, Cancer Research,  Children’s Hyperinsulism, Children-in-Crisis,  Countryside Alliance, Dance Umbrella, DebRA, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Dyslexia Action, Elephant Family, Friends of the Commonwealth, Hedgehog Care, Gurkha Welfare Trust, Happy Child Foundation/Thailand, Jenga Soul of Africa, Leukaemia Busters, MaAfrika Tikkun, Mencap, Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (UK), Nieue Bethesda Arts Foundation/South Africa, Noel Orphanage/Rwanda, Olivia’s Vision, Primary Club, Prince’s Trust, QEFD, Radar, RAF Benevolent Fund, RAFT, Royal Court Theatre, Red Cross Children’s Hospital/South Africa, Royal London Society for the Blind, Royal Marsden, SSAFA-Forces Help, St. John Ambulance, Sarah Lamping Memorial Fund, Save the Children, Sparks, Springboard, Starlight Children’s Foundation, Teenage Cancer Trust, Thames Valley Air Ambulance, Tusk/Friends of Lewa, UK Brain Tumour Society, Umthombo Street Children/Durban, UNICEF, and Veniños (Venezuelan Children in Need); and numerous school appeals, including Francis Holland, Reed’s, Stowe, Uppingham and the Jan Kriel School/Cape Town.  He has been privileged to mount the rostrum at Sotheby’s, whilst work overseas has aided, inter alia, in the USA, the New York Police and Fire Departments’ charities, Preventing Child Abuse in North Carolina; in Australia, the Lord’s Taverners, CanDo4Kids and Novita; in Europe, the International School/Brussels; and, in South Africa, Johannesburg Sportsman’s Club and Pirates Club.

 

He has helped to raise substantial sums for leading cricketers during their Benefit years, including England captains Andrew Strauss, Andrew (Freddie) Flintoff, Paul Collingwood, Mike Gatting, Graham Gooch, Nasser Hussain and Mark Butcher, as well as Mark Ramprakash, Phil Tufnell, Matthew Hoggard, Nick Knight, Darren Maddy, Shaun Udal, Martin and Darren Bicknell, Mike Roseberry, Peter Such, Ronnie Irani, and Raj Maru; rugby stars Martin Johnson, Laurence Dallaglio, Will Greenwood and Richard Hill; Spurs and England footballer Gary Mabbutt; and Middlesex, Durham, Essex, Hampshire and Surrey County Cricket Clubs.

 

Among his attributes - belied, perhaps, by his appearance! - are speed (there is nothing duller and less successful than a slow auction) and an ability to ‘relate’ to his audience, so persuading many to pay far more than they had ever envisaged … for items they never even knew they wanted!

 

Other services include MC-ing events, and fun fund-raising techniques including the ubiquitously popular “Heads or Tails” game.  He also undertakes commentary and compering duties and chairs discussion panels at cricket matches, lunches, dinners and other events, sporting or otherwise, for commercial, corporate and social occasions.  For many years, until its closure in 2008, he hosted the monthly “LTITM” (Last Tuesday in the Month) lunches at the Cricketers Club of London, when the guest of honour was invariably a celebrated representative from the world of cricket or other sports.

 

A modest commission is normally chargeable which, as he usually comfortably exceeds his clients’ best expectations, is invariably far more than covered by his achievements. He is also able to source signed and authenticated memorabilia from the worlds of sport, music, show-business, art, politics and current affairs, contemporary or historical, and supply them at agreed ‘sale or return’ prices, together with a number of ‘money-can’t-buy’ opportunities.  Net proceeds above reserve prices are donated to the charity.

E-mail: Fingers@Fingleton.co.uk   Web: www.Fingersauctions.com