Daniel's Story

Daniel Shavin’s fundraising journey began at 23, living in a backpacker hostel in Brisbane.

Fundraising gave him the freedom to travel across Australia and New Zealand while earning a good income, helping him save $13,000 for a snowboarding trip in Queenstown.

After a year of ups and downs, Daniel nearly quit, until a national sales competition motivated him to dig deep. He secured a top-five place and won a trip to Vanuatu with the Fred Hollows Foundation, where witnessing the real impact of his work reignited his purpose and belief in resilience.

Following a 3½-year sponsorship in New Zealand, Daniel’s motivation waned, and he considered quitting for an easier path. Then, a timely opportunity to return to Australia came his way.

Starting fresh, he built sales teams from zero, embraced flexibility, and viewed setbacks as chances to innovate. Within ten months, he assembled a 15-person sales team and earned promotion to Sales Manager, later founding Ignite as a subcontracting agency.

Under Daniel’s leadership, Ignite expanded from a single office to four locations across NSW, VIC, QLD, and NZ. Despite facing fierce competition, COVID lockdowns, and challenges that shrunk the operation back to one office, his commitment never faltered.

Pivoting the business to become a direct supplier, Daniel helped Ignite secure contracts with some of Australia’s largest charities.

For Daniel, the greatest success is not a contract but the alumni who have grown into leaders and subcontractors themselves. At Ignite, he embodies values of resilience, adaptability, flexibility, passion for purpose-driven work, and genuine care for teammates and donors.

Now nine years in, Daniel continues to lead Ignite as a launchpad for those willing to step out of their comfort zones.