Few people have worked with more charities than Olivia Cosgrove.

Olivia, who lives in Enniskillen, created Donor2Deed, a software tool connecting donors to charity projects via Google Earth and Maps, providing them with more choice and informing them of the impact of their donation. She has had plaudits from no less than the creator of Google Earth, Michael Jones.

Originally from Monaghan, Olivia has worked with some 30 charities since 2009, including UNICEF, the Dublin Simon Community and US Meals on Wheels. Her latest focus is companies with CSR projects who want to communicate to others the good work they are doing within their communities.

Olivia has been nominated as a Community Hero as part of Fermanagh Trust’s 20th anniversary year.

A trained accountant with KPMG in Belfast, she travelled to Rwanda in 1995 with Concern, an audit client. While there, she managed the money for an area the size of the UK. She later lectured at the University of Malawi with the World Bank before heading to Kosovo in 1999 where she was publicly recognized by UNHCR as the leader of the only project to successfully complete a target to rehabilitate the homes of 1,000 families before Balkan winter set in. Following the Indonesian Ocean Tsunami in 2005, Olivia developed and implemented a logistics system for an international medical agency operating in Banda Aceh, the worst hit area. She thought it would be wonderful if every donor could have her experience of knowing exactly where their donations had been spent by a charity in a country having difficulties.

“That’s where the idea for enabling the donor to connect directly to the project came from; allowing them to stay connected to the project and understand the real impact they make,” she said.

Donor2Deed is “trying to restore the faith of donors by enabling charities to become more transparent to their donors while increasing their online donations,” Olivia explains.

“Charities have very tight budgets. They are under a lot of pressure to demonstrate value for money. That leads them to a risk-averse culture, whereby they are not able to try something new because there is no demonstrated return of investment. I suggest they can use technology to solve that problem.” While Olivia’s name is synonymous with Donor2Deed, she is also well known for inspiring people to use the waterways of Lough Erne. As Chairman of Row The Erne, she has spearheaded volunteers to built a curach and row it. Now it is a fantastic resource for people from all walks of life, to get to know the water better.

“I had rowed the Colmkille(a 38 feet long vessel or curach) to Iona and around the north coast of Spain. I had the opportunity to bring it to Lough Erne in 2013 for six weeks in June. Local people could have rowing sessions from two hours or a three-day expedition.” Because of that experience, Olivia and many others were enthused and set about a project to build their own curach. With £10,000 funding from the Big Lottery, they involved 60 people and 2,500 volunteer hours building it.

Launched at the end of August, it has been used regularly several times a week since.

Olivia says they work with Positive Futures and this project allows them and others access the water in a different way.

“We’ve had 700 people introduced to the water for the first time and it has created an outdoor community space. It’s had a positive impression and it’s good for everyone who has been involved,” she said.

“We want to give people the opportunity to use the water,” she said.

The Row the Erne project has been recognised beyond Fermanagh. The project has now reached the final of the Canals and Rivers Trust’s Living Waterways Awards which take place tonight(Thursday) in London. The awards celebrate the work done by individuals, communities and organisations to improve their canals and rivers, making them exciting places to live, learn and spend time.

A group of 16 from the Row The Erne project have already made their way to London for the grand occasion.

Before leaving, Olivia and other volunteers on the Menapian Curach, read poetry on the waterway as part of the FLive events last week.

Olivia said that once she used to watch TV, now she rows and uses the lake for recreation, if not through the Row The Erne project, then through Erne Paddlers.

She wants their project as a finalist in the Living Waterways Awards to be an acknowledgement of the many clubs and organisations such as the Lough Erne Yacht Club and Portora Rowing Club encouraging people use the water.