Who We Are
TFN Team
We're always happy to chat at events, but until then, meet us here!
Eugenie Harvey, Chief Executive
I’ve known TFN for over a decade and in a number of different guises. Firstly as a neighbour when the charity I co-founded shared office space with TFN, secondly as a beneficiary after pitching at a TFN event, and thirdly as a member of the TFN team. From 2012-19 I was the inaugural International Director, exporting the TFN model to 20 countries outside of the UK, and now I’m very proud to be CEO.
Away from TFN, I’m a mother, dedicated yogi and in 2018 I was elected to Harlow District Council and appointed Portfolio Holder for Community and Wellbeing, a voluntary role I enjoy greatly.
Please don’t hesitate to drop me a line if you would like to talk about any aspect of TFN’s work.
Rebecca Smith, Operations Director
My first experience with TFN was joining a Connector event online and by the end of the evening I knew I had to join the team! I bring over 20 years’ experience in account management, business development and operations roles gained across the non-profit, corporate and education sectors in the UK and Australia. Naturally solution-focused, I am passionate about making a difference for small organisations who have the potential to make a big impact.
I love music (especially when it’s live) and sharing the highs and lows of being an Arsenal fan with my family.
Sally Hoang, Finance and Grants Manager
I graduated with a BA in English Literature from the University of Westminster. I started volunteering at my local charity shop at college and from then, I knew I wanted a career in the third sector.
I joined TFN from Mind, where I was Income and Operations Coordinator and realised I really enjoyed the finance side of working in charity. TFN is very fast paced, but it's really great working with such a lovely team and meeting the members.
In my spare time I enjoy being with my friends and family, trying to cook (emphasis on the trying!) and reading.
Mihaela Giurgiu, TFN International Collaborator
My first brush with TFN was in 2012 when my colleagues at the time were introducing the concept to business leaders and philanthropy professionals in Bucharest, Romania. I had the pleasure of attending my first event in 2013 in Battersea, London and I was so moved by the charities pitching that I ended up pledging to several organisations. Over the years my work to support development of community foundations in Romania and then across Europe kept me involved with the work of TFN. Since 2021 I have had the pleasure of helping to coordinate the activities of the international programme and witness the power of collective giving taking shape across the globe through the wonderful work of our international partners. In my other capacity I support community foundations across Europe to share knowledge and create spaces for meaningful reflection of their practice.
Outside of work I enjoy reading, solving word puzzles, cooking and hiking.
Inês Ribeiro, Communications Manager
Given my job title one would say that writing a small biog should be a walk in the park. Well, let’s agree to disagree.
Since I was a kid, I’ve always been interested in different subjects so it came to no surprise that as I was about to apply to art school I decided to go for economics instead (still managed to draw curves for three years). During this time, it became clear that being a consultant or auditor was not going to cut it for me, and I had long been passionate about international nonprofit. So, I came to London to study international relations, where I graduated with an MA.
Then, after a year working in the charity sector as a senior comms and marketing officer I got to meet TFN and the fantastic work the team does – and the rest is history.
Outside work, you’ll most likely find me with a book in hand walking to or from a park, knitting my latest project or learning Swahili (Duolingo is proud of my streak!).
Founders
The Funding Network was created in 2002 by a group of four individuals, with the goal of creating a forum where people could join together to learn about social change, the work of small-scale non-profits, and help fund as a group. Our four founders established the initial network which has evolved to what we know today.
Frederick Mulder CBE, Founder
Although I’m Canadian, I’ve lived in the UK since 1968, when I came over to finish my PhD in Philosophy. Fully intending to go back to Canada and teach university when I got my degree, I instead started a business in London dealing in original prints (etchings, engravings, lithographs, and woodcuts). The business went well from the start, and while I loved (and still love) the business I was also aware that the world had many injustices, and I developed the habit of tithing to projects that addressed those issues. Although there were many generous people in the art world, I didn’t actually know anyone else who was giving to projects addressing the kinds of issues I was concerned about, particularly abroad, and I made a number of mistakes early on. Fortunately, I got involved with a group of like-minded people, with whom I learned how much more interesting it was to have a peer group of givers to talk things over with, and how much further my limited funds went when pooled with those of other people.
I’ve come to realise over the years that giving, like many other activities, is more interesting, more satisfying, and probably more competent, if it is done in the company of other people. The money also seems to go further! Also, most giving is done in response to an appeal, sometimes received in the post, sometimes from someone you know, and what I think is so good about an organisation like TFN is that it belongs to the donors. By choosing to be proactive and thinking about what we want to support, we take responsibility for the process; by inviting organisations to come and present to us, by raising the questions we think are important, we also take responsibility for the outcome of our meetings, and I think this makes us more generous. For me, TFN has made the experience of giving a whole lot more interesting; there’s nothing quite like hearing the story of someone’s work and realising I can do something to help make it happen.
Frederick Mulder was the winner of the Judges’ Special Beacon Fellowship Prize in March 2004 and was awarded a CBE for Services to Philanthropy in the 2012 New Year honours list.
Polly McLean, Co-founder
I was born in South Africa in 1974; my father was a rich businessman, and my mother an activist working for nuclear disarmament. Between the ages of 7 and 14 I spent alternate months with each of them, living very different lifestyles: at mum’s at the age of 10 I had to create a wall chart for pocket money spending, including a ‘give to charity’/tithing section, did my own washing etc. At dad’s we had a housekeeper, swimming pool and exotic holidays. I was very close to both of them. Dad died was I was 14, leaving a very complicated estate, which was only sorted out and distributed when I was 19.
During those teenage years, mum continued to be concerned that I learnt how to be generous and sensible with the money I was going to come into, and introduced me to several philanthropists, including Frederick Mulder! During university I did a training course that I wanted my friends to experience, but it cost £235 and they were all students and broke, so I paid for some of them – this was my first real experience of giving money.
Just after university, a friend (Felicia) wrote me a very inspirational letter asking me to fund her postgraduate studies. I did. After that lots of friends approached me for funding, and I was upset – not because they asked but because in most cases I wasn’t inspired enough by what they were proposing to do to want to give, but I didn’t know how to say no without ruining the friendship. Felicia expressed a desire to reciprocate the support I had given her by helping me learn how to say no; together we set up The Build Trust (UK), a grant-making charity with a specific focus on my main area of concern at the time: personal and social education for underprivileged children.
After university I went to South Africa, where I was born, for 6 months and worked as a creche assistant in a township project for women with malnourished children; this opened my eyes to some of the issues around social change work in developing countries. I came back and completed a MA in Effective Learning (dissertation on meditation in English primary schools). Around this time I met up with the philanthropists mum had introduced me to and did some co-funding with them. We wanted to spread the paradigm further and took steps that led to the establishment of The Funding Network. My favourite part of TFN is exposure to such inspiring projects.
So far through sponsoring and other forms of fundraising I have helped social change organisations raise approximately £100,000. I have also personally given around £300,000. I also work as a French to English translator and translated two novels for publication.
Sue Gillie, Co-founder
I was the first Oxbridge student in 10 years from my distinctly moderate grammar school in South London. However, my subject, Natural Sciences, and my ambition to become a nuclear physicist, proved a mistake as I couldn’t do maths in three dimensions, and I also began to realise I was a people person and a doer, not a backroom type. I left my first job, as a financial analyst with RTZ (where I met my husband), in 1969 when I was expecting my first child, and soon after we went to Montreal for three years. My first step into the charitable world occurred here, quite by accident: I thought I was volunteering to make sandwiches but found I had been recruited as a counsellor for the Family Planning Association of Montreal and subsequently became its vice-president.
Back in England in 1982, another chance encounter led me into becoming an estate agent, first as staff and then buying my employer out. I built up a small chain, bringing my husband in as a partner when several branches became too much to manage with two teenage sons, a large house and very big garden. We sold out in 1988, at the peak of the first property boom, and found ourselves with no need for full time jobs but many years before us. It was at this point that we discovered the Network for Social Change, a sort of philanthropic talking shop for people with a certain degree of wealth. NFSC changed my life from the first meeting we attended as I learnt there about Ashoka, an overseas development charity with which I very soon became deeply involved, running the UK branch and chairing the trustee board. Seven years of this opened more doors for me, notably into the New Economics Foundation of which I became a trustee and chaired for seven years. I am currently chair of PG Time Bank and of start-up CleanConscience. Past positions include trustee of the Nationwide Foundation and of the Association of Charitable Foundations, among others. Being part of the founding group of TFN and helping it grow has been enormously satisfying.
My years with Ashoka had another major effect, that of introducing me – and my husband – to the huge pleasure and interest of overseas travel, not as a tourist but seeing the underside of countries, real life, by visiting Ashoka Fellows in many developing countries. We feel deeply privileged to have had such an interesting life, and to have met so many really inspiring people. I am sure we have got at least as much out of our philanthropic activities as we have put in.
Paul Kelland, Co-founder
I am a London GP and I live and work in Hackney with my partner and 2 children. My practice is based in Shoreditch in the south west corner of Hackney and I have been working there since 1998. The population we serve is hugely diverse and is drawn from the many deprived estates that dominate the area.
My Partner is also a GP and we have both been supporting social change projects for many years. We became involved in The Funding Network because we were interested in developing an organization which would bring individual funders, like ourselves, (often with modest incomes), and social change organisations (who often run on small budgets) together in a mutually beneficial way.
Social change funding remains an exciting and powerful way of influencing society in a positive way. Many of the individuals and projects we have funded through The Funding Network have been truly inspirational and have gone on to make their communities healthier, happier and fairer.
As for me, I was born in 1962 in Plymouth. My father was a geophysicist. His work meant that every 18 months or so our family were on the move. We went from Iran to The Lebanon, from Libya to Saudi Arabia, and from Texas to Abu Dhabi. As a teenager I had already been to 8 schools, had lessons in English, Arabic and French, been evacuated twice, and driven from Lebanon to the UK in a beaten up old Renault.
After a spell at boarding school in Devon I went onto study Architecture at University College London. After qualifying I worked on a range of projects in London, Edinburgh and Zimbabwe. It was during this time that my interests shifted and I decided to retrain as a Doctor.
I studied medicine in North and East London and developed an interest in Inner City health care. After a brief spell in Colombia I took over a small practice in Hackney with a colleague. Hackney hosts many of the new waves of immigrants arriving in the UK so our patient mix is constantly changing. I love my work and I find life as an Inner City GP endlessly enriching and challenging.
Trustees
Our Trustees give their time to help shape and direct the future of the organisation. If you are interested in joining our Board, please complete this form and we will be in touch.
OFOVWE AIG-IMOUKHUEDE
I read law at Kings College, London and hold an MBA from the University of Cambridge and an MSc in Development Management from the London School of Economics. Although I started my career in the banking industry, I have spent many years engaged with the not for profit sector.
I joined the board of The Funding Network because I am keen to support grassroots organisations. Having founded and run one such organisation, I know first-hand the positive impact that they can make to the communities they serve. I am passionate about education projects and believe in the power of collective action to make a difference in the world.
Wendy Brierley
After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, I spent most of my career in financial services working in a variety of roles across investment banking including audit, finance, risk management and banking operations. On my retirement I decided a complete change was needed and I joined my local Citizens Advice as a Trustee and Treasurer. I attended a TFN fundraising event and was amazed at the passion of all involved – the charities and members as well as the team at TFN. I found it incredibly uplifting to hear from the individuals working to support people in need and I’m very happy to have been invited onboard as a Trustee.
Christina Chambers
I studied philosophy at Kings College London and law at the University of Bristol. I am currently an associate solicitor at Mishcon de Reya LLP and am heavily involved with pro bono, impact, access to law and social justice work. I got involved with TFN purely by chance at one of their fundraising events and was blown away by both the fledgling charities who were pitching, and the generosity of TFN members. TFN is a really unique platform and addresses the two major issues that charitable ventures tend to face, which is unsurprisingly not a lack of incredible ideas or motivation, but: 1) who would fund them; and 2) how to get these prospective funders’ attention?
I jumped at the opportunity to be a trustee for TFN, and I am looking forward to contributing even in some small way, to bringing the vision of these charities to life.
Ailis Clarke, Deputy Chair
Nothing can prepare you for the joy of TFN. This is a wonderful charity and I'm incredibly proud to be a part of. It that pulls like-minded people together to support brilliant ideas that directly impact the communities we live in,the world we care about and the lives we are all responsible for. When we operate together the impact is so much greater.
I read Law at Trinity College Dublin and Katholeike Universteit Leuven, later I read Psychology at the University of Surrey and Psychotherapy at the University of Greenwich. I now work in private practice as a psychotherapist and executive coach. Come and join us at an event and meet some of the most inspiring changemakers in our world.
Jennifer Johnston
My school careers counsellor in South Africa laughed when I said I wanted to change the world for the better when I grew up. The same teacher despaired when I declined to specialise. It seemed to me that changing the world was a broad job.
After thirteen years learning a variety of banking trades, today I work as a generalist in financial services. I care passionately about playing a role in tackling problems in social inequality, climate change and international infrastructure development. TFN enables my small contribution to have an impact by pooling similarly motivated individual contributions together in a unique, fun, engaging way. I am honoured to serve as a Trustee with this exceptional group of people.
Isabel Lee
My background is in tech and the third sector. Despite the breadth of my roles, they all have revolved around working with people: fostering cross-company partnerships, establishing collaboration with teams and developing others. I am currently the Outreach and Partnerships Advisor for the Bank of England, overseeing the Bank's public engagement programmes and establishing third party relationships to increase public awareness and engagement. I also had over four years’ experience being Chief of Staff at Zoopla and the Royal Mencap Society. Prior to these roles, I also held partnership roles at JustGiving, leading on corporate partnerships.
I joined The Funding Network because I believe in the power of small charities and grassroot organisations to affect change, especially for local communities. I am looking forward to learning from and supporting these organisations through my new role.
I am originally from the Philippines but have made London my home for the past 15 years. In my spare time I enjoy travelling, coaching/mentoring and navigating the world of raising two girls under 3.
Alan Morton
Following a career in the private equity industry, I now concentrate my time supporting young and inspiring charities to grow and develop by being a trusted-friend bringing finance, growth and strategy insight and experience.
I am particularly inspired by people who see a problem in society that they want to fix, and go to start or lead organisations that make society fairer, safer and stronger: so am particularly drawn to and am passionate about The Funding Network's model of connecting these dynamic impactful charities and social enterprises with people who want to support financially to help them grow, thrive and tackle inequality.
Kawika Solidum, Chair
I work for the Centre for Social Justice as its Head of Region (North West). The CSJ, an award-winning thinktank, exists to put social justice at the heart of British politics. My role is to harness the knowledge of frontline poverty-alleviating charities to ensure CSJ’s policy work reflects the real experiences of the communities in this region.
Previously, I was the Director of Engagement at London Youth, a membership charity that serves and supports over 500 community youth organisations in London. I have served as the interim Director of Communications Strategy and Engagement at Step Up To Serve, the charity coordinating the #iwill campaign, and also the Chief Executive of BeyondMe, a social enterprise that helped to match pro bono business professionals to charity projects. My range of experience spans the public, private and voluntary sectors, including working for Impetus and Clifford Chance.
I joined the Board of Trustees for The Funding Network in 2018 because I believe in the power of small charities, and I will always advocate for them to have greater impact and influence. I delighted to have stepped up to become its Chair, leading its Board from January 2023.
I am married and have two young boys and we live in Manchester (having previously lived in London, New York City, Washington DC and Austin).
PATRON
Jon Snow is the Patron of The Funding Network and a British journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for presenting Channel 4 News and has been a key part of the network since 2011.
Jon Snow
A long time ago, before I became a journalist, I worked for three years as Director of the New Horizon Youth Centre - a day centre for vulnerable and homeless teenagers in London. I have been on the Board ever since, and Chair since 1986. Raising money for young people whom society often regards as agents of their own misfortune is hard indeed. Then I heard of The Funding Network and the extraordinary Fred Mulder, its founder. New Horizon successfully bid to pitch at a TFN event at Coutts Bank in 2008. On the night, there was an amazing buzz amid the throng of some four hundred people - mainly in the 25-40 age group. I was spellbound by the process and the degree to which those who presented were engaged. We emerged with a staggering £37,000, which made a profound difference to the day centre's needs.
Fred, followed by Michael Maynard and now Sam Lush, had little difficulty in attracting my interest in putting my shoulder to TFN's wheel as Patron. I'm delighted to be involved with a group of such generous funders. I love the process of raising the money. I'd like to see our outreach to other cities and succeed - the signs are good so far. I'm very proud to be involved in one of the most original funding efforts in these times of austerity.
Volunteers
We are lucky to have a number of dedicated volunteers that work across the UK in our regional networks.
We are always on the lookout for anyone wishing to volunteer their skills and time to us. Get in touch with us today.
Become a Member
The Funding Network is made up of individuals and businesses who want to support social change. Members of TFN can increase their understanding of the social change sector, deepen their engagement with the causes they give to, share their passion for social change, help organisations they already support and increase the impact of their donations.
