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Senior fundraising and charity appointments in August 2026
Howard Lake | 31 August 2026 | News
Four sets of senior appointments have been announced across the sector this month, at the UK’s largest community funder, at the automotive industry’s charity, and at Lupus UK.
The National Lottery Community Fund appoints Julie Humphreys OBE
The The National Lottery Community Fund has appointed Julie Humphreys OBE as Executive Director for Country Portfolios. She joins from the Scottish Government, where she is Director for Tackling Child Poverty and Social Justice and Senior Responsible Owner for Scotland’s cross-government Child Poverty Programme. Her earlier roles include senior positions at the Cabinet Office, the Department for Education and the Scotland Office.
She takes up the role on 19 October and will lead the Fund’s work across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as it moves into the next phase of its strategy, It Starts With Community.
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David Knott, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Community Fund, said the appointment followed “a highly competitive process” and that Humphreys “combines strategic leadership with a proven ability to turn ambition into action”.
Two new board members at the Fund, and two on its England Committee
The Fund also announced two appointments to its UK Board: Michelle Mitchell OBE, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, and Sunder Katwala, Director of British Future and since May 2026 a Commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Both were appointed following a process led by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and join a ten-strong board chaired by Dame Julia Cleverdon.
They replace Peter Stewart LVO and Stuart Hobley, who step down at the end of their four-year terms.
Two members were also appointed to the Fund’s England Committee: Abigail Pogson, Chief Executive of the Barbican Centre and previously Chief Executive of The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, and Ugo Ikokwu, Grants Manager at Trust for London, where he leads the Racial and Economic Justice Fund. Recruitment for the Wales and Northern Ireland Committees is in progress.
In 2024-25 the Fund awarded over 13,000 grants worth more than £790 million across the UK.
Ben appoints a new chair and four trustees
Ben, the charity supporting people who work in the automotive industry, has appointed Jonathan Hewett as Chair alongside four new trustees, as it develops a long-term plan to 2030.
Hewett is Chief Executive of Thatcham Research and a trustee of the National Motor Museum. He joins with (see main image above) Darren Edwards, former Chief Executive of Sytner Group, who established a major fundraising initiative there; Georgina Hoare, Chief Executive of the PDA Society and a qualified psychodynamic psychotherapist; Damian Oton, Chief Commercial Officer at Motability Operations; and Pia Wilkes CBE, Chief Executive of the Vehicle Certification Agency.
Will Dalton, who has served as Interim Chair since March, remains on the board as a trustee.
Rachel Clift, Chief Executive of Ben, said the charity had “bold ambitions, not only to reach thousands more people with life-changing and lifesaving support, but to help shape a future where health and wellbeing are embedded at the heart of the automotive industry”.
Lupus UK appoints Ricky Chotai as Chair
Lupus UK has appointed Ricky Chotai as Chair of its Board of Trustees. He has served as a trustee for four years, most recently as Vice Chair and then Acting Chair, and lives with lupus himself.
He succeeds Elaine Holland, who died earlier this year. Caroline Olshewsky is Chief Executive of the charity.
- Fundraising and charity leadership appointments in April 2026 (15 April 2026)
- National Lottery Community Fund seeks to bring communities together with new UK fund (14 July 2023)
- 5-minute guides available to help trustees (3 February 2023)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.