Fundraising and charity leadership appointments in December 2025
Howard Lake | 9 December 2025 | News
Here are the latest new appointments in fundraising and charity leadership roles in the UK, covering November and December.
Fashion Museum Bath Foundation
Lesley Exley is joining the Fashion Museum Bath Foundation as a Trustee. Her appointment comes as the Foundation works to secure the future of the museum and its internationally renowned collections.
Her career spans retail, luxury, digital and the arts, having held senior board roles at leading international brands, including Selfridges, L’Oréal, and Laura Ashley. She currently serves as a Senior Advisor at The Inzito Partnership, a boutique executive search firm.
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She has been actively involved in fundraising for 30 years supporting organisations such as the British Red Cross and The Worshipful Company of Pattenmakers.
She also serves as a Trustee and RemCo Chair of The Retail Trust and is a Director of The Holburne Museum, Bath, reinforcing her connections to the city’s cultural sector. She is a member of WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications Leadership).
The Fashion Museum Bath Foundation, established in 2024, is an independent charity dedicated to supporting the establishment and long-term sustainability of the new museum.
It has embarked on its largest ever philanthropic appeal to transform the Old Post Office into a new museum that brings fashion to life for local and global audiences.
Friends for Leisure
Disabled children’s charity Friends for Leisure has announced the appointment of Amanda Hunt as its new General Manager. Having worked with the Cheshire East charity since 2023, Amanda will now be responsible for overseeing its day-to-day operations and leading its comprehensive programme of activities.
Amanda’s connection to the charity is personal, as two of her children have additional needs, contributing to her passion for supporting disabled young people. She is taking on the leadership role at a crucial time, following news that the charity has had to introduce a charge for its services due to funding challenges.
Before taking up the General Manager role, Amanda served as a project worker for the charity, covering the Central and North regions of Cheshire East. She highlights the issue of securing sufficient funding as a competitive challenge impacting charities across the UK. Amanda’s leadership is focused on shaping the future of the charity and appealing to the local community and businesses to support their fundraising efforts, which includes the ‘30 for 30’ campaign to raise an additional £30,000.
NSPCC
The NSPCC has appointed Tracey Pritchard to lead its new Engagement and Fundraising directorate. In her new role Pritchard will be responsible for boosting the leading children’s charity’s efforts to grow its income and supporter base by building on the work of her predecessor, interim Director of Income Generation Tim Hunter.
Having started her career as a fundraiser she has held senior leadership roles including Executive Director of Engagement at Prostate Cancer UK and Director of Engagement at Friends of the Earth.
For the past four years, she was the Director of Engagement and Income Generation at the RSPCA, where she led an integrated, audience-first approach to growing income and brand engagement. She has also served as a trustee, offering a broad perspective on the sector.
Oxfam GB
Oxfam GB has welcomed two new trustees to its Board as part of its governance renewal cycle. These appointments are intended to strengthen the Board’s collective experience and capacity as the charity continues to focus on tackling poverty and inequality globally and in the UK.
Rebecca Denny has joined Raiser as Co-Founder, bringing over 15 years of experience in charity sector fundraising, impact evaluation and leadership. Her career began in international development before moving into roles across national and regional charities including the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, and 1851 Trust, where strategy, income generation and insight-driven impact have been at the heart of her work. In 2019, Rebecca founded The Charity Spark, a consultancy which supports charities and non-profits with their strategy, evaluation and fundraising. Her work in this space will continue alongside her role at Raiser.
Rebecca is known for her collaborative approach, her commitment to elevating beneficiary voice, and her track record in developing sustainable, whole-organisation strategies that enable charities to reach more people and improve outcomes.
At Raiser, Rebecca will work alongside Luke to lead on strategic development, sector partnerships, and have a particular focus on insight-led impact; ensuring the platform is shaped by the real needs, challenges and ambitions of fundraisers and charities. Rebecca brings an early-stage evaluation app into Raiser that seeks to simplify impact measurement and provide charities with the tools they need to tell the stories of change in their community.
Raiser is a new platform designed to simplify fundraising and overhaul the relationship between funder and charity, bring clarity to data, and help charities build more resilient and future-proof funding relationships.
Rebecca is an experienced charity trustee (currently at Wildheart Trust) and volunteer roles which anchor here in the small charity space, and is delighted to be building Raiser with Luke, addressing systemic issues that impact so many charities.
Andrew Tivey joins as a Trustee and will become the Honorary Treasurer. He brings significant experience in finance, audit, and risk. He is currently a Trustee of The Police Federation and until recently served as Chair of Victim Support. His other leadership experience includes being a Non-Executive Board Member and Chair of Audit and Risk at The National Crime Agency.
Gemma Sherrington brings considerable charity leadership experience. She is currently the CEO of Refuge and is also a Trustee of London’s Air Ambulance Charity. She previously held the role of Interim CEO at Save the Children UK and was formerly a Trustee at the Disasters and Emergencies Committee (DEC).
As they were appointed Charles Gurassa (Chair) and Mitesh Patel (Trustee) completed their terms of office and stepped down as trustees.
Deputy Chairs Nana Afadzinu and Annie Hudson have been appointed acting Chairs of the Oxfam GB Board. This helps ensure continuous governance leadership while the Board continues the process of appointing a permanent Chair. Balwant Singh, Martha Mackenzie, Les Campbell and Tunde Olanrewaju have agreed to extend their terms.
Raiser
Rebecca Denny has joined Raiser as Co-Founder, bringing over 15 years of experience in charity sector fundraising, impact evaluation and leadership.
Her career began in international development before moving into roles across national and regional charities including the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, and 1851 Trust, where strategy, income generation and insight-driven impact have been at the heart of her work. In 2019, she founded The Charity Spark, a consultancy which supports charities and non-profits with their strategy, evaluation and fundraising. Her work in this space will continue alongside her role at Raiser.
Rebecca is known for her collaborative approach, her commitment to elevating beneficiary voice, and her track record in developing sustainable, whole-organisation strategies that enable charities to reach more people and improve outcomes.
At Raiser, Rebecca will work alongside Luke Wilkinson to lead on strategic development, sector partnerships, and have a particular focus on insight-led impact; ensuring the platform is shaped by the real needs, challenges and ambitions of fundraisers and charities, and small charities in particular.
She brings an early-stage evaluation app into Raiser that seeks to simplify impact measurement and provide charities with the tools they need to tell the stories of change in their community.
Raiser is a new platform designed to simplify fundraising and overhaul the relationship between funder and charity, bringing clarity to data, and helping charities build more resilient and future-proofed funding relationships.
Rebecca is an experienced charity trustee (currently at Wildheart Trust) and volunteer roles which anchor her in the small charity space. She said: “I am delighted to be building Raiser with Luke, addressing systemic issues that impact so many charities”.
Fundraising Regulator
The Fundraising Regulator has announced the appointment of three new Board members, Josephine Swinhoe, Ian Karet, and Barbara Kasumu, all taking up their roles in 2026.
The trio brings diverse expertise spanning charitable fundraising, law, and regulation, all valuable as the Regulator implements the new Code of Fundraising Practice.
Josephine Swinhoe joins with substantial experience in charitable fundraising, governance, and commercial leadership. She has spent over 20 years in the sector, working in small charities and holding senior roles. She was the first woman to hold the role of Executive Director of Income Generation at the NSPCC and served as Director of Fundraising and Marketing at Alzheimer’s Society. She is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIoF).
Ian Karet brings extensive legal knowledge to the board. He is a solicitor and partner at Linklaters LLP and a Deputy High Court Judge. His expertise in charity regulation and governance comes from his previous role as a Legal Board Member of the Charity Commission for England and Wales from 2019 to 2023, where he was also Interim Chair for a period. He has also served on several charity boards, including Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Barbara Kasumu brings significant leadership experience in charity governance and fundraising within major hospital foundations and higher education. She is currently the Interim Chief Executive of King George & Queen’s Hospitals Charity and was the first Executive Director of Charities at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation. She brings a strong background in leading strategy and operations across fundraising, grants, and partnerships.
BBC Children in Need
Following a change in leadership, James Fairclough was appointed last month as the new Chair of BBC Children in Need. This follows his previous tenure as a Trustee since 2021 and an earlier period as Interim Chair.
He brings a background of leadership and commercial expertise to the role. His focus will be on supporting the team to build momentum following the successful 2025 Appeal.
He succeeds the previous Chair Terry Duddy who offered his resignation last month after informing the board that he had been convicted of causing serious injury through careless driving.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has announced that broadcaster Swarzy Shire and journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy have been appointed its newest Kew Ambassadors.
They join a growing group of public figures who champion the organisation’s work across horticulture, science, education, and conservation, helping to amplify Kew’s mission “for a thriving planet”.
Swarzy Shire is best known for hosting BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Weekend Breakfast Show, and for founding Too Much Source, a creative platform amplifying young and diverse voices through inclusive storytelling and cultural conversations. She has hosted and moderated major events including COP26, the BBC Climate Creativity Forum, Nike, TikTok and the Commonwealth Games — always with a focus on creativity, community and youth empowerment.
She is passionate about creating space for young people from diverse backgrounds to thrive in green careers, nature spaces and climate conversations.
Krishnan Guru-Murthy is best known as an anchor of Channel 4 News. He moves into the ambassador role following six years as a Trustee of RBG Kew, where he also served as Chair of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
He will continue to champion the launch of Kew’s accessibility schemes, such as the £1 ticket offer for beneficiaries of Universal Credit or Pension Credit.
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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.