Rowena recently took up post as Director of Fundraising and Supporter Relations at Gingerbread, the organisation which provides expert advice, practical support and campaign for single parents.

Rowena is a passionate advocate of the third sector with over ten years’ experience across a diversity of roles ranging from face-to-face fundraising to grants fundraising at Toynbee Hall. Previously, Rowena was Head of Fundraising and Development at the Fawcett Society where her work resulted in 22% growth in income over three years. Rowena graduated in Modern and Medieval Languages from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge in 2001. She developed an appetite for fundraising as a student, working for the University of Cambridge Development Office. For her secondment, Rowena worked with a Board of philanthropists, business leaders and leaders of charity world as Executive Lead for the independent Philanthropy Review.

Rowena’s ambition is to lead “step change” in small to medium sized charities, with an interest in communities, mental health and the rights of older people. She is eager to lead a debate on gender diversity in the third sector, and to bring the sector into the wider debate on gender led by private and public sectors. She is keen to influence the Institute of Fundraising, to challenge perceptions of the profession to attract and retain talented fundraisers.

Rowena has been Chair of the Toynbee Hall Charity Shop Committee and is currently a Trustee of Community Kitchens UK, a charity based in Tower Hamlets focused on improving diet and health for vulnerable communities.

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