About Us

The Giving Department has been helping businesses, philanthropists and funders make a substantial impact on charities and communities since 2010. We are passionate about delivering genuine social change and feel privileged that, in doing so, we are able to work in collaboration with some truly amazing people. We are a London-based team, made up of a core group of dedicated sector specialists. Where it will add value, we work with expert associates and academics who combine to offer a breadth of knowledge and expertise across the sector.

Our mission is to enable companies, philanthropists and charitable foundations to feel empowered and fulfilled by creating real change and maximising the impact of their investment in charities and the community.

– Steve Wickham, Director of The Giving Department

Bermondsey street

Every client is unique, that’s why we focus on developing tailor-made strategies.

Our approach is collaborative. We take the time to understand your requirements, offer practical advice and then work hard to help deliver the results. We promote the development of partnerships between funders and charities, and our on-going support helps these partnerships flourish.

We enjoy being innovative. We can work together to develop new ideas and find the best routes to pilot and scale exciting initiatives.

The Giving Department has extensive experience of delivering projects both at home in the UK and internationally.

If you would like to discuss your approach to community Investment or your aspirations for your private philanthropy, then please do drop us a line or call.

steve@thegivingdepartment.com
Director
+44 (0) 7967962132

Get in contact

We’ll help you deliver change

Steve Wickham

Director

Steve has spent over 20 years in the charity sector. As a successful fundraiser Steve worked for a number of charities in senior roles most latterly as Head of Fundraising at The Prince’s Trust. This experience has given Steve a deep understanding of how companies and private funders can best support charities, how effective relationships can be developed, where value can be delivered and how the right support can deliver genuine and long-lasting change. Steve founded The Giving Department in 2010 with the clear vision of providing expert independent resource to help companies and philanthropists deliver real social impact and achieve their greatest charitable ambitions. Over the subsequent years Steve has developed the business, working with an increasingly wide portfolio of clients from FTSE100 companies to corporate foundations and private HNW philanthropists. Passionate about the sector, Steve is often called to speak on charitable issues and on occasions provides bespoke mentoring to help individuals build capability and impact.       

steve@thegivingdepartment.com
+44 (0) 207 680 6587

Mark Newby

Development Director

Mark brings a unique blend of commercial and charitable experience to his work with a wide portfolio of clients. Over 6 years at The Giving Department Mark has supported a wide range of organisations to develop their approach to funding, from FTSE 100 businesses to independent charitable foundations. He has also worked on several innovative collaborative initiatives bringing together groups of funders and charities including; KickStart Money and Sainsbury’s Data Philanthropy programme, which was recognised with the Guardian ‘Sustainable Business – Social Impact Award’ in 2017. Prior to joining The Giving Department Mark spent 5 years at the Prince’s Trust in a variety of programme and fundraising roles, latterly as The Head of Business Development.  

mark@thegivingdepartment.com
+44 (0) 207 680 6587

Mark Woodruff

Associate

Before joining The Giving Department, Mark spent 25 years in the retail property sector working for a variety of high street retailers including Next, Arcadia Group and River Island. Whilst at River Island Mark also managed the brand’s relationships with key charities as well as creating and managing the company scheme that encourages its 10,000+ staff to support any charity that means something special to them. Mark continues to support River Island’s charitable activity and his extensive commercial experience brings valuable insight to The Giving Department and its clients. In addition, Mark also works closely with a number of private family charitable foundations as a trusted advisor to both main trustees and members of the next generations, helping them to find their best charity partners, develop impactful relationships and supporting them to grant millions of pounds each year.  

markw@thegivingdepartment.com
+44 (0) 207 680 6587

Charlotte Turner

Research and Evaluation Associate

Charlotte has worked in research and communication on behalf of the private, public and charity sectors for 25 years. Prior to setting up Bean Research, she was Research Director at Business in the Community where her work ranged from conducting stakeholder reviews for major multi-national businesses to managing the All Party Parliamentary Group on Corporate Responsibility; and before that a Director of Corporate Reputation and CSR research at Ipsos MORI.

Charlotte is an Associate of Cranfield School of Management (Sustainability Network), a member of Social Value UK and a Life Fellow of the RSA.

enquiries@thegivingdepartment.com
+44 (0) 207 680 6587

Julian Barrell

Associate
Julian has over 25 years’ experience of working in the not-for-profit sector, helping charities raise funds and building partnerships that deliver social impact. Having started his career with the RNLI, Julian spent 15 years at The Prince’s Trust including seven years as Director of Fundraising, during which time the organisation grew from £40m turnover to £72m. During this time Julian personally founded The Trust’s first Leadership Group, a concept which transformed its fundraising.
After leaving The Prince’s Trust in 2013, Julian founded his own consultancy business and provided strategic advice and fundraising coaching to several charities including Age UK, Save the Children, Young Enterprise and The National Literacy Trust. In 2017 he joined Access Sport as Director of Fundraising before becoming Deputy Chief Executive in 2019 and helping lead the charity through the Covid-19 pandemic and acting as interim Chief Executive during 2021.
In addition to fundraising, Julian has extensive experience of grant-making and working with boards – this includes serving as a trustee of Youth United Foundation from 2015-2022, chairing the organisation’s Grants Committee which oversaw the distribution of £5m of government funding for uniformed youth groups across England. Julian has a particularly strong affiliation with the UK’s video games industry, having worked on multiple gaming fundraising campaigns and through managing his son’s growing Youtube channel, so he also brings skills in social and influencer marketing.

Kiara Goodwin

Strategy Director
Kiara has worked in strategy and engagement roles for over a decade, collaborating with clients across the public, private and charity sectors to identify creative solutions to complex problems. As someone with a passion for aligning culture and people to purpose, Kiara has developed a deep understanding of how partnerships can support organisations in achieving their business goals while also increasing social impact. Recently, Kiara was able to expand that knowledge through her MBA dissertation at Bayes Business School (formerly Cass). In collaboration with Boster Group, a partnership consulting firm, Kiara conducted a deep analysis of cross-sector partnerships and formulated a change management strategy for the UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). Previously, Kiara led the communications and engagement strategy for United Way of Metro Chicago, a major fundraiser and capacity builder for charities across the Chicago region.