Introducing the BGF Foundation’s new Board of Trustees

The BGF Foundation is delighted to introduce its new Board of Trustees, made up of BGF employees and experienced charity leaders from across the UK. They will lead on setting the strategic direction for the Foundation, ensuring it maximises resources in a way that provides the most value for the charities it supports.

The BGF Foundation is committed to improving the lives of young people across the UK. It applies BGF’s ‘good growth‘ philosophy to the charity sector, providing long-term flexible grant funding, combined with high-quality pro bono support. This approach helps ambitious charities to grow and innovate, enabling them to support more disadvantaged young people.

To deliver on this mission, the BGF Foundation is leveraging the significant business experience within BGF, alongside expertise from those working with charities and young people.

Four of the BGF Foundation’s trustees are charity sector leaders:

Arti Sharma is CEO of nurtureuk, a national charity that’s dedicated to improving the life chances of children and young people, by promoting nurture across the whole education system. With more than 25 years of experience across the teaching, commercial, and non-profit sectors, Arti has showcased her expertise and passion for education and the development of children and young people.

Jo Hannan is Head of The Fusion21 Foundation, a national grant-maker, based in Merseyside. Over the last 27 years, Jo has worked in local government, social housing, and the VCSE sector, where she’s established a strong track record in impactful community investment and grant management. She is a qualified youth worker and has a Postgraduate Certificate in Child Welfare & Protection. Jo’s passion for good practice in grant-making and empowering communities reflects a deep commitment to creating positive, lasting change through a resilient voluntary, community and social enterprise sector.

Sarah Gillard is CEO of A Blueprint for Better Business, a charity that helps companies be inspired and guided by a purpose that benefits society, and respects people and planet. Sarah has over 25 years’ experience leading in fast-paced commercial environments at some of the UK’s largest retail companies, including the John Lewis Partnership, where she was responsible for rearticulating and embedding the organisation’s purpose, so that it continues to be a source of inspiration and innovation.

Arti, Jo and Sarah will join fellow charity leader and board member Michelle Hill, who became a BGF Foundation Trustee back in 2022.

Michelle is the Group CEO of TLC: Talk, Listen, Change, a relationships charity delivering services that foster safe, healthy, and happy relationships across the UK (including a range of therapeutic wellbeing projects, domestic abuse prevention, and family mediation). Michelle also oversees Now You’re Talking — TLC’s wholly-owned, profit-with-purpose subsidiary, selling counselling and therapy across the UK — and is a Non-Executive Director of MSV Housing. She sits on the Greater Manchester Gender Based Violence Board, and has received numerous commendations for her charity leadership.

These charity experts will be joined by BGF team members that have first-hand experience of identifying and supporting organisations going through periods of growth and development:

Aaron Baker has been an investor at BGF for more than 11 years, and works across the East and West Midlands. He is involved in the full spectrum of BGF’s investment lifecycle, with a principle focus on the identification and execution of new investment opportunities. Aaron’s commitment to sustainable growth aligns with the Foundation’s ethos of empowering organisations to scale and create long-term value.

Zahir Kasmani joined our Growth investments team in London in 2018. He has played a pivotal role in identifying and executing investments that prioritise both financial returns and social impact. Since 2022, Zahir has also been working with the BGF Foundation, and was instrumental in building its first charitable partnership.

Jill Williams has over 15 years of private equity experience, as well as a strong focus on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles, having raised an impact fund at her previous company. At BGF, Jill works closely with entrepreneurs and business owners across the North of England and the Midlands, as part of our Portfolio team – helping BGF investee companies to prepare for long-term growth. Her expertise in value creation and portfolio management strengthens the Foundation’s ability to back charities that are ready for expansion.

These fantastic new trustees will join Alistair Brew, Head of Investment Operations at BGF, who was instrumental in setting up the BGF Foundation as a founding trustee. And they’ll be led by Andy Gregory, our CEO and Chair of the BGF Foundation. Andy’s vision is of a Foundation that provides funding and pro bono support through our expert staff and external networks, to help charities scale, build resilience, and achieve sustainable growth.

The BGF Foundation team invites charities working with young people to subscribe for updates on upcoming funding opportunities.