Meet the strategic consulting and grantmaking teams

As Lead Advisory Manager, Dawa is responsible for managing key partnerships with corporate foundations, Government departments, philanthropists and charities.

She also leads our charity consultancy work, working closely with charity leaders on developing strategic fundraising plans to engage corporates and major donors to help diversify charities’ incomes.

She managed the Environmental Agency programme on building the long-term resilience of Catchment Based Partnerships. She also leads the advisory support on developing strategic fundraising plans for number of grantees of Lloyds Bank Foundation’s Enhance Support.

In addition she has provided advisory support as part of the £1.3m CAF Resilience programme and Growing Place-based Giving scheme.

Dawa has more than 18 years of international development and fundraising experience and has worked with organisation such as UNICEF, Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), The Resources Alliance and Loden Foundation.Her other important roles include being Country Expert for Bhutan - Gender and Social Index, OECD and Trustee for Malaria Consortium.

Blogs and articles by Dawa:

• What is multichannel fundraising?
• Five things for charity leaders to consider when diversifying income
• How to attract corporate partners

Lorna leads the grantmaking team and the operations for delivery of grant programmes within CAF, providing strategic support and oversight across our grants portfolio. She shapes the design of programmes with impact at their core and ensures the smooth delivery for charities and clients.

Lorna has a strong background in the delivery of grant programmes on behalf of clients, including large-scale international education programmes, high volume application rounds, and online grantmaking. She has over ten years’ experience of the management and delivery of grantmaking operations, including governance, best practice approaches, and reporting.

Sara began her career working in the charitable sector in small and medium sized organisations undertaking a range of fundraising and management roles. She has since worked for a range of funders including Charity Bank, the National Lottery and BBC Children in Need, before joining CAF in 2021. 

Sara manages the team delivering the CAF Resilience Fund, providing grants to boost the frontline service delivery of organisations supporting communities hardest host by Covid-19, and devising a tailored support package to boost the resilience of these organisations. Sara is passionate about ensuring grantmaking at CAF delivers well designed and accessible programmes that meet the needs of grant holders. The CAF Resilience Fund encouraged a more engaged relationship between CAF and grant holders and we will look to develop this further in future programmes.

In her spare time Sara is often walking her favourite routes in the Peak District with her dog Nellie, on the lookout for the next cake stop.

Charlotte manages a portfolio of grant programmes for ambitious corporate clients who want a strategic approach to their grantmaking. She creates and delivers online UK and international grant programmes with a social equity, health and place-based focus, with transparent and proportionate processes at their heart. 

Before joining CAF in 2018, Charlotte had significant experience as consultant arts producer and fundraiser for a number of small charities, as well as leading a £1.7 million grantmaking foundation in the cultural sector for six years. Charlotte is also a secondary and primary school governor in Kent. 

Ingrid has over 20 years of grantmaking experience and works across the design, management and delivery of a range of UK and international grant programmes across our portfolio of trust and corporate clients.

These programmes focus on employee engagement, training for UK Search and Rescue volunteers, access to STEM education, workforce development and supporting international local communities. Ingrid has also been instrumental in our roll-out of rapid response funds, and providing grant management for the reporting and evaluation of the charities recommended by CAF as part of the Covid-19 Support Fund, funded by the Association of British Insurers. 

Tristan supports the strategic design and delivery of a diverse portfolio of grantmaking programmes; from small-scale community grants across the UK, to international programmes funding charities working in the global south. 

Tristan has an extensive and varied background in grantmaking, having previously formed part of the senior leadership team at a small grantmaking trust, and has worked on programmes supporting individual changemakers, as well as awarding grants to some of the UK’s largest cultural institutions.

In his spare time, Tristan can often be found exploring London on foot or by bike, usually via an historic pub.