Who We Are
Global Greengrants Fund UK (charity number 1151527) believes solutions to environmental harm and social injustice come from people whose lives are most impacted. Every day, our global network of people on the frontlines and donors comes together to support communities to protect their ways of life and our planet. Because when local people have a say in the health of their food, water, and resources, they are forces for change.
Global Greengrants Fund UK is the European sister organisation of Global Greengrants Fund. In existence since 2015, Global Greengrants Fund UK provides those in the United Kingdom and Europe with the opportunity to invest in local change, spearheaded by the same expert advisors that are a hallmark of Global Greengrants.
Meet our Trustees and Patrons.
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For more information on our finances, click here.
For our privacy policy, click here.
For our 2023 annual update, click here.
To Donate
To donate online, please click here.
Please make your cheque payable to Global Greengrants Fund UK and post it, and a signed Gift Aid Declaration form if eligible, to the address below. For every £1 donation, the UK government will contribute 25p. So taking just a few more seconds to fill out and post the Gift Aid declaration form will increase the value of your gift by 25 percent!
Global Greengrants Fund UK
Global Greengrants Fund UK, Huckletree, 1 Horse Guards Avenue, Westminster, London SW1A 2HU
Charity number 1151527
Click here to contact us with any questions.
Global Greengrants Fund UK in The Guardian
Update: We are incredibly honoured to be able to participate in the 2021 Guardian and Observer Charity Appeal, together with our partners in the CLIMA Fund, to raise vitally needed resources for grassroots climate solutions and climate justice movements.
Global Greengrants Fund UK was thrilled and honoured to be chosen as one of four beneficiaries of The Guardian and Observer Charity Appeal 2019, which raised over £1 million in donations to fight the climate crisis. We generously received £250,000 to directly support our Indigenous community partners in the Amazon who are at the frontlines of protecting and restoring the rainforest.
The Guardian featured the critical work of our grantees in three articles. The first featured the important role beekeeping plays in providing communities with viable and sustainable livelihoods. The second focused on Maria Leusa Munduruku, an Indigenous and women’s rights activist who has led campaigns to defend the Tapajós River Basin from destructive mining, logging and dam building. And the third spotlighted the construction of a solar-powered fruit pulping factory providing Indigenous communities living in the rainforest with a sustainable source of income.
We are incredibly grateful to the readers of The Guardian and The Observer for their generosity, and to The Guardian and Observer for giving us the opportunity to highlight the important work of those on the frontlines protecting the Amazon Rainforest.
Staff
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Beth Benedict
Head of Philanthropic Partnerships
Beth brings over 13 years’ of experience in programming, partnerships and grant-making in the social change sector. She spent nearly a decade with the non-profit global agency, Restless Development, that supports the collective power of young people to create a more just and equal world. She led a range of international programmes and partnerships and held senior leadership positions in the UK and Zambia. Most recently, Beth established and led Comic Relief’s Government Partnerships team, delivering funding programmes on a range of issues in the UK and Africa, including women’s rights, urban development, and trade, enterprise and employment. Beth cares deeply about social justice and protecting our planet today, and for our future generations, and is forever-inspired by the beauty of the natural world. She holds a BSc in Zoology from Bristol University and a Post Graduate Certificate in Development Management from the Open University.
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Carmel Drake-Duffy
Executive Administrator
Carmel has over 15 years of experience in providing significant professional support in Operational and Administrative Structure and Development. She created several tools to help past affiliates evaluate operational requirements more accurately and improve the forecasting of finances. Throughout her career, she has strived to maintain the highest performance standards and a diverse skillset. Her experience has also allowed her to streamline high levels of administrative operations, project implementation, research, event management and extensive monitoring and evaluation throughout multi-faceted environments namely the nonprofit sector. She has catered to major companies, nonprofit organisations, and international aid agencies. She measures her success by her continuous relationships she has developed over the years whilst providing extensive support to such portfolios as sustainable development, human rights and higher education. She is a Certified Business Professional in Project Management and her professional accomplishment has been driven by her passion for ensuring equality amongst diverse and challenged cultures and the desire to impact positive change. She wants to continue to engage and support influential decision-makers and thought leaders who are striving to implement positive change and international public policies that can champion growth and development.
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Flavia Olum
Associate Director, Financial Services
Flavia joined Global Greengrants Fund UK with nearly 20 years of experience in the public, charity, and non-profit sectors and has transitioned through various finance roles during her tenure since 2019. Her passion continues to be centred on global grassroots movements that support social, environmental and climate justice causes. She has previously worked for the Tony Blair Institute (formerly Africa Governance Initiative), Open Society Foundation, Medicines & Healthcare Regulatory Agency, Publish What You Pay, and Refugee Action.
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Greg Hilditch
Director of Philanthropic Partnerships & Deputy Executive Director
With a background in high-value funding partnerships within the community development and humanitarian sectors, Greg specialises in developing collaborative partnerships for strategic impact. Before joining Global Greengrants Fund UK, Greg most recently worked for International Rescue Committee UK as Head of Trusts & Foundations. He has a strong personal interest in sustainable agriculture, climate justice and the food sovereignty movement, and holds an undergraduate degree from Oxford University and an MA from SOAS.
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Jasleen Mahal
Philanthropic Partnerships Assistant
Jasleen is an environmental activist whose approach focuses on inclusivity and intersectionality. She previously worked at C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group as a fundraising intern, having contributed towards the Women4Climate Conference which focused on encouraging women to participate in leadership roles within climate activism. Her passions led her to start a community project called Slough Transition which works with local grassroots organisations to help push the agenda for more sustainable and responsible living practices in the form of community-building arts projects. She holds a BSc Geography with Applied Economics degree from the University of Southampton.
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Joyce Materego-Woodall
Director of Finance & Operations
Joyce believes in the power of human agency and ingenuity. Her work exists at the intersection of human capital, mindset, and finance. She is a senior charity sector leader and an ACCA qualified accountant with experience working with finance, IT, governance, operations, and people teams. Having played a pivotal role in the establishment of the first Civil Rights organisation in the UK – the Black Equity Organisation (BEO), Joyce brings expertise in charities leadership including organisational culture, people strategy and financial leadership in the racial justice space through trauma-informed and assets-based approach, and Black disability justice. Her previous roles include Director of Finance, People and Facilities at SignHealth, a deaf-led charity and Director of Finance and Resources at Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG). Joyce also sits on the board of ACEVO (Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations) as a trustee, treasurer and chair of finance and audit committee, and on the board of Aleto (A Legacy for Tomorrow) – a social mobility charity which gives opportunities to young people with high potential from tough backgrounds. Joyce is a regular contributor to IFL (Inspiring Financial Leadership) course - designed to enhance leadership and people skills of financial professionals in the charity sector. She is an active member of the Charity Finance Group (CFG) and one of its first recipients of the IFL award. Joyce is also an Aspen UK Fellow.
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Michelle Chung
Operations Manager
Michelle is a mission-driven non-profit sector professional dedicated to promoting inclusion and equitable access. With over a decade of expertise in project and partnerships management, she has facilitated and operationalised global educational and environmental initiatives for philanthropic and corporate foundations in humanitarian contexts. Michelle is passionate about fostering collaboration, innovation, and sustainable development to create meaningful change for disadvantaged communities.
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Natalie Frey
Grants Associate
Natalie is a non-profit professional with experience in grant making, operations, monitoring, and evaluation across a variety of different organisations in the UK and globally. Prior to joining Global Greengrants Fund UK, Natalie managed ProVeg International’s Grants Programme, to support non-profits and individuals worldwide working towards food systems change. Deeply motivated by environmental justice, food systems transformation, community building, and organisational development, she also serves on the board of several non-profits to support their growth and development toward being as effective as possible.
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Dr. Nisha Owen
Executive Director - Global Greengrants Fund UK
Dr. Nisha Owen is a conservationist with almost two decades of experience championing locally-led efforts to value and conserve the natural world for the benefit of communities and future generations. Having played an integral role in the rapid establishment and growth of charitable foundation On the Edge, Nisha brings expertise in charity leadership and organisational development, including exploring philanthropic best practices. Her previous roles at the Zoological Society of London included significantly growing their flagship EDGE of Existence Programme, and industry-leading collaborations with National Geographic and United for Wildlife, including developing the largest and only award-winning online learning conservation courses in the world. Nisha leads an IUCN expert group on the tree of life (IUCN SSC Phylogenetic Diversity Task Force), which engaged with the development of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s new Global Biodiversity Framework. Nisha also sits on the Conservation Advisory Panel of the World Land Trust and serves as Trustee for London Learning Foundation, improving the wellbeing of disadvantaged communities around London. She holds a MSc, and a PhD from the University of Leeds on human-wildlife conflict in south India.
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Sergio Leon
Finance and Operations Administrator
Originally hailing from Mexico, Sergio has lived in the United Kingdom since 2016. He was working for the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) before joining us. He holds a BSc in Economics from the National Autonomous University of México (UNAM), an MSc in Economic History from the LSE, and a diploma to teach Spanish as a Foreign Language (DIPELE) from UNAM. He has an interest in languages and traveling and also speaks French, Portuguese, and German. His professional experience is within hospitality and philanthropy in Higher Education. He is passionate about causes that can improve well-being and the environment.