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We are delighted to welcome two new members of the team at the Community Foundation. John Hollingsworth and Ged Robinson started their roles two weeks ago.
John joins as the new Chief Philanthropy Officer and deputy CEO. John, who was born and raised on Tyneside, has for 10 years held leading roles in charities in Detroit, Michigan. He will be returning from USA later in the year and is currently working remotely.
The role of Chief Philanthropy Officer is central to the Community Foundation’s ambition to grow the scale of giving addressing community needs in North East England. Every year, the Foundation awards millions of pounds in grants to small, local charities and community organisations through funds set up by its donors. Since 1988, over £150m has been distributed to support people and communities.
Since 2016, John Hollingsworth has served as Development Director for Racquet Up Detroit, a community-based charity which uses the sport of squash to engage young people in education, supporting them to access college and launch a career. Previously, he was Director of Communications and Marketing at Starr Commonwealth, a leading social service charity in Michigan. Before moving to the US, he held roles with the National Trust for Scotland, NHS Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland.
Ged joins as Funding Co-ordinator. Ged supports the Foundation’s grant making by assessing, monitoring and reporting grant requests from charities and community organisations in line with the Foundation’s policies, priorities and the requirements of our funds.
Prior to joining the Community Foundation, Ged spent ten years working in the Music Industry and across Newcastle’s Cultural Sector.