Róisín, previous CEO of Kick It Out, English football’s equality and inclusion organisation, has been pivotal in managing and leading the organisation’s equality work, and fostering a more inclusive, cohesive environment in English football since 2011. Awarded an OBE in 2018 for services to tackling discrimination in football, in October 2020 Róisín took on a new challenge as an Inclusive Leadership Consultant, highlighting her passion and commitment towards an inclusive society.

Orla currently leads the Grants and Fund Development of the Foundation as Director of Grants and Fund Development. She has worked for the Foundation since 2015. Orla has strategic oversight of a wide-ranging fund portfolio and the impact of our grant making. She leads on donor care and income generation for existing donors She is a Member of the Senior Management Team and has a MSc in Executive Leadership. She has worked in the charity and public sector for over 25 years, with a passion for social justice; leading people, and embedding a high-performance culture that translates vision into deliverables, making a real difference in the lives of communities.

As a Grants and Donor Care Support Officer, Nikki is responsible for supporting impactful grant-making processes and fostering strong relationships with a wide range grantees and donors in line with our grant making strategy. She is one of the first points of contact for our customers and her role involves processing applications from pre application to award distribution, to monitoring and evaluation of successful applications and reporting on impact. She plays a key role in ensuring our grants move efficiently and timely through the grant management cycle.

My role is to provide administrative and operational support across the Grants & Fund Development Directorate in order to achieve our income generation and grant making targets so we can deliver sustainable funding to the community, voluntary and social enterprise sector across Northern Ireland. I also sit on the Health & Wellbeing Committee and lead on wellbeing skills training for the organisation.

As Director of Programmes within Community Foundation I manage a team working on programmes spanning themes related to housing and homelessness, peacebuilding, social justice, human rights, climate, poverty, health, leadership and capacity building. I have over 20 years’ experience of managing, developing and implementing solutions to complex and sensitive community issues within communities. Amplifying voice and advocating for and with the most marginalised and lobbing for change to create a better, fairer, just society is what drives me and I am grateful that through my role in the Foundation and through the work of my teams, we can achieve this.

The role of Director of Operations is challenging and varied, covering finance, governance and many other operational issues!  As a Chartered Management Accountant, my aim is to ensure we have strong financial management and governance in place so that we continue to be a trusted charity supporting communities in Northern Ireland to build a better future.  I love my job and really appreciate working in an organisation that prioritises staff health and wellbeing and encourages and supports staff to realise their potential.

As the Executive Assistant to the CEO, I’m delighted to manage Roisin’s ever evolving diary, events, speaking commitments, expenses and travel. I caretake CFNI Trustees, including supporting Board meetings and residentials, and assist with minute taking, record keeping, budget management and admin. As a Wellbeing Champion and Head of Reward and Recognition, I have the joy of celebrating colleagues who live CFNI values, as well as offering rewards to all staff throughout the year. Finally; I am a mental health first aider within the organisation, using my background in trauma and mental health to ensure I always have an empathetic and supportive ear for anyone who needs one.

As the Communications Officer at The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, I have the opportunity to engage in a variety of projects. Whether I’m visiting Acorn Farm in Derry or designing visuals for grants and brochures, my role offers a nice blend of desk work and visits. With a background in events management, marketing, and communications, it’s rewarding to utilise all my skills at CFNI as well as gaining new skills like videography. I work to amplify the impact of our funds and share the inspiring stories of our grantees.