The Charity Changemakers Podcast dives deep into the world of non-profit leadership. Join us as we interview the CEOs and directors who are making a real impact in our communities. Each episode unveils the journeys that led these passionate individuals to the third sector. We explore the inspiring stories behind their charities, the challenges they navigate, and the exciting opportunities they're tackling. Get ready to be motivated by the power of giving and discover how you can get involved in creating positive change.
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Season 3 | Ep17 Robin Peake on the fundraising fundamentals your charity is forgetting
Season 3 · Episode 17
Friday, October 9, 2026 • Duration 42:10
Robin Peake, Deputy CEO at Wycliffe Bible Translators, has just written the 8th edition of The Complete Fundraising Handbook, and he has a warning for the sector: too many charities are abandoning what works in favour of the next shiny thing.
In this episode, Adam Stacey talks to Robin about why the fundamentals of fundraising never change, what he put into the new edition, and how to build innovation on tried and tested foundations rather than putting good money after bad.
Along the way, Robin shares how a masters in 1920s football history led him into fundraising, the major donor meeting where he stopped himself five minutes before walking in, and why relationships don’t work in 12 month cycles. We also talk about the £50 a month budget that turns a supporter care team into donor delighters, why he only hires fundraisers who give, and the personal board of trustees that keeps his thinking sharp.
If you work in fundraising, lead a fundraising team, or want to understand what actually makes donors give and stay, this one is for you.
In this episode
Why the fundamentals of fundraising don’t change, and why the sector keeps forgetting them
What’s new in the eighth edition, from Facebook ads to AI
Why “people give to people” and “people give because they’re asked” still hold true
The major donor meeting that nearly went wrong, and the mindset shift that saved it
Why Robin only hires fundraisers who are donors themselves
How a £50 a month budget creates donors for life
Building a personal board of trustees
Timestamps
00:00 Welcome and introduction
01:04 Quickfire questions: camping, electric scooters and Bible translation myths
04:32 How Robin found his way into the charity sector
06:50 Learning from other charities: lunches, coffees and generosity
10:56 Donor-centric fundraising and why it works
12:54 Hiring fundraisers who give, and building a culture of thanks
16:02 Standing out: the £50 a month supporter care budget
20:55 From Innovista to Home for Good to Wycliffe
23:24 Mentors, coaches and a personal board of trustees
26:58 Becoming Deputy CEO and the problem of quieter feedback
30:17 Building culture in a remote-first organisation
34:28 The Complete Fundraising Handbook, eighth edition
36:52 Why the fundamentals never change
39:13 The lesson Robin learned the hard way: relationships don’t work in 12 month cycles
About the guest Robin Peake is Deputy CEO at Wycliffe Bible Translators, with around 15 years in the charity sector, primarily in fundraising. He is the author of the 8th edition of The Complete Fundraising Handbook.
Season 3 | Ep 16 Louise Morris on building a major donor programme from scratch
Season 3 · Episode 16
Friday, October 2, 2026 • Duration 44:08
Why isn't major donor fundraising working for your charity? According to Louise Morris, it's rarely the cause, and it's almost never a lack of contacts.
Louise is the founder of Summit Fundraising, a consultancy and training company specialising in major donor fundraising.
She began her career in sales and marketing at Unilever, moved into the charity sector in her mid-twenties and held fundraising roles at Tommy's, Samaritans and RNID before becoming a Director of Fundraising.
Ten years ago, she set up Summit and now works with charities of every size, from small local organisations to household names.
In this episode, Louise shares:
Why losing her Dad prompted her to leave Unilever and look for more meaningful work
How corporate negotiation training gave her confidence with donors
Why she stepped away from a director role, and what a missed after-school football club taught her about flexible working
The fear and "lumpy cashflow" of going it alone, and how Summit grew from there
We then dig into how small and medium-sized charities can start or grow a major donor programme:
Why it won't grow unless someone has protected time to lead it, even if that's just three hours a week
Why trustees hold back on introductions, and why they don't need to ask anyone for money
Why doing major donor fundraising badly can be worse than not doing it at all
Where to find your first potential major donors (they're probably already involved with you)
Why being a smaller charity can be a real strength
The most common mistakes; impatience, skipping the building blocks and nobody owning it
How long a board should realistically wait, and the milestones to track besides income
Louise closes with a reflection that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt stuck - leadership is not your job title.
Chapters 00:00 Welcome and introduction 00:40 Quick-fire questions03:30 From Unilever to the charity sector09:40 Leaving the director role and starting Summit17:20 What Summit does today20:57 Where to start with major donor fundraising28:13 Making the case to your board30:34 The skills and support you need33:09 Common mistakes charities make36:21 How long before you see returns?41:21 Leadership is not your job title
Season 3 | E15 Kathryn Ward on why growth mindset beats a perfect CV in charity leadership
Season 3 · Episode 15
Thursday, September 10, 2026 • Duration 45:01
In this episode of the Charity Changemakers Podcast, Adam is joined by Kathryn Ward, a people leader, consultant, interim, fractional and coach who spent six years as Chief People Officer at Guide Dogs before founding her own consultancy, Zephyr People.
Kathryn shares the moment a headhunter first called about the Guide Dogs role in January 2019 - and why she turned it down, convinced she didn't have the right background. By the time they called back in April, a shift from a fixed to a growth mindset had changed her answer, and it shaped how she's approached every big career decision since.
Together, Adam and Kathryn unpack:
Why she nearly said no to the job that defined her charity career
The gendered confidence gap behind that hesitation, and how she moved past it
Why "you have to like people to be good at HR" is a myth
Trusteeship as the smartest, lowest-risk way to test a move into the sector
The breadth and loneliness of sitting on a charity exec team
Why charity leaders need more peer-to-peer networks, not fewer
Leaving Guide Dogs to build Zephyr People - a portfolio life of consultancy, interim work and coaching
Burnout, trauma-informed coaching, and why change is so hard for people who've self-actualised through their cause
Kathryn also reflects candidly on loneliness in leadership, the staff reps she still stays in touch with more than former senior colleagues, and why making space for quieter voices has become central to how she leads. This is a warm, practical conversation for anyone weighing a move into the charity sector, sitting on the fence about a trustee role, or wondering whether "good enough" really is good enough to take the next step.
Takeaways
Career journey from commercial HR into the charity sector
Imposter syndrome and the shift to a growth mindset
The realities - and the myths - of a career in HR and people leadership
Trusteeship as a deliberate route into charity leadership
Season 3 | E14 David Craig on why becoming a trustee might be the smartest career move you'll make
Season 3 · Episode 14
Thursday, August 27, 2026 • Duration 45:37
In this episode of the Charity Changemakers Podcast, Adam is joined by David Craig, Chief Executive of Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance, for a conversation about a career that was never planned.
David talks candidly about falling into the sector almost by accident – from processing invoices in a hospitality company, into its public relations team running charity-of-the-year partnerships, and from there into professional fundraising with no formal background in it at all.
He shares the pivotal, deeply personal moment that reshaped his path: after his son was born ten weeks premature, David became a trustee of Bliss, the charity for newborn babies, and helped establish Bliss Scotland from scratch.
That experience of sitting on the other side of the boardroom table gave him his first real grounding in governance and strategy, and set him on course for his first chief executive role at 38.
Eleven years into leading Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance, David reflects on what's kept him in one organisation for so long in a sector where leaders typically move on every five to seven years, what it's like leading a team whose work is genuinely life or death, why he's already thinking about succession planning, and why – whatever the job title – he still describes himself first as a fundraiser.
Takeaways
A career that began entirely by accident, from accounts admin to public relations to professional fundraising
How corporate charity-of-the-year partnerships can be a genuine route into the sector
Why a personal crisis – his son's premature birth – led David to become a trustee of Bliss
The case for taking on a trusteeship as a deliberate career development move
Becoming a first-time chief executive at 38, at Falkirk FC's Community Foundation
Why David still calls himself "a fundraiser" despite the CEO title
What's kept him at Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance for eleven years and counting
Succession planning, and the responsibility of leaving an organisation in a stable position
Leadership lessons learned the hard way: listening, clarity, and a culture of "no surprises"
Season 3 | Ep 13 Julie Randles on why every charity leader should sit on a board
Season 3 · Episode 13
Thursday, August 13, 2026 • Duration 37:34
In this episode of the Charity Changemakers Podcast, Adam is joined by Julie Randles, Chief Executive of Power2, a children and young people's charity based in Ashton under Lyne, working across Greater Manchester, the North West, West Midlands and Greater London. Julie's route into the sector was anything but obvious, starting on the WHSmith graduate scheme, moving through Waterstones and children's publishing, then into charity by way of unpaid volunteering at Save the Children.
She talks candidly about why volunteering and trusteeship are two of the most underrated routes into senior charity leadership, what running Power2's Teens and Toddlers programme has taught her about self worth, and why the gap between proven impact and available funding remains one of the sector's biggest frustrations.
Julie also reflects on the hardest leadership lesson of her career, learning when passion needs a little less heart on the sleeve.
Takeaways
Volunteering can be the fastest route into a charity career, even at a senior level
Sitting on a board teaches you what it is really like to be a CEO
Charity job applications reward detail, not passion statements
Proven programmes often can not scale because funding lags behind demand
Lived experience across a team changes how a charity works, not just what it says
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and quick fire questions
04:00 From WHSmith to Save the Children, an unlikely route into charity
11:00 Why volunteering and trusteeship open doors
19:40 Inside Power2, Teens and Toddlers and the programmes that followed
24:40 The funding gap holding back proven impact
35:15 How to actually get a charity sector job
38:40 The hardest leadership lesson Julie has learned
If you enjoyed the episode, please like, share and leave a review. Your support helps more charity leaders and changemakers discover the show.
Season 3 | E12 Roxanne Lawrance on why she brought her business brain to the charity sector
Season 3 · Episode 12
Thursday, July 30, 2026 • Duration 42:26
In this episode of the Charity Changemakers Podcast, Adam is joined by Roxanne Lawrance, CEO of Teens Unite, a charity supporting young people aged 13 to 24 living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis.
Roxanne never planned a career in the sector. She built a commercial career in business analysis and contact centre management before volunteering with Teens Unite while on maternity leave, telling the founders she'd stay for two years. Nearly nine years on, she's leading the organisation.
Roxanne and Adam unpack how she moved from founder led leadership to running the charity herself, the mentors and "be bold" mindset that shaped her career, and why she believes the best charities operate with the same commercial discipline as any business, just with a different kind of profit.
A candid conversation on team culture, handling funding setbacks, and what it really takes to lead in the charity sector.
Takeaways
Career journey from commercial leadership into the charity sector
Why business skills transfer directly into nonprofit leadership
The value of career mentors, and being bold enough to ask for them
Building a team culture around honest feedback and psychological safety
Navigating funding setbacks without losing team morale
Why the best charities are mission driven and commercially disciplined
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and background
05:17 Getting into the charity sector
09:24 The two year plan that became a career
14:05 Building a team culture that isn't built by accident
18:18 Mentors, and being bold in who you ask
25:57 Success, setbacks, and what continues when you're not in the room
40:20 Why charities need mission and commercial discipline
Season 3 | E11 Olivia Barker White on turning a gap year moment into a children's charity
Season 3 · Episode 11
Thursday, July 16, 2026 • Duration 46:23
In this episode of the Charity Changemakers Podcast, Adam is joined by Olivia Barker White, co-founder and Chief Executive of Kids Club Kampala, an international children's charity now working across Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
Olivia traces her journey from an 18-year-old on a gap year in Uganda to running a 20-year-old organisation that has supported over 1.5 million people.
She's candid about the discomfort of "voluntourism," the moment that turned a fun kids' football club into something much bigger, and why she believes small, agile charities are often better placed than large NGOs to respond to real need on the ground.
Together, Adam and Olivia unpack: the ethics of gap years and international volunteering, the accidental, organic route into founding a charity, why a community-led partnership model (not a UK-charity-knows-best model) has been central to Kids Club Kampala's growth, how being small allowed the charity to pivot fast during COVID and feed thousands when larger NGOs pulled their staff out, and why donor stewardship and thanking supporters well has quietly driven two decades of growth.
Olivia also reflects honestly on pride, burnout, boundaries, and learning that she isn't personally responsible for solving everything – and why looking after her own wellbeing is what keeps the charity sustainable for the long run.
Takeaways
The ethics of gap years, volunteering and avoiding "white saviourism"
How Kids Club Kampala started organically from a gap year friendship, with no strategy or plan
The moment that shifted focus from fun and games to child protection and basic needs
Why a genuine, equal partnership model with local teams is central to impact
How being a small charity enabled a fast pivot to emergency food relief during COVID
The value of excellent donor stewardship in sustaining long-term growth
Learning to set boundaries and protect wellbeing as a charity leader
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and quick-fire questions
Season 3 | Ep 10 Ru Watkins on why he chose to save Hamelin instead of close it
Season 3 · Episode 10
Thursday, July 2, 2026 • Duration 47:22
In this episode of the Charity Changemakers Podcast, Adam is joined by Ru Watkins, Chief Executive of Hamelin, a learning disability and autism charity growing rapidly across Essex and East Anglia.
Ru brings a career unlike most in the sector. After 23 years in the British Army, he moved into corporate roles with BT and others before a phone call from a headhunter changed his direction entirely. That call led him to Noah's Ark Children's Hospice in North London, a struggling organisation with something worth saving. It was the first of what would become a defining theme across his leadership career: walking into complexity, listening hard, and building something better.
His arrival at Hamelin tells that story at its most vivid. He was called in to close the charity down. Instead, he walked the sites, listened to families, and went back to the board with a different proposition entirely: invest and grow. Four and a quarter years later, Hamelin supports nearly 1,750 people and families, has moved from 100% statutory reliance to 60% self-generated income, and holds significant reserves.
In this conversation, Adam and Ru explore:
How a chance phone call took Ru from corporate burnout to charity leadership
What 23 years in the military actually teaches you about listening, chaos, and getting things done
Why Ru walked into Hamelin's board interview and told them not to close it
The Klingon Cloak of Care and what it costs people with learning disabilities and autism
Why community building is the most important thing charities can do right now
The danger of chief executives confusing their ambition with organisational readiness
What chief exec loneliness really looks like and how Ru manages it
Why letting a support worker leave to train as a nurse is a mark of success, not failure
How Hamelin is getting young adults with learning disabilities into employment
Ru is direct, self-aware, and genuinely funny. This is a conversation about what bold, values-led leadership looks like in practice, not in theory.
Season 3 | Ep 9 Rushab Shah on fixing charity's data problem with an F1 mindset
Season 3 · Episode 9
Thursday, June 18, 2026 • Duration 45:50
What does Formula One have to teach the charity sector about impact? Quite a lot, as it turns out.
In this episode of the Charity Changemakers Podcast, Adam is joined by Rushab Shah, founder and CEO of OneHive, a tech for good organisation helping youth charities streamline their admin and scale their impact. Rushab's route to the sector is anything but conventional. After studying mechanical engineering at Warwick, he worked in the F1 supply chain, drove test cars around tracks for a living, and led digital strategy for a business decarbonising maritime transport across the Shetland Islands. Running a youth club for disabled young people throughout university kept the mission close.
When the engineering career reached its ceiling, he looked at the charity sector with an engineer's eye and spotted something striking: charities spend enormous time delivering programmes and then enormous time analysing what happened. By which point, it's too late to change anything. In Formula One, you know what the lap time will be by the end of the first corner. What if youth charities could work the same way?
That question became OneHive, now supporting around 30,000 young people across 18 youth-focused organisations, with a county council investing to roll the platform across 10 charities simultaneously.
Adam and Rushab explore:
Why charities are measuring impact too late, and what real-time data actually changes on the ground
How a shared interest in Thomas Tank Engine taught Rushab more about inclusion than any disability training
The "say yes to everything" approach that built a career in five years and a startup from scratch
Why small and medium charities are currently beating large ones at adopting tech
The tension between failing fast and working with vulnerable young people
The honest lesson on when to pitch and when to shut up and listen
A candid, practical conversation about what genuine sector transformation looks like when someone builds it from the ground up.
Season 3 | Ep 8 Callum Dixon on leading before you're ready and finding where you belong
Season 3 · Episode 8
Thursday, June 4, 2026 • Duration 40:22
In this episode of the Charity Changemakers Podcast, Adam is joined by Callum Dixon, Director of Service Delivery and Member Support at Citizens Advice, for a candid and reflective conversation about a career built on stepping into the unknown.
Callum's journey started with a semi-dismissal at a law firm drinks reception that inadvertently pointed him toward Citizens Advice as a volunteer. From there he moved through Shelter, higher education, a chief executive role at 25, a merger, a housing association, and eventually home to the national Citizens Advice organisation, where he has held four different leadership roles in five years.
Together Adam and Callum explore:
Being told you're too young for a job, and taking it anyway
What gorilla-glueing carpet while writing a National Lottery bid teaches you about small charity leadership
The loneliness of the chief executive role and why peer community matters
Leading a merger and the strategic lessons around stakeholder management
How federated organisations teach soft power over positional authority
What becoming an adoptive parent changed about Callum's leadership style
Why the version of yourself you were 10 years ago shouldn't be recognisable
The importance of slowing down in a sector driven by passion and urgency
Callum also talks openly about the complexity of Citizens Advice as a federated charity, the postcode lottery of advice funding across England and Wales, and the ongoing work to shift power dynamics through co-design with their member network.
[00:00] Introduction and quickfire questions [05:00] A 17-year-old hosting a residential for young people with disabilities [08:30] From F1 data to the charity sector, and what the gap revealed [13:00] Building a career by saying yes to everything [16:15] How TutorHive became OneHive [21:20] What OneHive looks like today, 30,000 beneficiaries and growing [24:00] Real-time safeguarding, the Joe example [29:00] Sceptics, screen time and why tech is the solution but not the answer [34:20] The THRIVE framework and plans for Manchester and beyond [38:00] The personal cost of always saying yes [40:45] The hardest leadership lesson: knowing when to stop pitching
Stepping into a role before you feel ready is often how the most valuable learning happens
Building a peer community is essential for chief executives navigating isolation at the top
Parenthood can fundamentally shift how you understand and exercise leadership
Federated organisations require influence and relationship skills more than positional authority
Slowing down is a leadership discipline, not a weakness
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and career journey
08:50 Becoming a chief executive at 25
15:00 Peer support, board relationships and early leadership lessons
19:00 Merger, housing association and the road to Citizens Advice
22:00 Career development, visibility and backing yourself
26:00 Parenthood and evolving leadership style
33:00 How Citizens Advice works and what it delivers
38:41 How to get involved with Citizens Advice
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