New additions to the GFCF board and staff!

(L – R): Catherine Rodgers and Kerry Soderlund

We are delighted to announce that our team is growing, with Catherine Rodgers joining the GFCF board and Kerry Soderlund joining the staff as our new Finance Director!

Catherine is an African Feminist, based in Nairobi, Kenya working for Greenpeace International as Head of Engagement Support and Co-lead for the Alternative Futures project, focusing on hope and solutions by building people power to bring transformational change in the world: through defending environmental boundaries, shifting mind-sets and changing power dynamics. She is also on the board of Africans Rising – a Pan-African movement of people and organizations, working for peace, justice and dignity – and on the Engagement Committee of Restless Development, which supports youth leaders to create a better world.

Speaking about her appointment to the board, Catherine commented:

“I am so glad to be part of the GFCF. #ShiftThePower is needed now more than ever to change the dynamics between the Global Aid system and community organizations who are delivering the change needed to enable communities to flourish and overcome the challenges they face. We have to continually reflect on the ‘power of money’ and ensure it is supporting radical transformation and building systems to support community philanthropy, whilst we continue to hold global financial institutions and traditional donors accountable.”

Kerry is an experienced Finance and Operations Director of a community foundation in South Africa, and will be joining the GFCF team part-time. Kerry offers insights and expertise into the financial, operational and governance management of public benefit organizations. She is qualified with a Bachelor of Accounting Science degree and aims to contribute her expertise to ensure that the GFCF has well-managed, effective financial systems, manages and monitors risk, and ensures there is statutory compliance and sound governance in place.

Kerry’s first introduction to the GFCF and #ShiftThePower was attending the Global Summit on Community Philanthropy in Johannesburg in 2016. She feels that the event was a pivotal moment in changing the narrative around community philanthropy. Since then, as a practitioner in the community philanthropy sphere – especially working in the rural context of community philanthropy – Kerry has followed and advocated for #ShiftThePower as a global movement.

Kerry spoke about her motivation for joining the GFCF team:

“I have known and worked with the GFCF for a number of years and admired the organization for how it practices partnering with community foundations for people-led development. I am excited to have the opportunity to become part of the dynamic GFCF team, and to contribute to its vision of people-led and community-led development. Community foundations are at the heart of communities and have the knowledge of the unique challenges and opportunities that lie within each community and situation. They often have innovative, cost-effective, efficient and fit-for-purpose solutions. When these community foundations have access to resources such as grants, capacity development, peer mentoring and networking opportunities they are better able to bring about life-changing and long-lasting solutions to local issues. I look forward to contributing my financial experience so that the GFCF can continue to support the global community, influencing those with resources and linking them to those who can effectively bring about social change with the resources. “