Former Deputy Cabinet Secretary Helen MacNamara appointed Chair of UK Community Foundations

Helen MacNamara CB, the former Deputy Cabinet Secretary, has been appointed Chair of UK Community Foundations (UKCF), which brings together community foundations across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

  

MacNamara succeeded Andrew Tuggey CBE DL today, following an open and competitive recruitment process earlier this year.

  

Her appointment brings one of Britain’s most experienced former senior civil servants into a leading role in place-based philanthropy - at a time when the relationship between national government, local institutions and communities is becoming increasingly important.

  

MacNamara spent nearly two decades in the Civil Service, serving latterly as the Deputy Cabinet Secretary.  Her earlier roles included Director General for Housing and Planning and senior positions in the Cabinet Office and Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

  

She is currently Chair of Shelter and the Future Governance Forum, and a founding Trustee of the Heywood Foundation.  Helen was previously Associate Partner at Robey Warshaw and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at the Premier League.

  

As Chair of UKCF, she will work with the Board, executive team and community foundation leaders to strengthen the profile and impact of community foundations.

  

"If we want communities to have more say over their future, and people to have more control over their lives, we need to back the institutions that know them best.  As Chair of UK Community Foundations, I want to help put more resources behind local ambition.  There is no shortage of people ready to make a difference. The question is whether they can get the support and the funding they need to act.  I look forward to working with community foundations to do just that."

  

Andrew Tuggey CBE DL said:

"I and my fellow trustees are delighted to welcome Helen MacNamara CB as she takes the helm from me as Chair of UK Community Foundations in November.  It has been an enormous privilege and huge pleasure for me to champion the movement of 47 community foundations across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales for the last six years.  Helen will lead the movement to the next level."

  

"Community foundations are already trusted local institutions, connecting philanthropy with people and organisations who are deeply rooted in their place.  We have a big opportunity to grow that model and give community philanthropy a much stronger national voice.  Helen’s experience, judgement and ambition make her exactly the right person to help us do even more in the years ahead."