Meet Emma
Tell us a bit about yourself
I originally come from Oxford and have lived in Bristol for many years with my partner, son, and very old dog. My career has been in charities - mainly managing grant programmes for large funders like BBC Children in Need and Lloyds Bank Foundation.
For the past 10 years I have worked for myself as a Philanthropy Advisor. I support philanthropists and families to decide how best to make a difference through their giving. One thing you might not know about me is that my partner and I were the first lesbians to be approved to adopt in Bristol back when the law changed in 2005.
What inspired you to join Bath Women's Fund?
I co-founded Bath Women's Fund with Isobel back in 2018. At the time I was giving lectures about collective giving as I teach on a Masters programme on Philanthropy at the University of Kent. When Isobel told me about her experience with Melbourne Women's Fund in Australia, I decided it was time to stop just talking about giving circles and have a go at running one.
What are the issues that you are most passionate about?
I am on a bit of a mission to develop philanthropy advice as a recognised and valued profession. We are still in the situation in the UK that we expect potential donors to just work it out on their own. We are happy that people need advice on pensions or tax or investments but not on how best to tackle poverty or address the climate crisis. I believe that good and timely help unlocks the private money that charities and community groups so desperately need - and deserve - and I would love all wealth holders to be able to access philanthropy advice.
I am also of the mind that philanthropy is not just the domain of white, male, tech billionaires. Everyday givers are just as generous and women especially so. I would like us to reimagine philanthropy as something we can all do - whether we are giving our money or time.
What would you be most interested in learning about as a Bath Women's Fund member?
I set up the Bath Women's Fund because of the giving it does and am so proud that we reached our £100,000 milestone this year. But the thing I could not have predicted is how many lovely and interesting women I would get to meet. So what I like learning about most is finding out about our amazing members.
What is your favourite place/thing to do in and around Bath?
I love spending time in art galleries so I enjoy visiting the Holburne Museum, Victoria Art Gallery and the Museum of East Asian Art, which is full of beautiful things. I come on the train from Bristol and often add a sneaky trip to your M&S!