We are a Social Enterprise trying to do good things to help UK charities

John started his working career, in the distant past, by training to be an actuary focusing mainly on advising companies and trustees of pension schemes. After managing a consulting team at one of the major actuarial firms he decided, in his mid thirties, that he would prefer the autonomy and control of setting up and managing his own firm of actuaries and pension consultants and  with a few colleagues.  He raised money in the City and established a firm called Aspen. Under his stewardship, Aspen successfully grew and in 2007 was sold to Capita plc.  He has since entertained himself by taking on various appointments as a trustee of pension and institutional funds and directorships of business which seek to grow.

John was asked to became involved with Pennies From Heaven in 2000 when Barclays first considered the Scheme and, as the initial client, were keen for someone they knew to oversee the distribution of the collected funds.  Subsequently, in 2004, Anthony asked John to help finance the operation and take on the Chairmanship of Pennies From Heaven Ltd.

“What started out as a favour for Barclays become a real interest – such a simple scheme that can do so much good.  Being involved enables me  to use some of the business development skills I have acquired to help the charity sector. I very much enjoy seeing Pennies From Heaven grow and contribute more and more each year to helping others in need of help.  It is my way of giving back to society.”

John is in his early sixties, resides in London and is  always busy with his various bits of work, grandchildren and children, as well as trying to stay fit!

Having worked on an assignment for VSO in South Africa after leaving school Anthony embarked on a 30 year career in insurance broking working for the Sedgwick Group in various european countries (20 years) returning to the UK from Denmark at the end of 1990. Roles were largely marketing related & included operational responsibility latterly for the Nordic countries.

“One thing that has always been of interest and remains so was the desire to understand people from wherever they originated in the world and how by working together this could make a real difference for many. I guess in simple terms this is what Pennies from Heaven is trying to achieve! Well the opportunity in 1999 to work together with my co-founder and long standing friend, Angus, arose & we soon realised that whilst this would be a challenge it was indeed possible to set up the scheme”

Anthony lives and works in North Norfolk with his wife Virginia with his two children having escaped the nest live and work in London and Paris.

Kate joined Pennies from Heaven in 2005 and became CEO in January 2017

Kate has led Pennies from Heaven through an ambitious growth period, increasing the number of people and organisations participating in the scheme by 50% in three years. Having spent ten years as a marketing professional and strategy director at Barclays Bank, Kate joined Pennies from Heaven to fulfil her passion to make a difference to the charity sector. Kate led the development of Pennies from Heaven across the NHS and to date NHS staff have donated over a £1m via the scheme. Much of these donations have benefited the work of NHS charities themselves.

Kate is a passionate believer that people want to give more to charity and if we can make it accessible and easy to do so then people will want to join in and will feel good about doing so.

“It is a privilege to be part of this wonderful giving scheme and work with such an enthusiastic team. Our mission is to get everyone giving their payslip pennies to charity as we believe that few of us would miss the pennies from our pay. If every employee joined in, we would raise £198m a year, plus gift aid – imagine the difference that would make. Small Change makes Big change – simple.”

When not working Kate likes nothing more that taking part in charity challenges and volunteering. From hiking the Grand Canyon, running the London Marathon, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, and cycling across Italy you never know what she is planning next.

You can contact Kate at kate@penniesfromheaven.co.uk

Helen is a Business graduate from Liverpool John Moores University. Helen has had a varied career working in several industries including Technology, Defence, Recruitment and Higher Education. Her roles have centred around Business Development and Client Management.

Since having her own family Helen has got actively involved in charity work completing personal challenges such as a 210ft freefall abseil and walking 100km in 24 hours all to raise money for charity. She also understands the importance of donating your time to your community in various voluntary roles currently standing as a local Brownie leader. Helen lives in Formby (Merseyside) with her husband Mark and their two daughters Hannah and Bethany who keep her on her toes!

“I am so enthusiastic about Pennies from Heaven. It’s such a cost-effective way for organisations to raise money for their designated charities; by concentrating on micro donating we can fundraise millions of pounds that make a huge difference. I am excited to be part of the Pennies from Heaven journey and making a valuable contribution to the amazing charities!”

Theresa is a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Certified Accountants and an Associate of the Pensions Management Institute. She began her career with The Lord Chancellors Department before transferring to HM Customs and Excise. She then moved into accountancy and focussed on Pension Scheme Accounting, working at  management  level  for  both  a third party administration company, and a  large “in house” pension scheme . She also worked for a top 10 firm of accountants as Pension Audit Manager.

Theresa began to work for Pennies from Heaven when she took a career break to care for elderly parents. Currently Theresa is learning  to speak Mandarin to assist with teaching  English language and culture to UK resident Chinese speakers.  In her spare time she enjoys a variety of outdoor activities.