About us
We're building future technology on a 12-year foundation of non-profit expertise to help grassroots charities achieve amazing things every day.
Our Mission
We believe that local is better. By connecting grassroots organisations with donations, fundraising and grants plus resources and support, we are proud to help thousands of UK community groups do amazing things every day.
Founded in 2012, we’ve always worked hard for our community. Today we believe passionately in bringing cutting-edge innovations to empower the non-profit sector, which traditionally lacks the investment to take advantage of the sort of developments that other areas take for granted. From modern security systems to experimental AI tools, we’re excited about exploring how new solutions can help solve those traditional challenges faced by non-profit organisations. We believe the only way to do this is to mix a bold approach to technology with a shared empathy towards the goals our charitable members want to achieve.
We are owned by the charitable Localgiving Foundation and, although we run as a enterprise, our profits fund their good work.
Our History
Localgiving was founded 12 years ago to offer digital donation services and an online presence to UK charities at a time when both were out of reach of most organisations. As such we wanted to reach local and community groups who would not have had the resources to benefit from emerging online fundraising.
Since then we have built a nationwide community, have helped thousands of charities raise hundreds of millions of pounds, and now partner with some of the UKs largest grant makers. We’ve seen technology move on radically during this time, and although our mission has not changed, we have renewed our drive to update our products and tools to suit the new landscape.
Today we are a small but experienced and driven team that is committed to innovation that helps our community do amazing things every day.
Meet the team
Our diverse and passionate team balances experienced charity professionals with tech expertise.
Community team
We believe that customers should connect with people who are empowered and involved in the whole lifecycle of fundraising, not just a call centre. We have one team responsible for everything from managing grants to helping with fundraising pages, and we’re really proud of the human touch we bring to the process.
Ellis Heath, Customer Success Manager
About: Ellis joined Localgiving in 2021, bringing almost ten years of customer service knowledge and experience to the charity sector after previously working in hospitality. At Localgiving, she provides support and guidance to thousands of organisations on the platform. When not at work, she enjoys travelling, learning languages, and perfecting a morning cup of coffee. She uses she/they pronouns. My causes: I support and endorse LGBTQ+ charities because there are institutions and structures in society that mean people are oppressed and persecuted for who they are.
Lauren Swain, Regional Programmes Manager
About: In 2016, Lauren launched Localgiving's Wales Development Programme. She supported over 500 charitable organisations to explore online fundraising, ran over 600 training sessions and helped them to raise over £2.8million. Lauren now supports the delivery of a number of Localgiving's regional grant programmes across the UK. Prior to these roles, Lauren was Fundraising Executive for a fundraising consultancy, as well as Wales’ Area Fundraising Manager for MS Society. Lauren has also held a number of other arts and higher education fundraising positions. Outside of work, Lauren loves days out with her little girl, good food and travelling. My causes: I mainly support causes that work with children in care and families in crisis. I am involved with a number of youth works, including running a youth camp every summer.
Alexis DeCarufel, Onboarding Executive
About: Alexis graduated from the University of Florida with a BA in Political Science in 2017 before moving to London in 2019. Having spent four years in the technology recruitment sector, she has a passion for front-end development and website design. As a lover of continuous learning, she recently completed a diploma in Addiction Therapy and is currently studying to teach English as a second language. She is excited to begin her involvement within the charity sector in order to positively impact local communities. In her free time, you'll most likely find her roaming the Camden food stalls or reading a good book.
Development team
Our dev team brings a mixture of experience from multiple countries and backgrounds. Some have been at Localgiving from the very start, while others have added new insights from different sectors.
Floyd Joseph, Senior Web Developer
About: Floyd has a love for developing software and is excited about using technology to make a positive difference in local communities. He is passionate about finding innovative ways to support a range of causes and enjoys working with charities to confront the challenges posed by the sector.
Serena Kirillova, Head of Technology
About: Serena graduated from the Queen Mary University of London in 2010 with a BSc in Computer Science. She is passionate about technology and enjoys using her skills for the benefit of the charity sector. When not tinkering with code, managing projects, automating herself and others or struggling with printers she enjoys the wind against her skin as she cycles around the beautiful countryside of Buckinghamshire, playing music instruments (badly), writing, or having a gaming sesh with friends. Working at Localgiving serves as a constant inspiration and a reminder that work can bring real and tangible benefits to local communities and people around you.
Management team
Our management team blends extensive experience in charities, fintech, and media & comms so that our members can benefit from the breadth of their expertise.
Andrei Yusfin, CEO
About: Andrei's background is predominately in payments and fintech. He has been at the heart of two bank launches - first Tandem, which set out to be the UK's first 'Good Bank' and truly transparent credit card, then Chase with JP Morgan and he is passionate about bringing the rigour and pace he picked up in fintech into the charity sector. My causes: Refugees at Home, who help in the intersection between homelessness and migration. I ran a fundraiser for the charity last Christmas and was really touched by both the problem they were solving and the innovative approach they had to doing so.
Luke Upton, Head of Communications
About: Luke has worked in media and communications for over 15 years, across sectors including the bio-economy, rail technology, oil and gas and the sport industry. His work has included launching magazines, chairing conferences, developing social media strategies and being a co-author of a European Commission report. After many years in London, he has recently moved home to Wales, where he lives with his three, very lively small children. Having worked in charity fundraising at the beginning of his career he is delighted to now be helping people raise money for amazing causes every day. My causes: I support the RNLI, a charity that does a wonderful job keeping the seas safe for everyone and Survival International, which gives a voice and support for tribal peoples all over the world.
Chris Breeze, Head of Programmes
About: Chris joined Localgiving in 2020, having moved from the world of E-commerce. He works to secure, develop, and deliver grant programmes and other fundraising opportunities for the thousands of charitable organsiations that use Localgiving. Outside of work, he is a keen musician - singing with, accompanying, or directing multiple choirs across London, and always searching for the next great gig. My causes: I tend to give time or money to causes that support arts education or music therapy, particularly for young people - music was a great source of comfort and confidence to me when I was growing up and there's a widening gap to bridge in terms of equality of access to musical opportunities
Tom Latchford, Chair
About: Tom Latchford took over as Chair of Localgiving Foundation in 2017 and is actively involved in helping to scale the impact of the foundation. Following the successful exit of his technology company, Tom is now fully focussed on philanthropy. Tom was founder and CEO of Joyful.org which grew to be the largest nonprofit website and fundraising platform in the UK and AUS before being acquired by the Access Group. My causes: Tom is an experienced trustee, and has served on the boards of several charities, most recently chairing a board which included Jude Law, Sam West and Michael Attenborough for the Belarus Free Theatre.
