Help For Children's New Affiliate Board Chairs Plan for Bumper Fundraising in 2020

Help For Children recently announced that Vanessa Hemavathi, Head of Investment Services (Asia) for Privium Fund Management and Jack Inglis, Chief Executive Officer of AIMA had joined as Affiliate Board Chairs for HFC Asia and HFC UK respectively. AlphaWeek’s Greg Winterton caught up with Hemavathi and Inglis to learn more about their plans for their respective chapters of HFC.

GW: Vanessa, Jack, can you tell us a little more about your involvement with HFC to date – when did you first get involved and what was it that was the catalyst for you to get involved?

VH: I’ve known of HFC Asia for quite a while through some of the HFC Asia committee members, But the catalyst was when I attended the HFC UK Gala in London last November.  It made me realise that getting more involved with HFC would be a great way to connect with my industry peers to do charitable work that could have a meaningful social impact in Hong Kong for the prevention and treatment of child abuse.

JI: I have been attending HFC fundraising events for several years, but it was a gruelling mountain cycle challenge in aid of the charity in 2016 that first got me to break out in a sweat for it. And I didn’t even own a bike when I agreed to do it! That got me more involved with the HFC community in the UK and led me to be a very amateur auctioneer at last year’s London Gala event. When Gunner (Burkhart, outgoing HFC UK Affiliate Board Chair) asked me to consider taking over from him as the UK Chair it came at the right time as I was looking to do more.  HFC seemed a perfect fit given its origins within the hedge fund industry and the much deserving cause to protect children from abuse.

GW: Do you have any specific goals or targets for your respective chapters in 2020 and if so, what are they? If you don’t have specific goals or targets this year, what will you be focused on to move your chapter of HFC forward?

VH: Primarily, I want to work with the HFC Asia Affiliate Board to reignite the HFC Asia chapter.  Our main priority will be to expand our reach in the industry by not only continuing to inspire existing supporters but by recruiting more senior leaders from the alternative investment community so that we can raise more funds to fight child abuse in the Hong Kong area.

JI: I plan to build on the strong foundation that Rob Mirsky and Gunner Burkart have put in place as past chairs of the HFC United Kingdom Affiliate Board.  Similar to Vanessa, I want to grow our support network and create new fundraising opportunities that can make a real impact on the lives of children in the UK.

GW: Vanessa, highlight one or two of the organisations HFC Asia has funded for us and why they stand out to you.

VH: HFC Asia has supported Against Child Abuse and the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children, both of which stand out because of their targeted child and parent therapeutic programs that protect abused infants and children from further abuse and trauma, and that strengthen families through positive parenting training.  HFC provides not only funding to support these effective organisations in the Hong Kong area but it also provides expert consultation to ensure a positive impact.  These are just two of the more than 350 organisations across HFC’s 12 locations that have benefited from $53M (USD) in funding since its inception, which has helped transform the lives of more than 1.1 million children.

GW: Jack, how much has HFC UK invested in the UK and what is it about HFC’s grant-making model that enables you to effectively invest in this cause?

JI: Since we became an affiliate of Help For Children in 2006, HFC UK has invested £2 million in the fight against child abuse in the London area, a fantastic sum which has supported a range of high-performing organisations that address child abuse from multiple angles.  Across all of HFC, there is a rigorous grant-making process led by accomplished child welfare experts, which is what makes us effective in protecting and healing children.  In the UK, we have been privileged to do this originally with the highly-regarded Dr. Eileen Munro, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and now with Dr. Kristine Hickle, Senior Lecturer in Social Work and Social Care at the University of Sussex.  This access to expertise in the field is helping us put the money that we raise to the best possible use in all of HFC’s locations.

GW: Regardless of any specific goals or targets, what will success look like to each of you in a year’s time?

VH: This one is easy. Success in a year’s time for HFC means we re-establish HFC Asia in the Hong Kong alternative investment community, raise tons of money and create greater awareness of the prevalence of child abuse and why our efforts are so important. This will ensure more abused children receive the care they need, and help families grow stronger together.

JI: Success for me as HFC UK Affiliate Board Chair means that we have a wildly successful fundraising year so that we can give the gift of a healthy and hopeful future to many more children in the UK.

Vanessa Hemavathi is Head of Investment Services (Asia) for Privium Fund Management and is HFC Asia Affiliate Chair; Jack Inglis is Chief Executive Officer of The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) and is HFC UK Affiliate Chair.