Polly Rowe

Polly Rowe

Senior Impact, Programme and Engagement Manager

“Pol-ee Row”  she/her

Polly works across all of our Foundation programmes, but with a particular focus on our grant giving work and measuring our social impact.

She is particularly passionate about rehabilitating ex-offenders, bursaries and impact.

Polly is extremely organised, and has experience in communications and building good relationships.

When she’s not at work, Polly enjoys spending time with her family and ferrying her daughter from various clubs and activities!

relator | maximizer | activator | communication | strategic

The latest stories from Polly Rowe on the City & Guilds Foundation website:

City & Guilds Foundation and Gower College Swansea launch innovative £100k project to support at risk young people into secure employment

City & Guilds Foundation and Gower College Swansea launch innovative £100k project to support at risk young people into secure employment

by | 8 Sep 2022 | , , , ,

The City & Guilds Foundation and Gower College Swansea have entered into a new strategic partnership to support learners at risk of dropping out of education, overcome barriers and find positive ways to gain skills and enduring work. The funding will put up to 200 young people through a Transition & Engagement support programme, designed to raise aspirations and help disadvantaged and disengaged learners to develop and enhance existing skills to prepare them for the world of work. The...

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How we’re supporting St Giles to change lives by investing in vital training

How we’re supporting St Giles to change lives by investing in vital training

by | 14 Jul 2022 | , , , ,

St Giles is a London-based charity that helps people create a better future for themselves, and they’ve been an active part of our Foundation network for over five years. The charity works with people to overcome poverty, exploitation, abuse, addiction, mental health problems, crime or a combination of these issues. And a significant number of its peer advisors are people who have overcome their own struggles – often through St Giles’ own programmes. The peer advisors then use their ‘lived...

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No Going Back: City & Guilds Foundation supports The Livery Company initiative

No Going Back: City & Guilds Foundation supports The Livery Company initiative

by | 2 Mar 2022 | , , ,

There are few occasions since setting up City & Guilds some 144 years ago when the Livery Companies have worked together towards a single objective. And that’s why we’re delighted that through the City & Guilds Foundation we’re able to support the new and exciting Livery ‘No Going Back’ initiative supporting offender rehabilitation. At the City & Guilds Foundation supporting the rehabilitation of offenders and former offenders has been a priority for some time. We recognise that...

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A partnership that’s making a real difference, to real people

A partnership that’s making a real difference, to real people

by | 21 May 2021 | , , , ,

The City & Guilds Foundation and The Educators’ Trust have teamed up to provide mental health first aid training for a team of advisors delivering vital services to vulnerable young people.  The training which also includes essential digital skills will be delivered through  St Giles – a charity using expertise and real-life past experiences to empower people who are not getting the help they need. People held back by poverty, exploited, abused, dealing with addiction or mental health...

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Support for a green start

Support for a green start

by | 27 Jan 2021 | , , ,

This guest post is by Andrew Harrison, Head of Contracts at Groundwork UK. As has often been said of late, we’re facing unprecedented challenges as a nation. Those challenges are many and significant – global economic trends, a changing climate and now an unforgiving pandemic. All of these forces impact first and worst on those in our society who have least, adding to the structural inequalities that have been affecting parts of our country for decades. Supporting those who need it most...

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Supporting people and organisations through Covid-19

Supporting people and organisations through Covid-19

by | 22 Jan 2021 | , , , , ,

Earlier this year, the City & Guilds Foundation Committee approved £100k of funding to support organisations and individuals who are facing the fallout to their vital services / employment challenges due to Covid-19. Our purpose is all about helping people to develop their skills and our Foundation aims to remove barriers to getting a job, celebrate best practice on the job and to advocate for jobs of the future.  We have been working hard...

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Interview with Change Grow Live’s Laura Shurrock

Interview with Change Grow Live’s Laura Shurrock

by | 15 Oct 2020 | , , , , ,

We recently caught up with Laura Shurrock, Mentoring Support Officer at Change Grow Live, a charity we have been supporting since 2018 with a three-year grant. Change Grow Live’s mission is to help people change the direction of their lives, grow as individuals, and live life to its full potential. Our funding supports Change Grow Live's project in partnership with Birmingham Youth Offending Service and the West Midlands Police, which helps young people in the community who are at risk of...

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An update on our bursary programme – providing access to the skills most needed, for those who need it most

An update on our bursary programme – providing access to the skills most needed, for those who need it most

by | 6 Oct 2020 | , , , , ,

Our bursary programme was designed to change people’s lives by allowing them to develop their skills. We know that, for some, the cost of training can be a huge barrier to getting the skills to find jobs and progress in their careers. Recent research indicates that without the support of funding, those hardest to reach will find it even harder to progress in a labour market which favours those already in higher-paying work. That’s why we set up the bursary programme in 2000 – to help people in...

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Essential financial support now available for social enterprises through £18.7m Covid-19 grants

Essential financial support now available for social enterprises through £18.7m Covid-19 grants

by | 14 Jul 2020 | , , , ,

Here at the City & Guilds Foundation, we’re incredibly proud to support UnLtd – a leading provider of support to social entrepreneurs in and around the UK. Today, UnLtd have made an exciting announcement about a new Social Enterprise Support Fund. The Fund is directly responding to an urgent need in the sector to help social enterprises change the way they work, make their spaces COVID-secure, and manage liquidity during the next six months. There are five social enterprise support...

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A commitment to the beneficiaries supported through the City & Guilds Foundation

A commitment to the beneficiaries supported through the City & Guilds Foundation

by | 9 Apr 2020 | , , ,

The City & Guilds Foundation, along with a wider group of funders, recognise that the covid-19 outbreak is an exceptional event that will have an impact on civil society groups, and want to offer reassurance that we stand with the sector during this time.  We wish to be as helpful as possible during the coming weeks and months so that civil society groups can focus on the vital work of supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities.  We understand that there will be times...

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