Unrivalled experience

We deliver a depth of thinking and analysis that few other agencies in the sector can match

Founded in 2016 by Tobin Aldrich, Imogen Ward and the late Mark Astarita, the AAW Group is a global fundraising and strategy practice working with UK and international non-profits.


The AAW Group was founded to fill a gap in the market. We wanted to create a consultancy that offered leaders and organisiations a partner with demonstrable experience of running and leading a charity. A partner that could both support the development of organisational strategy and structures, and source and secure talented leadership.


Eight years later, the AAW Group works around the globe and has a strong track record in working with clients ranging from large, complex often international non-profits to smaller national or regional organisations.


Our founders are complemented by a talented team of experts with diverse skill sets from the public, private and non-profit sectors. Collectively, we are able to deliver a depth of thinking and analysis that few other agencies in this sector can match.

Overall, we’re confident that we offer an unbeatable combination of operational experience, expertise, insight and track record. That confidence is backed up by our results.

  • Tobin Aldrich leads our Global and Strategy Divisions. Tobin is a respected and sought-after international fundraising and non-profit marketing strategist, working at a regional, national and global level. He has worked with over 70 non-profits in over 40 countries across the globe to deliver a wide range of strategic projects.

    A graduate of Cambridge with an MBA from Cass Business School, Tobin has two decades of experience as a senior fundraising leader including roles as Director of Fundraising with WWF, Concern Worldwide, Sightsavers and National Deaf Children’s Society. In total, teams led by Tobin have raised over £500m and recruited over one million new regular donors.

    Tobin is considered a global expert in individual giving and of all channels including digital, DRTV and offline channels. Amongst other achievements, Tobin was responsible for creating and rapidly growing Concern and Sightsavers' regular giving programmes, scaling WWF's animal adoptions programme, developing Centrepoint's Room Sponsorship regular giving scheme and for Sightsavers’ award-winning Million Miracles campaign, which raised over £30 million to fund a million sight-restoring surgeries in developing countries.

  • With a career spanning over 25 years and working across Europe, North America and Sub Saharan Africa, Imogen has led not for profit organisations working in the global education, health and environmental sectors. Imogen has always been curious about the role that individuals have in making change happen – whether that’s staff, volunteers, campaigners or supporters. With a track record in start-ups and a deep experience of inspiring philanthropy and corporate partnerships, Imogen has been instrumental in taking organisations from idea inception to scalable forces for change.

     In 2016, Imogen co-founded AAW with Tobin Aldrich and Mark Astarita and supports organisations around the world with strategic, practical change programmes focused on fundraising, engagement and organisational development.

  • Deniz Hassan, is one of the sector’s leading digital practitioners and a regular speaker on digital fundraising at conferences. Most recently he was the digital lead behind the UN World Food Programme's recent astronomic global digital growth – taking the charity’s digital programme from a standing start to a multi-million pound individual giving programmes in the world, driving income in more than 100 countries and five languages.

    Deniz has worked with a wide range of charities, big and small, national and international, and has an unparalleled record across both strategic and operational digital planning, technical infrastructures, media buying and analysis.

  • A skilled and dedicated fundraising and marketing professional with over 20 years’ experience, George was MD at direct marketing agency TW CAT before establishing Audience, building it into a respected fundraising and communications agency. George brings invaluable individual giving expertise to AAW, working with charities to develop and grow their public income streams.

  • Poppy is a senior fundraising and marketing strategist with over 20 years' experience. She's a passionate innovator with a knack for spotting new and emerging opportunities and extensive experience of developing new mass fundraising campaigns and strategies. With much of her career spent at Cancer Research UK in a wide variety of roles, including Head of Strategic Marketing and Head of Fundraising Campaigns, Poppy has a real breadth of knowledge and experience. Poppy now works as an independent consultant with clients including Unicef UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, Crisis and Save the Children. She has been an AAW Associate Consultant since 2017.

  • Ali has worked in recruitment consultancy for over 20 years and has in-house and agency experience across the not-for-profit and commercial sector. Ali project manages all our Executive Search campaigns.

  • Emma leads the candidate searches for AAW’s Executive Search campaigns and brings a wealth of experience in recruitment within the commercial and not-for-profit sectors, as well as in corporate and major donor fundraising, and prospect research.

  • Suzie has worked in the recruitment sector for 20 years. She was ranked as one of the top consultants at Brook Street and the highest performing consultant at CF Appointment’s NFP division. Suzie joined AAW in 2018, and is now our Head of Recruitment leading our Shortlisting Service.

  • Angela Mann is a specialist not-for-profit recruitment consultant with extensive expertise recruiting across the sector and throughout the UK. Angela has managed permanent, temporary and interim campaigns at all levels and for a wide range of specialisms including fundraising, marketing and communications. Angela joined AAW in 2024 and is the lead on all our interim services.

  • Sam has more than 14 years of experience within senior customer service roles as well as administration. Working closely with Suzie Groves, Sam manages and assists with our Shortlisting campaigns, including providing support for candidates and clients, management of the candidate search and arranging all interview logistics, as well as working across our interim campaigns.

  • Jane is responsible for managing all logistics in relation to consultancy projects and search campaigns. Jane built her career working as a PA to executives in the advertising industry and running her own ‘virtual PA’ service for commercial clients.

Meet your team

You’ll be working with some of the most experienced fundraising and search experts in the sector. Their records speak for themselves.

AAW also works with brilliant specialists and associates across consulting and search including Louise Flanagan and Simon Applebaum.

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