Cheshire Community Foundation has a small but mighty team of experts in their respective fields.
The Team
Mel Sproston
Chief ExecutiveMelanie Joined Cheshire Community Foundation in 2024, following a successful career in the international education sector.
In addition to her employed roles, she previously established and chaired a charitable community ‘hub’ which provides a range of activities and events to support physical and mental wellbeing. Melanie also chairs a multi-academy trust educating over 2,500 pupils in a particularly deprived area and is a member at another multi-academy Trust which serves Cheshire and Derbyshire.
Born and raised in Cheshire, Melanie continues to live in the County and is passionate about tackling disadvantage and supporting local communities.
Debbie Smith
Head of StewardshipDebbie joined the Foundation in August 2018 following a period of time spent raising her family. During this time, Debbie volunteered with a variety of charities including a children’s reading scheme, the NCT and a community gardening scheme. Prior to that, she worked for a national accountancy recruitment consultancy and a big-four firm of accountants in an account management role.
Now her role includes providing information to donors, ensuring they feel proud of the difference their generosity has made to those less fortunate in Cheshire.
Karen Ziesler
Grants ManagerKaren has been working in funding and development roles in the voluntary sector and in grantmaking for nearly 20 years, including 10 years with a lottery funder, and 5 years as a freelance grant assessor with BBC Children in Need. Her early career was spent in quality and health and safety management in industry.
She has wide ranging voluntary experience, having spent time as a befriender supporting Syrian refugees, doing translation work for the National Holocaust Museum, and as a trustee on Chester Women’s Aid Council of Management.
Karen has been doing assessment work for the Foundation since 2017, and has now moved into a grants management role.
Emily Stone
Grants OfficerEmily joined the foundation in October 2022 as a business graduate. She has 20 years experience of serving her community as either a Dispensing Optician, the trustee of her local primary school’s PTA or an associate in her local charity shop.
Emily’s role as the Grants Officer is to underpin the strategic work of Grant Making and maintain accurate data to ensure an excellent service is provided. She is passionate about the third sector and enjoys bringing her enthusiasm and organisational skills to the role.
Emily has lived in Cheshire her whole life, loves to see the impact CCF has on the local communities, and is proud to be part of it.
Amelia Gardner
Grants & Impact CoordinatorAmelia joined Cheshire Community Foundation in February 2026 after graduating with a Master’s degree in Politics. She brings experience from a range of roles and has focused both her studies and volunteer work on supporting the charity sector.
As a Grants and Impact Officer, Amelia works at the intersection of grant-making, community relationships, and impact measurement. Her role helps ensure that funding from generous donors reaches local organisations where it can make the greatest difference, supporting communities across Cheshire and Warrington.
Passionate about the third sector, Amelia is excited to develop her role at the Foundation, and to contribute to strengthening local communities through effective grant-making and meaningful partnerships.
Helen Taylor
Finance Co-ordinatorHelen joined the Foundation in 2022. She was previously a solicitor and then worked in school finance. She brings this experience to support the finance side of the Foundation. She has lived in Cheshire for 25 years and enjoys seeing the positive impact CCF has across Cheshire.
Tracey Andrews
Head of Fund DevelopmentTracey joined Cheshire Community Foundation in early 2023 after working in both the corporate and charity sector in business development and fundraising roles. Following her own personal battle with health, she has a real empathy and understanding of the many challenges individuals face on a day-to-day basis. She is a passionate fundraiser herself, most recently completing a Challenge Trek across the Lake District and raising over £15,000 for The Christie Charity, Manchester.
Her role focuses on securing funds from local businesses and generous individuals to build a Warrington Fund, to address the needs of the grass roots charities and communities across the Borough, working alongside partner organisations and public services.
Tracey has lived in Cheshire most of her life, loves meeting new people and has great pride in being part of the Community Foundation family, helping those most in need across Cheshire and Warrington.
Amy Platt
Marketing and Communications ManagerAfter three years at at the Community Foundation in Donor Engagement, Amy moved into the Marketing and Communications Manager role in 2023. She has a background in Museums/Arts and Heritage, and more recently, education. Amy grew up in North Wales and has deep roots in Cheshire.
Amy uses her creative skills to spread the word about the Community Foundation and keep our donors and voluntary sector colleagues informed, whether that’s through newsletters, online or at events. She describes her role as ‘the best job in the world’, because she gets to see so much kindness, both from our donors and the amazing charities on our doorstep.
Iona Moxon
Fund Development and Projects Co-ordinatorIona joined Cheshire Community Foundation in December 2020 having spent 7 years working in the hospitality and events sector, managing a busy conference centre in Manchester whose profits funded various charitable activities.
After having children and relocating to Cheshire, Iona wanted a new challenge. Being able to combine her organisational skills with helping others she sees this as her perfect job role. Iona provides support across all aspects of the charity’s work, helping to further the Foundation's efforts throughout the community.
Sarah Bloor
Digital CommunicationsOfficer
Sarah joined the Community Foundation in summer 2022, she’s grown up in Cheshire and lived in the area for over 30 years. She has a background in marketing & social media and uses her skills to help promote all the amazing work our charities and organisations do, as well as thanking our wonderful donors.
Tom Kirk
Head of Grants& Impact
Tom joined Cheshire Community Foundation in 2024 after spending the last decade working in Grantmaking for BBC Children In Need, where he was originally responsible for managing the grant portfolio for Cheshire and Greater Manchester; later he moved on to be the Policy And Quality Assurance lead for the organisation. Before this, he was a Grant Manager for Arts Council England, working on UK-Wide Funding Programmes. Tom specialises in Grantmaking elements such as assurance, policy, process, and operations.
Tom is also a Trustee for the Palace Theatre and Opera House Trust in Manchester, fuelled by his passion for engaging people across the region with the Arts.
Tom has lived in the North West his entire life and is delighted to continue working towards delivering work which benefits people all across the region.
Tim Askham
Finance OfficerTim is responsible for overseeing accounting, treasury and related compliance matters. A chartered accountant and previously a partner in an international accounting firm, since retiring from that he is fulfilling an ambition to become involved in the charity sector, joining the Foundation on a part time basis in 2019. He is involved with a couple of other charities as well, including as a volunteer trustee with a local educational foundation.
His other qualification for this role is 30 years’ and counting residency in Cheshire/Warrington. Tim is delighted now to be working on behalf of the disadvantaged people in this special county.
Helen Ritchie
Relationship ManagerHelen joined the Foundation in 2024, bringing with her huge experience and extensive knowledge of charity sector organisations and corporate entities across the North West and Cheshire.
Her role as Relationship Manager will bridge the gap between donors and those applying for funding to ensure the most appropriate fit.
Following a national shout-out for volunteers in 2020, Helen joined the NHS Volunteer Responder scheme and, on her days off from work continues to provide weekly Check in and Chat support to people around the UK to reduce loneliness and isolation and improve wellbeing.
Marie-Louise Taylor
Fund Development Manager (Macclesfield and Congleton)Marie joined the Community Foundation in March 2026 as the Fund Development Manager for Macclesfield and Congleton.
Marie has previous experience working in a range of sectors including Finance and the NHS, having spent 5 years as a Central Administration Manager for a PCN.
As the Fund Development Manager for both Macclesfield and Congleton, Marie is responsible for lead the creation, launch and growth of new community funds for these areas, working closely with potential donors, the voluntary sector and community leaders/stakeholders.
Born and bred in Cheshire, Marie is passionate about improving the lives of the communities she lives within. She describes herself as a ‘creative soul’ and spends her free time immersed in the arts or enthralled in a good book!
Click below to read about diversity, equity and inclusion at Cheshire Community Foundation.
