She will begin by outlining how she got into charitable work by being moved by stories of human trafficking and figures for the number of children growing up in poverty. After 15 years as a teacher, she was growing disillusioned with the system, and when she met her second husband, who ran a family foundation, she swapped her teaching career to help him fundraise and realised she loved it!
She will then share some of her moving stories from fact finding missions to India, and some key fundraising achievements such as raising £191k for the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Appeal, which led to the first ever FGM-dedicated social workers.
Anita aims to inspire you by telling how this career shift led her to acquire a sense of purpose. She describes philanthropy as “food for her soul” which motivates her to work hard each day. She also has some facts that evidences how giving back to the community can enrich your life!
Finally, Anita will give actionable advice on how you e can get involved: First, identify what they are truly passionate about, then how you can search for suitable causes and how to fit in philanthropic work into a busy schedule. Her mantra is: Explore > Enrich> Encourage
Anita Goyal is CEO of the Hemraj Goyal Foundation, an author, philanthropist, podcast host and chair and trustee of many charitable organisations and foundations.
Her career has been varied, starting as a teacher in an inner-city London school, but her mission has remained unchanged: to promote the education of key social issues, empower women and children around the globe, support organisations driving social change and nurture a generation of philanthropy.
As CEO of the Hemraj Goyal Foundation, she works with more than 30 different charities and organisations every year. She also holds the position of Vice President of Barnardo’s, ambassador of the Alzheimer’s Society and in the 2021 New Year Honours List she received an MBE for services to diversity and female empowerment.
In 2014, she launched Ultimate You, an organisation delivering educational workshops and seminars on things like goal-setting and relationships. She runs these pro-bono with her husband because they have a passion for personal development.