Meet our team of Associates
Embrace Finance is a small, purpose-driven social enterprise founded by Liz Pepler in 2018. We exist to fill a gap we kept seeing across the sector: small charities often lack access to finance training and information that is not only high quality, but also practical, proportionate, and genuinely engaging. We focus on charities with an income under £500k a year—because we know that’s where the need is greatest.
We’re a deliberately small organisation, led by Liz as our sole Director, supported by a brilliant team of specialist Associates who all work part-time alongside their wider roles in the small charity world. Everything we do is funded through earned income, primarily through our training and workshops.
Staying small is a conscious choice. It allows us to stay close to the charities we support and keep our work focused, relevant, and personal. And while we may be small in size, our impact is anything but. We’re the only organisation in the sector dedicated specifically to small charity finance training, and over the past 8+ years, we know from many 100s of data points, that our approach is effective, our work is appreciated and we make leaders feel more financially confident.
We believe small charities are extraordinary. We also know that managing finances in a small charity can feel tough, especially if finance isn’t your background. That’s why we’re here: for all the “accidental finance heroes” out there. We help build your financial confidence, so you can strengthen your organisation’s resilience and keep doing the amazing work that matters most.
Liz Pepler MIAB FRSA Founder and Lead Associate
Liz Pepler MIAB FRSA is a charity resilience specialist who works alongside social purpose organisations to develop financially confident leadership.
Liz's (part time) day job is Finance Director of Civic Power Fund, a grantmaking fund for community organisers. Liz is the founder and lead Associate of Embrace Finance , co-founder of the Small Charity Friendly Collective, and through Liz Pepler Consulting, she acts as an organisational resilience partner, being a critical friend and confidante to charity boards and teams.
Liz has contributed to sector-wide thinking as a co-author of the Lloyds Bank Foundation’s Organisational Resilience Programme and the Association of Chairs’ Financial Leadership in Small Charities, and she provides finance-related workshops on behalf of a range of leading sector bodies.
Liz is a practising member of the Institute of Accountants and Bookkeepers, holds a Master’s degree in Charity Accounting and Financial Management (Distinction), a PG Certificate in Charity Administration, and is a Fellow of the RSA.
Kemi OLafare ACMA
Kemi Olafare ACMA is a qualified management accountant with over 20 years experience in the not for profit sector in both paid and voluntary roles.
Kemi is an experienced finance business partner in the charity, university, international development and healthcare sectors.
Kemi is currently Director of Finance at UCLPartners, an Advisory Board member at Charterpath and Trustee at the Charles Russell Speechlys Foundation. Kemi has been a panel member with Getting On Board.
Yasmin Glover
Yasmin Glover is a small charity organisational development specialist with expertise spanning strategy formation, project planning, staff development, impact measurement, and change management.
Using her experience as a highly skilled facilitator, trainer, and consultant, Yasmin founded the The Olive Training and Consultancy agency in 2019, a social enterprise dedicated to helping small charities and social enterprises become more efficient, mission-focused, and impactful.
Yasmin is co-founder of the The Small Charity Friendly Collective —a self-organising, volunteer collective of small charity secialists - and a Strategy and Planning Associate Consultant at NCVO.
Joy Matthew
Joy Matthew has a background in law and graduated with an LLM in 2023.
Joy participated in the 2027 placement scheme, aimed at bringing individuals with lived experience into the funding sector and is now focusing on the philanthropic space, with a strong interest in network-building, collaboration, and advocacy.
Joy manages a Governance hub that provides legal support to grassroots organisations involved in community organising, while also offering backend grant administration, operational, and financial support.
Paula Reily
Paula Reily is a qualified accountant with 16 years of experience in the charity sector in a number of finance roles both paid and voluntary.
Paula holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Charity Accounting and Financial Management. For the last 6 years, through Paula Reily Consulting,
Paula has provided small charities support with management accounting, budgeting, cashflow forecasts, finance risk assessments and reserves policies, internal controls, and financial resilience.
She has also delivered training in finance for non-finance managers, finance governance for trustees, and bookkeeping.
Matthew Pepler
With over twenty years of experience in fundraising, strategy, and senior leadership social impact organisations, Matthew supports leaders as they gear up for major projects; helping them establish clarity, confidence and credibility.
Matthew helps leaders think through big transformational ideas and is often brought in at moments of transition when the path forward feels uncertain.
Matthew is an experienced small charity Trustee and acts as a strategy advisor to Embrace Finance as part of his consultancy practice
The Shift.
