Caroline Fiennes

Spear’s Review

Caroline Fiennes, director and founder of the philanthropic consultancy Giving Evidence, advises her clients to use an evidence-led approach to their charitable giving.

‘Giving Evidence is about assisting philanthropic donors to be more effective by helping them to base their giving on decent evidence,’ she says. ‘And that means evidence about what a problem is, where it is, why it is, who’s doing what about it, and what is effective.’

Fiennes started her career in physics, moving towards evidence-based medicine before entering the world of philanthropy. Her book, It Ain’t What You Give It’s The Way That You Give It, advises on charitable strategy, and she has a strong media presence including a body of work for the Financial Times. She currently serves as a fellow for the Cambridge University Centre for Strategic Philanthropy.