whatimpact harnesses technology to match supporters who want to make an impact with recipients looking for resources.
Our Story
Our journey began in 2017 with a humble platform that sought to give a voice to all charities regardless of size or cause. Our philosophy was that a shared vision of the future was what mattered. We matched charities with companies that wanted to solve the same issue. As our network grew, so did our knowledge of the sector and we realised that we had to expand to include more organisations.
whatimpact now caters to charities, social enterprises, companies, grant-makers and philanthropists as the key players delivering or supporting impactful work. The profiles on our site act as a hub for all impact activity where users can list their goals, their previous work, cofounding opportunities and resource requests and offers. Our simple application processes make connecting with partners easy and our impact reports standardise the process of evidencing work.
Our Missions
Create a democratic space
Currently 75% of all charity sector income goes to 1.5% of charities, we want to change that. Our profiles are created equal so regardless of size or cause, charities and social enterprises have the opportunity to get recognition and support. Our AI technology identifies similar topics and words within our user profiles and uses these commonalities to match organisations. Organisations who have similar ethos’, visions and projects will be recognised as potential matches.
Bridge the gap between the third sector and private sector
We believe there are more than enough resources to solve socieites ills and that cross sector collaboration is the key, all we need is a bridge between the two worlds. We want to create a shared language so that those offering resources and those recieving resources can work towards the same goal. We want to create a space for collaboration so that impact is no longer about “top down” giving, but is a mutually beneficial relationship.
Make impact goals achievable and measureable
Impact reporting should be simple, standardised and transparent. That’s why we’ve developed an impact reporting tool that clearly evidences the work carried out. No more wondering how donations were spent or time wasted filling out lengthy project reports.
Meet the Team
Tiia Sammallahti
CEO, FOUNDER
Tiia is a serial entrepreneur, business author, charity founder, innovator and a proven leader in tech-for-good. She is passionate about transparency and innovation, a business woman on a mission. Over 25 years’ experience in brand building, PR, service concept development, B2B/B2C marketing and commercial green and brown field property development.
Vidia Pallaram
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
Vidia has spent over 15 years implementing operational systems, processes, and resource management to ensure KPIs are met. Her experience covers Energy, Clean-Tech, Blockchain, and more. She likes to spend her time exploring the unconscious mind and energy healing. Her proudest moments include serving as a flag-bearer at London's Pride.
Marcus Jones
CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER
Marcus is an experienced multi-industry Executive and Commercial Director. He previously worked at Autotrader and Reach Digital property, and has a background in leading sales teams and forming high-level partnerships. He also has experience in developing new propositions and e-commerce solutions through insights and analytics, as well as working with product teams and third parties.
Pauliina Rasi
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
Pauliina is a communications expert and copywriter. With a background in journalism and PR, she is now specialised in helping small businesses with mighty missions to grow and reach their audience, so that they can turn their vision of a better world into a reality.
Laurie Bantin
CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
Laurie leads our technical team, drawing on a storied experience building commercial and eCommerce platforms for blue-chips, start-ups and everything in between. As a Platform Architect and Software Engineer, he has particular expertise in cloud computing and is the founder of a social media influencer reporting platform Dyzio.co.
Rick Bradley
HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Rick has been working as a business development, account and campaign manager for the past 12 years across multiple media, education, and charity platforms. As a proud father of two and an active runner, in his rapidly dwindling spare time, he was also able to run the London 10KM in support of MND.
Grace Stotesbury
CHARTIY & SOCIAL ENTERPRISE LEAD
With an interest in widening access to the arts, Grace worked for various theatre and creative outreach charities before becoming Charity & Social Enterprise Lead at whatimpact. Cultural organisations included Open Door People, Cardboard Citizens, the National Youth Theatre and Little Angel Theatre.
Auni Siukosaari
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
Auni’s interest in promoting purposeful partnerships to achieve lasting and worthwhile social impact stems from her international background and studies in politics and economics. She has experience in content production and research project management and hopes to further whatimpact’s mission of a collaborative path towards a sustainable future.
Eugenia Grigorieva
PARTNERSHIPS MANAGER
Eugenia’s motivation to work at whatimpact stems from her interest in widening access to education and seeing first-hand the benefits of meaningful social impact for young people. Eugenia first joined whatimpact as a marketing intern, before going on to work as an English teacher in a large secondary school through Teach First. She has now returned as Partnerships Manager.
Jorge Padilla
MARKETING PRODUCTION INTERN
Before joining whatimpact, Jorge worked in sales and marketing at Zzish (an EdTech startup) and the London College of Fashion. He wants to make a positive impact in the world and is particularly interested in the environment and wellbeing. He has a BA in Graphic Design from Central Saint Martins.
Our Advisory Board
Anna Kotsalo-Mustonen
Anna is the Founder of a the BSAG foundation, which applies disruptive methods in Northern Europe, and a prolific start-up investor. With background in business, academia, and management consulting, her passion for scaling impact creation makes her the perfect guide for the whatimpact team.
Joonas Makkonen
Joonas has built and run multiple businesses in the US and Europe and worked with several Fortune 100 companies around the world, now serving as an advisor to technology based businesses. As a mountaineer and sailor, he is keenly motivated to Nature Preservation and Climate change causes.
Hugo Feiler
Hugo has over 20 successful years in advertising and brand communications, and serves to help us reach as many people and organisations as possible. A Seedcamp Mentor, he is the founder of Brand Strategy agency Alpha Century and the Co-founder and CEO of block chain protocol company, Minima.
Anne Berner
Anne is a professional board member, entrepreneur, and founder of a trust contributing €38M to a children’s hospital in just eighteen months. Previously serving as the Finish Minister of Transport and Communication, she now only invests in companies delivering social value, and is actively helping us to scale to other markets.
Markku Koppinen
Markku helps early-stage businesses across industries with both seed funding, coaching and business advisory, after retiring as Operations Director for Autotrader, the UK’s leading automotive marketplace. A keen traveller, he serves his community weekly by volunteering as a driver for the Surplus to Supper Charity.