Ep 55. Hayley Roffey & John Hecklinger, Co-CEOs Global Fund for Children: Young People as Agents of Change

Ep 55. Hayley Roffey & John Hecklinger, Co-CEOs Global Fund for Children: Young People as Agents of Change

From The Charity CEO Podcast by Dhivya O'Connor

January 5, 2026 · 1h 10m · Season 6 · Episode 55

About this episode

Hayley Roffey and John Hecklinger discuss the Global Fund for Children's approach to empowering young people as agents of change.

In the fight for children's rights, the Global Fund for Children champions bold ideas that might otherwise go unheard. Global Fund for Children or GFC is a global nonprofit dedicated to discovering, funding, and coaching community-based organisations and individuals, who are driving change at the grass-roots, on issues like gender justice, education, and youth power. What makes GFC's approach noteworthy is its commitment to shared power. GFC holds that children and young people already know how to solve problems in their communities. They are innovators, problem solvers, dreamers, and leaders. What they need isn't rescue - it's belief, resources, and the space to lead. In this episode, Global Co-CEOs of the Global Fund for Children, Hayley Roffey and John Hecklinger, talk about GFC's model as an intermediary funder providing flexible, trust-based funding and support, sometimes to children as young as 10! And the impact of genuinely putting decision-making power in the hands of children and young people. We discuss the importance of engaging young men and boys, if we are to create a truly gender equitable world. And they share perspectives on co-leadership, and the importance of…

People in this episode

Host: Dhivya O'Connor

Guests: Hayley Roffey, John Hecklinger

Topics covered

  • children's rights
  • youth empowerment
  • gender justice
  • community-based organizations
  • philanthropy
  • co-leadership

Keywords

  • Global Fund for Children
  • youth power
  • trust-based funding
  • gender equity
  • community change
  • philanthropy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Global Fund for Children, GFC

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