Anja Böllhoff
Coordinating Director
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Anja Böllhoff is the coordinating director of ECFI, a position she has held since the initiative’s start in January 2016.

From 2002-2015, Böllhoff was CEO of the Bielefeld Community Foundation, during which time the foundation multiplied its endowment tenfold and implemented many successful projects. Since 2008 she has advised the German Community Foundation Initiative as a regional curator, further widening her connections in the CF field.

Böllhoff also participated in the Körber Foundation’s Mover programme for two years, a project dedicated to peer learning activities with members of the most successful non-profit organizations in Germany and Europe. Böllhoff has published several articles on national community foundations and is a recognized speaker in the field. 

She holds a degree in business studies from the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Nuremberg and possesses qualifications in foundation management (DSA) and leading roundtable discussions (Breuninger Foundation).

Dr. James Magowan
Coordinating Director
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James has had a diverse career working in a range of disciplines, from agriculture, through European affairs, to philanthropy, in the private, public and not for profit sectors. James joined the ECFI team in January 2017as co-Coordinating Director. He combines this with his part-time positions as Co-ordinating Director of DAFNE and Northern Ireland Development Officer for the Association of Charitable Foundations in the UK.

Earlier in his career James worked for the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland for a total of 10 years, during which time he was a board member of UKCF (then CFN). He was a Senior Fellow with the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at the City University of New York in 2007.

In addition to his degree and PhD in Agriculture, James has a Diploma (with Distinction) in Management Practice (Audit Skills) from the Chartered Institute of Finance and Administration and a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) from the University of Cambridge.

Kathrin Dombrowski
Peer Learning Expert
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The latest addition to the ECFI team, Kathrin's focus is on supporting community foundations to build solutions to the climate crisis. Before joining ECFI, Kathrin led the development and launch of the International Philanthropy Commitment on Climate Change on behalf of WINGS. She divides her time between her work for ECFI and her role as strategic adviser to Philea's European Philanthropy Coalition for Climate. Prior roles include working as impact investing expert at Phineo and program manager at the Bertelsmann Foundation. Kathrin holds a PhD in International Relations and lives in Berlin with her husband and two kids.  

Francesca Mereta
Peer learning expert
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Francesca is the 2024-addition to the ECFI team, where she will be focusing on communications and peer learning. She splits her time between ECFI and Assifero, the Italian association of foundations and the community foundations support organisation in the country. In the past, she developed for ECFI two main reports  “From SDGs Talk to action” and “Engagement and participation. What, who and how. A guide for community foundations” 

Before joining the philanthropic sector, she worked in different agencies as communication consultant in Italy focusing on developing and implementing communication strategies, focusing also on crisis communication and public affair.  

Born in Italy but always on the move, Francesca holds a Bachelor in Economics and a Master degree in Management of Cultural Organisations from Bocconi University in Italy. In 2023, she became Senior Fellow International Fellow on Community Philanthropy with the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at the City University of New York.  

Currently she is board member of Messina Community Foundation and REVES – The European Network of Cities and Regions for the Social Economy.

Kamil Szlosek
Program Support Officer
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Kamil is the Berlin-based direct link between the ECFI team and the Association of German Foundations, the project’s host, where he also works for the German Engagement Award.

His professional background covers the areas of development and strengthening of the local and cross-border communities, civic engagement and philanthropy. Among others, he was a project coordinator and leader of the local NGO support centre at the Foundation Collegium Polonicum, where, among other tasks,  he was introducing the programs of Polish CFSO, the Academy for the Development of Philanthropy. As a freelancer, he implemented social projects to strengthen cooperation between German and Polish Organisations.

His interests lie in the issues of strengthening the infrastructure of cooperation between public and non-governmental sectors and innovative transnational social-economic initiatives.

Kamil has an MA in International Relations with a major in Regional and Cross-border Cooperation from a joint Polish-German International Relations Program of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder), as well as a degree in Jewish History and Culture from the Jagiellonian University in Cracow. Currently, he is pursuing his studies in Public and Non-Profit Management at the Berlin School of Economics and Law in Berlin.