Room 1:

Big Impact, Small Budget: Community Fundraising for Small Charities
Speaker: Claire Nethersole, CN Fundraising

Community fundraising may feel out of reach for small charities, as many believe it takes more time, money, and people than they have. However, I don’t believe this is true! With the right approach, community fundraising is possible and worthwhile—even on a shoestring budget.

This session will show you why community fundraising is important for all charities, no matter what their size, and how you can achieve this with limited resources while keeping an eye on the budget. Having started my community fundraising career at a really big charity, I have since moved to much smaller charities, giving me the perfect experience of learning how the ‘big guys’ do it and adapting this for small organisations. I’ll share how you can do this when you don’t have a big database of supporters, people don’t know who your charity is or what it does, and the budget is looking barer than your fridge before payday! You’ll leave with actionable ideas and the confidence to get your community involved.

Join me to discover how small charities can punch above their weight with community fundraising, and why I’m passionate about helping you make a big impact on a small budget.

Key learnings from this session:

• Why community fundraising is important for small charities.
• What practical steps can you take to start (or boost) your community fundraising.
• How to manage and grow community fundraising with limited time, budget and staff.

“You’ve raised more that you’ll ever know” – Measuring the full impact of your community fundraising
Speaker: Paul Courtney, Children’s Hospice South West

These seven words were uttered to a downcast fundraising volunteer as she tended to a donation stall at a cold and wet Christmas market where the footfall had been low and the donations even lower! But these words spoke of the true impact of consistently showing up to maintain a presence in the hearts and minds of our donors in a way only community fundraising can. But what does that activity look like and how do measure it to ensure it delivers results in the short and long term for our beneficiaries?

Key learning from this session:

Understanding and measuring the value of community fundraising – now and in the future

Empowering your community supporters to share their story
Speaker: Rachel Simkin, Suicide&Co

An experienced fundraiser, Rachel has overcome barriers and time constraints to ensure a change in mindset and regular flow of supporter stories.

Rachel firmly believes that fundraising isn’t just about asking people for money, it’s about inspiring people to give and the power of storytelling. Rachel has proven experience most recently at Youth Talk that story telling is a simple, effective and rewarding tool that will not only help you raise more but lead to new conversations and wider supporter.

In this session she will cover

• How to overcome any internal challenges on speaking with service users
• Simple tips to help you prioritise story telling alongside a busy workload
• How to sensitively support, reassure and help fundraisers tell their story
• How to empower the fundraiser to share their story, particularly when they feel uncomfortable asking for money when purse strings are tight or people are fundraising in memory of a loved one
• The importance of celebrating success and a smile

Key learnings from this session:

• Tips and recommendations to help get internal buy in
• How to make the time and persevere
• How to make it easy for your supporters to share their story

Room 2:

Managing boundaries and difficult conversations
Speaker: Megan Short, Community Hospice

Community fundraising is wonderfully rewarding world to work in, filled with inspiring supporters and heart-warming stories. But it’s also unpredictable, emotionally demanding, and sometimes overwhelming. Balancing the privilege of hearing deeply personal stories with the realities of relentless demands can take its toll on even the most passionate fundraisers.

In this honest and practical session, Megan will guide you through strategies to protect your wellbeing while thriving in this unique and challenging landscape.

Key learnings from this session:

We’ll explore ways to set healthy boundaries, manage expectations (both yours and others’), and develop tools for saying no without guilt. You’ll leave with actionable steps for finding balance in your work.

Fundraising and comms: two sides of the same coin?
Speakers: Rebs Curtis-Moss, Rebs Curtis-Moss Consulting

You want to create more buzz on your charity’s social media for your fundraising events, but the communications team isn’t keen. This is a common problem faced by community and events fundraisers across the sector – but it doesn’t have to be this way. What if there was a way to steward your supporters on social media, whilst creating engaging content that meets both public fundraising and communications teams’ KPI’s? When done right, working with your comms colleagues can be transformational for your supporters. This session will discuss the challenges both public fundraising and communications teams have when wanting to use social media to tell stories and engage with supporters.

Key learnings from this session:

We’ll explore each team’s challenges and discuss how fundraisers and comms staff can overcome them together. You’ll hear advice, top tips and strategies on how to best work with comms colleagues to offer excellent stewardship to your supporters and audiences.

Taking donations in a cashless society
Speaker: Jacob Collins-Brown, PayaCharity & Toucan Giving

Traditional fundraising methods are changing fast—so how can your charity keep up? In this session, we’ll explore how contactless and digital giving are making fundraising easier, more accessible, and more successful for charities of all sizes. We’ll share real-world success stories, practical steps to implement digital fundraising, and insider tips on maximizing your community fundraising efforts. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to optimize your current approach, this session will give you the confidence to future-proof your fundraising. PayaCharity has helped organizations like The Royal British Legion, hospices, and local food banks embrace cashless technology, removing donation barriers and increasing supporter engagement.

Key learnings form this session:

• Understand why digital and contactless giving is essential for modern fundraising and how charities of all sizes are adapting.
• Learn from real-world case studies of charities that have successfully transitioned to contactless and digital donations.
• Discover the different types of digital fundraising tools available (contactless terminals, mobile giving, tap-on-phone, QR codes) and which one is right for your charity.
• Get practical tips on removing donation barriers and making it easier for supporters to give, even when they don’t carry cash.
• Leave with a step-by-step plan to introduce or optimize digital giving for your charity, no matter your budget.

Bonus Session

Community Corporate: Where do you start when you don’t know where to start
Speaker: Mags Rivett

When time is short, where do you focus for corporate results? This session runs through the basics of community corporate but focuses on the bits where you should spend your time to get the best results. Sometimes doing the small stuff well brings the big stuff. We’ll think about how you can repurpose, where to sit at your desk and focus and when to get out and about. And how you can involve others in building your success.

Having sat in the seat of few resources coupled with big expectations, this is your chance to get the shortcuts I had to work out.

Key learnings from this session:

• A straightforward process to follow
• Where to focus time for results
• Where to ask for help from others