Hosted by: Ellie Buckley & Yunus Bham

Room 1

How to Create a Lead Generating Partnership Newsletter
Speaker: Joe Waters, Selfish Giving

A well-crafted partnership newsletter is more than just an update—it’s a strategic tool for engaging, nurturing, and converting prospective corporate partners. This session will show you how to build newsletters that stand out in inboxes and drive results. Drawing on insights from proven strategies and case studies, you’ll learn how to design newsletters that inform and inspire action. From headline to call-to-action, every element of your newsletter will work toward your ultimate goal: building a robust pipeline of corporate leads.

By the end of this session, you will have a framework for crafting newsletters that capture attention, convey value, and motivate companies to partner with your nonprofit.

Key learnings from this session

• Newsletter Structure and Content Strategy: Discover the key sections every effective partnership newsletter needs, from eye-catching headlines to actionable calls-to-action.
• Audience-Centric Messaging: Learn how to tailor your newsletter content to resonate with potential corporate partners by addressing their unique needs and aligning with their goals.
• Lead-Generation Tactics: Using case studies and real-world examples, this section explores actionable techniques for turning newsletter subscribers into qualified partnership leads

Unlocking corporate fundraising success
Speaker: Deri Llewellyn-Davies, Freedom Founders

Using strategy on a page as a thought provoking tool to put wider strategy into context for fundraising. Why Purpose matters, the power of alignment and why measurement is key for corporates, the head and the heart.

Key learnings from this session:

• The Power of Purpose
• Sales is the core strategy
• Measurement and Impact on what matters

Supercharge Your Corporate Network: Mastering LinkedIn for Game-Changing Connections!
Speaker: Michelle Benson, Culture of Philanthropy

You know the funders you want to connect with—but getting in front of them feels impossible. Cold emails go unanswered, gatekeepers block your way, and traditional outreach is slow and frustrating. But what if your ideal funders could find you instead?

This session will introduce you to how LinkedIn can help you overcome these challenges by tapping into an already gathered audience of corporate donors.

You’ll get a glimpse of what’s possible—how to move from cold outreach to warm connections, how to start meaningful conversations without the usual barriers, and how LinkedIn can become a powerful tool in your fundraising toolkit.

Key takeaways:

• Get in Front of the Right Funders – Learn how LinkedIn helps you reach decision-makers without cold outreach.
• See What’s Possible – Discover how fundraisers are using LinkedIn to attract and engage funders.
• Warm Up Potential Funders – Understand how to start conversations that lead to real relationships.
• Avoid Common Mistakes – Learn what NOT to do, so you don’t get ignored or blocked.
• This is just the beginning—if you’ve ever struggled to connect with funders, this session will open your eyes to a new, more effective approach

How to communicate with companies
Speaker: Andy King, Fireside Fundraising & Ann Avarne, DEBRA

We are inundated with information every day – from TikToks to billboards, people are vying for our attention everywhere we go. This scrap for attention is starting to really impact corporate fundraisers: the average office worker receives 121 emails a day, meaning our approaches to companies are often getting ignored.

Ann Avarne moved from the world of private banking to the world of corporate fundraising in May 2023. In that time, she’s brought her understanding of what corporates need to the softness of how charities communicate.
Working with Fireside Fundraising, she’s been able to find a ‘best of both worlds’ approach that has landed new partnerships, hit targets and she is now looking to grow her team.

In this session, Andy from Fireside will share some of the frameworks that’ve underpinned this effective communication – Ann will then give live examples from DEBRA’s corporate partnerships programme. You’ll leave with a clear framework for improving your communication and a clear understanding of how/why DEBRA are nailing their corporate comms.

Key learnings from this session include:

1. How to cut through the noise in an increasingly competitive corporate fundraising landscape.
2. A five-step framework for how to tell a story in a boardroom that’ll get the company climbing over the table to support you.
3. How to adapt that story to writing so that colleagues can become advocates for your cause.

Corporate Giving – The DNA that should run through your business
Speakers: Matt Turner, Creative Pod & Jonathan Andrews, Remarkable Partnerships

This session will give you an insight into how to inject creativity and innovation into your corporate fundraising strategy whilst increasing your profits and attracting top talent.

Key learnings from this session:

• Give and you will receive
• Think outside the box
• If you dont ask you dont get

The First Steps: Engaging Values and Trends for Corporate Fundraising
Speaker: Johann Fox, Dogs Trust Ireland

Corporate fundraising is evolving, and taking the first steps can feel both exciting and daunting. At Dogs Trust Ireland, we’re embracing our values—we dream big, we make things happen, and we’re on the ball—to reimagine how we approach corporate partnerships. While we’re still learning, we’re committed to aligning with emerging trends, such as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) priorities, and creating partnerships that reflect our mission and resonate with corporate partners.

In this session, we’ll explore:

1. Laying the Foundation: How we’re moving beyond traditional models like ‘Charity of the Year’ to build partnerships with deeper, more lasting impact.

2. Aligning with Values and Trends: How we’re leveraging our organizational values and responding to emerging priorities like ESG to position ourselves as a partner of choice.

3. Your First Steps: Practical tools and a roadmap to help you begin, or refine, your own journey in corporate fundraising.

This session is designed to guide you through the initial steps of building meaningful corporate partnerships. Join us to learn how engaging values and trends can set your organisation on a path to impactful, sustainable fundraising success.

Room 2

Brick by brick – how the Lego Group and Institute of Imagination deliver impact together
Speakers: Amandeep Hoonjan, Institue of Imagination & Filipe Gaspar

Discover the journey of the Institute of Imagination and the LEGO Group as they share insights from their 7+ year partnership, delivering transformative impact across the UK. This session is a must-watch for anyone interested in hear more about strategic partnerships, creativity, education, and the importance of partnership working.

Key learnings from this session:

1. It takes time to build strategic partnerships
2. The importance of shared purpose and vision
3. Make impact the core of your partnership

How do you really create award-winning win-win strategic partnerships?
Speaker: Claire Marshall, ZSL

There’s a lot of talk of “win win” “strategic” corporate partnerships – but what does this really mean? And how can you create them? Join Claire for an insightful session into a range of award-winning partnerships, how they came about and learn about the key elements they all have in common.

Key learnings included in this session:

• How & why corporate partnerships have changed
• The inside track on real life, award-winning partnerships
• Key elements they all have in common which you can replicate yourself

Q&A – Charity of the Year, Is It Worth Your Time?
Speaker: Becky Francis, Becky Francis Fundraising

Every year, charities pour time, energy, and resources into Charity of the Year applications, often with unclear criteria, minimal feedback, and slim chances of success.

So how do you know when it’s worth it? And how do you find corporate partners that truly align with your mission, not just the ones with the biggest names?

This Q&A will cut through the noise and tackle the realities of corporate partnerships, from spotting red flags in applications to focusing on strategic, winnable opportunities that actually drive impact.

Bring your questions, frustrations, and your best corporate horror stories. It’s time to have a real conversation about what works, what doesn’t, and how we as a sector are responsible for changing the system.

This is an interactive Q&A, so bring your questions, challenges, and experiences, we’ll tackle what matters most to you.

How to build a corporate movement
Speakers: Javed Thomas, Race Equality Matters & Georgina Oxlade, Remarkable Partnerships

Top tips, case studies and recommendations on how your charity can build a corporate partnerships movement.

Key learnings from this session:

• What is a corporate movement
• Three great examples of corporate movements
• Tips on how you can create a corporate movement for your charity

Mission Matchmaking: Building Purpose-Driven Partnerships at Cats Protection
Speakers: Stacey Hamilton & Sophie Barnett, Cats Protection

In this session, we hope to illustrate the importance of aligning goals and values with corporate partners and how this not only strengthens the partnership but amplifies impact for both parties. In order to demonstrate this, we will be focusing on Cats Protection’s new partnership with identibase, we will demonstrate how Cats Protection and identibase built a shared vision around a microchipping campaign fuelled by recent changes to a new law in England.

Key learnings from this session:

1. The Importance of Mission Alignment – Understand how aligning goals and values with corporate partners strengthens partnerships and amplifies impact. See how Cats Protection and identibase built a shared vision around the cat microchipping campaign.
2. Effective On-boarding Practices for Smooth Transitions – Gain insights into the on-boarding process, from initial negotiations to handover, ensuring continuity and setting up the partnership for success from day one.
3. Engaging Internal Stakeholders for Stronger Buy-In – Learn strategies for rallying internal teams around new partnerships, ensuring cross-departmental support that enhances the campaign’s reach and effectiveness.

The power of proof – leveraging impact to drive your corporate partnerships
Speaker: Catherine Townson, Save the Children UK

The corporate partnerships landscape is undergoing a transformative shift. Success is no longer measured solely by income—impact now stands as a pivotal factor for both businesses and charities.

Drawing from her extensive career experience, Catherine’s session will unlock actionable insights and strategies for charities of all sizes. It will explore how embracing impact can not only strengthen corporate partnerships but also infuse them with greater purpose and meaning.

Key learnings from this session:

• Why impact is win-win for businesses and charities.
• Strategies for leveraging impact.
• Effectively communicating impact.