Room 1: Trusts

How to measure ‘success’: monitoring and evaluation for anti-racist fundraisers
Speaker: Olivia Andrews, WaterAid
Monitoring and evaluation is a key part of a fundraiser’s day job. But as the sector is transforming to be more anti-racist and anti-imperialist, how do we adapt from traditional M&E measures which define “success” in a white supremacist way. Join Olivia for a discussion on how fundraisers committed to anti-racism can provide monitoring and evaluation to funders in a way that measures true impact, rather than just facts and figures. Discover how ideas of “more” and “growth” are rooted in white supremacy culture, and why it’s important to reflect on the way we measure our own success as fundraisers. Olivia will draw upon her experience as a Black, queer, femme working across small and large charities and discuss how they’ve learnt to adapt their approach.

Growing income from Trusts and Foundations through a Strategy Shift
Speakers: Penne Wallis & Harriet Rimbault, Global Witness
Our session will focus on how to fundraise successfully from Trusts and Foundations through a strategy shift. We believe we are well positioned to lead this discussion as Global Witness was formerly an NGO focusing on anti-corruption, natural resource exploitation and human rights, but in 2019 shifted our strategy to focus more explicitly on the climate emergency. Over the last 5 years, we have learnt some valuable lessons around the power of stewardship and strong storytelling, which helped lead to the recent award of a transformational gift of $6.5m, to be spent over two years, granted to us by one of our longstanding funders, who we’ve been able to maintain – and grow – engagement with throughout the change process.
The session will outline what, in our experience, has worked well, what the challenges have been, and the challenges that we are still facing. Some of the key themes that we would like to explore include trends within the philanthropy space (e.g. a shift towards climate and environmental interests, and how we have leant on that to build our narrative), the importance of a healthy balance between restricted and unrestricted income, and how working in partnership with others in the space is vital to building support. By the end of the session we aim for attendees to have a better understanding of how to reposition their organisation whilst maintaining and growing relationships with Trust and Foundation funders. We are keen for this session to be as interactive and collaborative as possible and would love input throughout the conversation from others who may have gone through, or are about to embark on, this challenging process, to share learnings and identify best practice.

10 Must-Have Templates To Make Your Prospect Research Quicker And Easier
Speaker: Alicia Grainger
When you’re a busy fundraiser, spending quality time on prospect research can be hard. In this session, I’ll share all the templates I use in my own work as a freelancer when I’m supporting charities – from tiny organisations who are just starting out in trust fundraising to multi-million pound charities who’ve been fundraising for years. This is a really practical session giving you the tools you need to save time, be more efficient and get results.

Creative writing for funding proposals
Speaker: Matt Zeqiri, Chance for Childhood
Are your A4 Word documents with your trusted headings getting diminishing returns? Trying something new can help your charity’s bank balance, the grants managers reading your applications — and you.
Award-winning short-film maker* and failed comedy writer Matt Zeqiri takes you on a journey through space and time to explore the techniques that can give your proposals a new dimension.
*He is both a ‘short-film maker’ and a ‘short filmmaker’

AI tools in high value fundraising – do’s and don’ts
Speaker: Michelle Stein, Handmade Fundraising
If you’ve hopped on the AI bandwagon, but are not entirely sure if you are making the most or best out of it, let’s explore some key do’s and don’ts. We will go through trust (and other high-value) fundraising areas and provide step-by-step examples of how to (or not) apply AI. Although You Want To Empower Yourself To Leverage Your Fundraising Success, 🚀🙌⭐ I know you don’t want to sound like you’ve used Chat GPT, so let’s change that!

Room 2: Major Donors

Philanthropy Today – How Things Have Changed And Looking To The Future – Opportunities For Systems Change
Speaker: Lindsay Storie

Drawing on real-world examples, you’ll learn how to create meaningful touchpoints with donors through
honesty, empathy, and thoughtful interactions. We’ll explore strategies inspired by a career in high-end
hospitality and personalised service environments, where genuine curiosity and attention to detail foster
authentic, deep connections.

Walk away with practical, relationship-centred techniques to strengthen major gift work through genuine partnerships. By emphasising relationships over targets, you’ll foster connections that open doors to long-term support and fulfil both parties on a meaningful level. This session empowers you to transform fundraising into a collaborative journey, building relationships that are as enriching for donors as they are
impactful for your cause.

Authentic Cultivation and Stewardship With Major Donors
Speaker: Lisa Greer interviewed by Caroline Danks
Join Caroline as she interviews Lisa Greer, renowned philanthropist and author, for an engaging session on “Authentic Cultivation and Stewardship.” This session will dive into the intricacies of building genuine relationships with donors and the essential practices for effective stewardship. Lisa will share her wealth of experience, including the good, the bad, and the ugly, providing invaluable insights for fundraising professionals.

How to increase your gift success rates!
Speaker: Sarah Washington
You will gain insights on some of the fundamental behaviours and attitudes it takes to secure successful
partnerships, the importance of being aware of donor motivations and how to align them to your cause
and your organisation’s engagement opportunities. Finally, you will learn about the importance of building
and flexing your own personal brand and communications style as a fundraiser with each supporter, so
that every interaction, (whether formal or informal) plays to the funders motivations and charitable giving
objectives.

Setting Realistic Major Donor Income Targets
Speaker: Kevin Amponsah in conversation with Kitty Hazell
This session covers non-financial KPIs and other indicators to ensure a fundraiser is on the path to success, whilst pushing back against unrealistic targets and help us maximise our chances of raising philanthropic gifts in spite of the turbulence of raising money.

How To Get Face To Face Major Donor Meetings
Speaker: Christa Orth
Led by Christa Orth, a seasoned major gifts consultant with a community-centric fundraising approach,
this engaging session will share key aspects of how to get more face to face meetings, overcome
obstacles (both internal and external), and build stronger, more authentic relationships with your
supporters.

More info coming soon…