The Art of Fundraising

What you'll learn

Making the Ask: A practical Masterclass

Speaker: Beth Upton, Money Tree Fundraising

Tackles the moment most fundraisers dread: actually asking. Covers how to frame an ask, read the room, and find the right words, whether you’re speaking with a major donor, pitching a corporate partner, or asking a local business for support. Built around real scenarios and practical technique rather than theory, so you leave with something you can use straight away.

Authenticity Beats Perfection: A Human Touch to Build Trust in an AI World

Speaker: James Francis, Charity Development Lead, and Eden Brown, Funraisin

It seems that every year, we become more engulfed in the digital world than ever before. The rise of AI technology has created mistrust and deception, making people question whether what they see is actually true.

This applies to your charity and its fundraising activities too, with people becoming more detached from supporting noble causes and cheering on your fundraisers. So the question is: how do you maintain the human touch and stay connected to the people you want to reach?

James and Eden from Funraisin will explore how you can build campaigns that touch the core parts of the human experience: heart, head, and hands, so supporters become fully immersed and stay engaged well beyond the point of giving. Authenticity doesn’t end at the donation; showing real impact and stewarding that relationship with genuine, human follow-through is what turns a one-off gift into lasting trust.

We’ll help you ask the right questions when planning a campaign, know how to connect with your audience, make content flow organically, and provide a joyful user experience, from first touch through to impact reporting and stewardship.

Key Learnings:
– Learn how to connect with your audience
– Make content flow organically, and provide a joyful user experience
– Modernising Impact and Stewardship with authentic moments

How to tell a story

Speaker: Ben Swart, Bright Spot Fundraising

Learn how to tell the right story out loud, in donor meetings, on calls, and at events, not just on the page. Covers structure, instinct, and knowing which story to reach for in the moment, a skill that’s often overlooked in fundraising training.

Supporting People to Tell Their Stories

Speaker: Emma Bracegirdle. The Saltways

One of the biggest barriers charities face with fundraising content is finding people willing to share their experience. This session tackles that barrier with a practical, step-by-step approach you can put into action straight away.

We’ll start with how to identify the right people to approach based on your fundraising messaging, not just who happens to be available. From there, we’ll cover how to support someone through the process of being filmed or interviewed, so they feel safe, respected, and in control of their own story throughout. We’ll also look at what to do when no one feels able to take part, including using staff and volunteers as a Plan B, without it feeling like a compromise. Finally, we’ll cover how to get the most value from the content once you have it.

This session draws on years of trauma-informed, dignity-centred storytelling work with UK charities, built on real experience of what actually helps people feel comfortable in front of a camera, not just theory.

Key Learnings:
– How to identify and approach the right storytellers – how to find people whose experiences align with your fundraising messaging, rather than defaulting to whoever is easiest to reach.
– How to support someone through filming or interview – practical techniques for helping people feel safe, respected, and in control while sharing their story on camera.
– What to do when no one feels able to take part – how to use staff and volunteers as a genuine Plan B, plus how to get the most value from the content you end up with.

Writing That Actually Works

Speaker: Jen Love, Agents of Good

Sharing our stories connects us as human beings and creates belonging. Together, we’ll explore how you can harness authentic and empowering storytelling to raise more money and move your crucial mission forward. Inspiring and effective storytelling means cultivating a curious mindset, and conducting courageous conversations that honour and centre the lived experiences of beneficiaries, volunteers and donors.

You’ll learn how to gather and share impact and donor stories, while approaching sensitive subjects and vulnerable voices with empathy and integrity. We’ll talk about how you can feel more confident and connected to your organization by sharing stories that resonate with your values, and the values you share with your organization and your donors. And we’ll be relentlessly practical: you’ll leave with steps you can take tomorrow, real-world-effective-and stealable case studies, and other storytelling and writing tools you can use in donor communications like appeals and impact reports, grant writing, digital campaigns, legacy projects, newsletters or any other forms of giving!

Key Learnings:
– Where and how to find, write and share stories from around your organization. And we’ll share effective case studies!
– Tips, tools and techniques for centering your stories in values and emotions.
– Created, curated and well-tested conversation starters and interview questions that you can use right away to gather stories with more confidence and joy.

Behavioural Science: Why People Give, Say Yes, and Stay Loyal

Speaker: Andy King, Fireside Fundraising

Fundraising advice often focuses on what to ask for, but behavioural science helps us understand why people give in the first place… and, just as importantly, why they keep giving. In this session, we’ll explore the psychology behind charitable giving, drawing on behavioural science to uncover the factors that influence initial giving and long-term loyalty.

We’ll look at how motivations differ between first-time and repeat supporters, consider both individual and organisational contexts, and examine the practical changes charities can make to improve their fundraising.

You’ll leave with a simple framework of questions to test your own fundraising approaches, helping you build stronger relationships and create supporter experiences that encourage people not only to say yes today, but to keep saying yes for a long time to come.

Key Learnings:
– The key drivers that encourage people to give for the first time
– What keeps supporters giving, and how this differs from initial motivation
– Practical questions to help apply behavioural science to your own fundraising

Navigating Difficult Conversations

Speaker: Genelle Aldred, Strategic Advisor to Senior Leaders

A grounded, honest look at handling the hard moments in fundraising, from a donor saying no to awkward internal conversations. Learn how to prepare for a difficult conversation, how to say the tough thing without damaging the relationship, and work through conflict whether it’s internal (with colleagues or leadership) or external (with donors, partners, stakeholders)

Managing Up: Winning Internal Buy-In for Your Work

Speakers: Olivia Andrews WaterAid and Henry Rowling

Learn how to communicate the value of fundraising to people who don’t instinctively understand it. Includes getting a seat at the table, making the case for relationship fundraising, and navigating organisations where fundraising isn’t yet seen as everyone’s job.

Turning Stats into Stories: Communicating Numbers

Speaker: TBA

A practical look at how to turn data and statistics into a compelling narrative for donors, trustees and senior leaders. Covers picking the right numbers, framing them clearly, and using them to strengthen rather than clutter your case for support.

Negotiation Skills for Fundraisers

Speaker: TBA

Gift amounts, partnership terms, internal resource, timing of asks: fundraising is full of negotiation. Covers practical techniques for getting to yes without damaging the relationship, from someone who has done it in a fundraising context.

The Confidence Session: What It Really Takes to Back Yourself

Speaker: Judith Sabah

As fundraisers, you spend so much time believing in your causes and encouraging others to say yes. But when it comes to believing in yourselves, many of you can hold yourselves back.

I’m Judith Sabah, a certified Confidence and Mindset Coach, Speaker and Facilitator, with certifications in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Breakthrough Coaching. I work with individuals, teams and organisations to help people reconnect with their confidence, strengthen their mindset and self-belief and step into their potential with clarity, confidence and purpose.

This session is an opportunity to pause, reflect and explore where you’re not currently backing yourself and what it might take to start. Through a series of coaching conversations and practical reflections, you’ll explore the beliefs that may be holding you back.

You’ll leave with a fresh perspective, greater clarity and one courageous action you can take to start backing yourself.

Key Learnings:
– Explore what may be stopping you from backing yourself
– Recognise the role confidence and self-belief play in your decisions
– Leave with one meaningful action you can take to back themselves with greater confidence

Asking Across Contexts: Major Gifts, Corporates, Trusts and Beyond

Speaker: TBA

A panel of practitioners from different income streams on how the ask looks and feels different depending on who you’re asking and what for. Covers calibrating your approach, adapting your language, and learning from other disciplines.

Timings

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