Fundraising Marketing Conference 2026

Sessions

Room 1

Breaking down silos: What does integration look like in 2026?
Speakers: Josh Leigh, Hynt, Anya Jhoti, Praxis and Lesley Pinder, Compass

The digital fundraising landscape is changing. How are you navigating it? If you get your digital engine room (Meta, Google and Email) in order, then you can continue to get value out of digital, despite the ongoing restrictions put on charity advertisers looking to grow their share of voice and share of money. This session will equip attendees with practical strategies and tools to navigate the ongoing changes in digital advertising: charities need to know WHY they exist, and work in the middle of the marketing funnel to bring it to life.

Key learnings from this session:

Participants will understand how the ongoing restrictions on digital advertising are affecting charities. You will learn how to create effective campaigns that leverage your charity’s value to grow consideration and create deeper value through digital retention. Are you ready to gain actionable insights and tools to implement immediately?

How to grow a faceless Instagram
Speaker: Nikki Bell, Fundraising Everywhere

In early October 2025, I hit ‘create profile’ on a new Instagram account – just three months, an hour a day, and under 40 ‘faceless’ posts later, 10,000+ people are following.

And these are not just bots. Followers are engaged and supportive. They consistently like, comment, share, reply and repost; as well as selling out in-person events in days and buying online merch.

In this session I’ll break down the tools and tactics used to grow this account, as well as replicable actions you can take to create, upload, engage, and optimise your faceless Instagram.

Spoiler alert: Canva is involved and yes, a post went viral (but I’ll teach you how that happened too!)

Thumb-Stopping Content: How to Hack the Algorithm, Not Flop on TikTok and Win at Social
Speakers: Sarah Farago & Becky Firth, JustGiving

Let’s be real – if your content isn’t stopping thumbs, it’s getting scrolled past, so how can charities break through the noise and connect with Gen Z? This session is your crash course in creating TikToks (and Reels, and Shorts) that actually do numbers. We’ll break down what makes content pop, how to ride the algorithm instead of fighting it. Expect trends, tips and a fresh perspective to help your content shine where it matters most.

Key learnings from this session:

• Learn what makes content perform across social media platforms
• Find out how to use trends, audio and storytelling to your advantage
• Know how to create unforgettable social content with small spend but big reach, giving you confidence in the tools to win at TikTok

Driving Engagement Through The Funnel On A Small Budget
Speaker: Dani Hughes, Digital with Dani

Small budgets don’t have to mean small impact. In this session, you’ll learn how charities can drive meaningful engagement at every stage of the marketing funnel – from initial awareness through to consideration and, ultimately, conversion – without relying on big spends.

Drawing on real-world case studies from across the charity sector, this session will show how smart strategy, clear priorities and the right metrics can help you make the most of limited resources. You’ll see practical examples of campaigns designed to meet audiences where they are, nurture interest over time and turn engagement into action.
We’ll break down the funnel stage by stage, exploring which KPIs matter most at each point, how to set realistic targets, and how to measure success beyond vanity metrics. You’ll also get practical, budget-friendly tips on content, channels and optimisation, alongside insights into what’s worked, what hasn’t, and why.

How To Integrate 47 Charities At Once
Speakers :Thirzah McSherry, Director of Communications at Wildlife Trusts and Amy Hutchings, co-founder at StoryKind

The Wildlife Trusts are a federation of 47 independent charities across the UK. With a goal to work more closely, they have recently developed an ambitious new communications strategy and core messaging to help bring the charities closer together, and speak with a clearer, united voice. But how do you get 47 different CEOs and Directors to agree? How do you develop something which works for everyone, that doesn’t just feel vanilla? We’ll share how this was undertaken, including the specific ways of working, along with the key strategy and creative developed.

Key learnings from this session:
– How to get senior stakeholders aligned
– Persuading and influencing skills
– How to develop unifying creative that doesn’t become ‘all things to all people’ or vanilla
– How to create momentum and inspiration
– How to approach a communications strategy which covers everything from fundraising to advocacy

Room 2

Nobody cares about you: how to make insight-led fundraising decisions
Speaker: Kit Lewis, Partner and Innovation Lead at Aha Agency

We’ve all heard it: “We need to be more insight-led.” But what does that actually look like in practice?

In this session, Kit shows how to move from audience understanding to fundraising decisions that genuinely work – whether you’re running on bootstraps or sitting in a mega-boardroom, knowing your audiences should change what you do. Drawing on real projects with Comic Relief, VSO and Alzheimer’s Research UK, Kit unpacks how to use insight and testing to unlock better ideas, sharper creative, and better decision-making.

You’ll explore the lines between research and real-world testing – reflecting on everything from quant studies to community panels to live experiments. We want a world of less abstract theory, and more sleeves-rolled evidence that drives action.

Whether you’re in fundraising, marketing or doing a bit of both, this session will give you practical tools (and permission) to challenge “we don’t have time for testing” and “we already know what our audience wants.” Because done right, insight doesn’t slow you down, it clears the way.

Employee Generated Content: The Future of Charity Comms
Speaker: Eleshea Williams, Amnesty International

When you work for a non-profit, trust is your most important currency. Empowering colleagues to post online about their work is not only a great way to motivate them, but also helps reach new audiences and gain a deeper level of trust and understanding of your charities mission.

Eleshea Williams invested in boosting employee generated content at Amnesty Internationals, which resulted in Amnesty being the 4th best charity in the UK for employee engagement on LinkedIn.

This session will show you why employees are your greatest influencers in a world of declining audience trust.

Key learnings from this session:

• The importance of investing in your employees as influencers
• How to train your colleagues to use LinkedIn and be more visible
• The benefits of LinkedIn for your charity

Beyond The Ask: Building Engagement-Led Journeys That Last At Oxfam
Speakers: Ali Walker Davies, Co-CEO, Forward Action & Emma Frost, Head of Supporter Recruitment at Oxfam

Not all fundraising journeys start with a donation. Some of the most valuable supporter relationships begin miles away from a traditional fundraising ask, but too often these moments are treated as one-offs, with limited follow-up or long-term thinking.

Join Forward Action and Oxfam to explore how engagement-led journeys can turn any interaction, from quizzes and retail touchpoints to campaigning moments and emergency responses, into the start of a deeper relationship. We’ll share examples including Second Hand September, emergency campaigning, and retail and volunteer welcome journeys. Through these examples, we’ll show how Oxfam has been working to build meaningful supporter care and clear next steps into experiences that start anywhere across the charity’s ecosystem.

At the heart of this approach is integration. Oxfam are bringing data, planning, and insight together to create a more joined-up view of the supporter, and it’s helping to drive deeper engagement with supporters and higher value for the charity, whether it shows up as advocacy, trust, repeat action, or income.

Grounded in Oxfam’s engagement pyramid, this session will encourage attendees to look beyond big set-piece moments and start designing joined-up journeys that build long-term value, not just short-term returns.

Turning Rage Into Giving: Managing Hate Speech
Speaker: Dale Nirvani Pfeifer, Giving Compass

Moments of public outrage and hate speech often trigger immediate waves of attention and donation spikes. But what happens after the surge? And how can nonprofit leaders respond responsibly, strategically, and sustainably?

This session explores the rise of “rage donations,” or gifts made in response to anger, fear, or moral urgency, and what they mean for nonprofit marketing and fundraising teams. Drawing from research, real-world examples, and sector trends, we’ll examine the psychology behind reactive giving, the risks of leaning too heavily into crisis-driven messaging, and the opportunity to convert short-term attention into long-term support.

Participants will leave with practical guidance on when to respond publicly, how to navigate emotionally charged moments, and how to build systems that transform outrage into durable impact. The goal is not to suppress urgency, but to channel it with intention, integrity, and strategic clarity.

Cutting through the noise:AI vs authenticity
Speaker: Paul de Gregorio, Rally & Rebs Curtis-Moss, Rebs Curtis-Moss Consulting

AI is transforming the way charities work, streamlining admin, improving processes, generating ideas, and freeing up time for relationship-building and strategic thinking. But as AI tools increasingly move from backend support into supporter-facing communications, new tensions emerge.

When does AI enhance efficiency, and when does it risk eroding trust? If supporters can spot AI-written captions or generated imagery, does it undermine authenticity? Or is there an opportunity for charities to stand out by being intentionally human in an AI-saturated world?

In this candid conversation, we’ll explore how charities can balance innovation with integrity. We’ll look at where AI adds real value, what good supporter-facing AI use actually looks like, and how organisations can navigate ethical considerations, from sustainability concerns to questions around values alignment.

Expect practical insights, honest reflections, and a forward-looking discussion on how charities can cut through the noise without losing what makes them human.

The Humans Behind The Hashtags: Wellbeing During A Crisis
Speaker: Judith Sabah, Judith Sabah Consulting Ltd

Are you a Leader or Social Media professional who feels like you’re constantly carrying the weight of digital pressure, crisis after crisis, and never really switching off? How do you support yourself when you’re dealing with constant digital overwhelm? Overwhelm can be overwhelming but it can also be a defining moment for you.

I’m Judith Sabah, a Confidence & Mindset Coach and through my work I help individuals feel calmer, clearer and more confident in how they lead themselves. This session will be a chance to pause, reflect and centre yourself, I’ll be sharing simple, practical ways so that you can begin to support yourself differently. We’ll talk honestly about pressure, confidence and inner leadership. You’ll leave with tools you can use straight away to steady yourself, think more clearly, and move forward feeling more grounded and in control.

Programme

Click here for a screen-reader friendly version of the programme