In this episode of the Fundraising Everywhere Podcast, host Cam St.Omer Donaldson is joined by two graduates of the JustGiving Digital Learning Grant Programme — Kayleigh Wingate from Cambridge Cyrenians and Claire Caborn from Dove Cottage Day Hospice.
Both fundraisers work in small charities where wearing multiple hats is the norm, and both came into the DLG program with different goals — Kayleigh to build her fundraising foundations after a background in copywriting and marketing, and Claire to take her charity’s first steps into digital fundraising ahead of a landmark 30th anniversary Big Give Christmas Challenge.
Together, they share:
- What they learned across six months of the program — from email marketing and social media strategy to storytelling and grants
- Why it’s okay not to have all the answers (and why that realisation was liberating)
- How the program boosted their confidence and sparked new strategies for their organisations
- Why Fundraising Everywhere feels like an extended fundraising team — and a “fundraising encyclopaedia”
Applications for the Digital Learning Grant Program 2027 (sponsored by JustGiving) are now open. Head to https://www.fundraisingeverywhere.com/digitallearninggrant/ to apply.
If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to hit follow and enable notifications so you’ll get notified to be first to hear of future podcast episodes. We’d love to see you back again!
And thank you to our friends at JustGiving who make the Fundraising Everywhere Podcast possible.
Transcript
Jade Cunnah: Welcome to the Fundraising Everywhere podcast, your go-to place for fundraising tips and inspiration. Love what you hear? Get more insights straight to your inbox. Subscribe to our email list for exclusive fundraising resources, early access to training, special discounts, and more. Just head on over to fundraisingeverywhere.com/podcast to subscribe.
Jade Cunnah: Now, on to today’s episode. Enjoy.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Hello, everyone, um, and welcome to the Fundraising Everywhere Podcast. Um, we’re really, really pleased today, um, to have two of our DLG Digital Learning Grant Program members. Um, they just completed the Digital Learning Grant Program, um, and I’m really, really honored to be able to have them with us today on the podcast, letting us know how they found it, what they learned, maybe what you could learn, um, if you’re interested in applying for our next cohort in 2027.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Our Digital Learning Grant is sponsored by JustGiving. It wouldn’t be possible, we do it in partnership with them. It wouldn’t be possible without them, so I just wanna say a really, really big thank you. Um, and for those of you listening to the Fundraising Everywhere podcast for the first time, this is where we speak to lots of people from the sector, um, people in our community, um, across Fundraising Everywhere, um, and ask the questions I think that people are thinking, hopefully.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, but also just have a bit of a chat and get to know each other. Um, we’re all about building community, um, at Fundraising Everywhere, and this is just another way that we do that as well Awesome. So before, um, I hand over, I would love, um, if two people I have here with me today, I’ve got Kayleigh and Claire, um, they could introduce themselves and say hello, um, and let us know what organization you’re from, what you do.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, I think it’ll be really great for them to hear as well. Over to you, Kayleigh first.
Kayleigh Wingate: Hi. Yes, so I’m Kayleigh. Um, I wear a lot of hats as many charities do. So I… My title is community fundraiser, but actually I encompass all of our fundraising as well as the comms side of things as well. So social media management, press releases, that kind of thing.
Kayleigh Wingate: Um, I work for Cambridge Cyrenians, so it’s one of the oldest charities in Cambridge for homelessness, but people- Mm-hmm … don’t know who we are. So part of my job is trying to kind of get our awareness up there. But essentially what we do is we offer supported accommodation for people experiencing homelessness in the city- Mm-hmm
Kayleigh Wingate: um, but then wraparound support around that ’cause homelessness is complex and it’s not just a roof over a head that you need to give someone, it’s mental health support, support to get qualifications. Um, we have an allotment as well, which is lovely. Um, so twice a week, people experiencing homelessness get to grow things, and beekeeping, um, little bits like that.
Kayleigh Wingate: Um, and an older homeless service for people over 45, um, just to try and get them to retain their tenancies, find appropriate accommodation, and not enter that cycle of homelessness- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm … again. Um, and, you know, just meaningful activities on top of that. So any hobbies can be explored, um, qualifications, training, helping people to refine a CV and get into interviews and things like that.
Kayleigh Wingate: So it’s all of those- Love that … building blocks to get a brighter future again. Um, so yeah- Awesome … so my role is finding, getting those funds essentially.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: I love
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: that. And that kind of thing.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Thank you, Kayleigh. And it was really great just to hear about the systems approach. You know, I, I think dealing with any challenge in, in our world, um, or any issue that we, we seek to kind of, um, support communities with, um, I think is really about that systems approach.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: So really interesting to hear how you do that at your organization as well. So thank you, Kayleigh. And Claire, Claire is also with us. If you could also introduce yourself, that would be awesome.
Claire Caborn: Hi, my name’s Claire. I work for Dove Cottage Day Hospice, which is a hospice based in Leicestershire. Um, we support local families with palliative care, um, and also their carers as well.
Claire Caborn: So we provide a holistic approach to, uh, our, our, our care, tailoring it to the individual. So it’s a really special, uh, place. Beautiful. Um, my role is part of the fundraising team. Um- I also wear very many hats as all small charities do. Um, our fundraising team is a small team of two. Um, so I, um, manage all our trust and grants applications and stewardship- Okay
Claire Caborn: um, and all of everything associated with trusts and grants. Um, I also do all the content creation, um, and manage our social media pages and help our fundraising lead with events and so forth, as and when. I actually work remotely, so I’m based in Scotland, albeit the charity’s in Leicestershire. So- Okay
Claire Caborn: I’m, when I do go down, I help as much as I can with the events, but mainly it’s remote help as much as I can- Awesome … and concentrating on everything I can do, uh, from, from up here.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Amazing. Thank you so much, Claire. It’s again, similar to Kaylee, like hearing you talk about wearing all the hats, um, I think as a, a fundraiser within a small charity.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, but also that kind of very similar to Kaylee’s organization, that targeted systems approach as well, um, really thinking about the whole person and, and, and tailoring the support and care that somebody needs at, at the end of their life as well. So lovely to hear a bit more about you and your organizations.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, and I totally forgot to introduce myself. I think I did say I was Cam St. Omar Donaldson. I’m also the host of the podcast today. Um, so you’ll be listening to me, um, a lot more as I ask questions, uh, to Kaylee and Claire as well. So thank you to our audience who are tuning in. Um, so we’ll get straight into it then.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, the first question I really wanted to ask, you’ve been on, um, you know, a six-month-long Digital Learning Grant program, um, where we’re able to curate some of the modules and sessions within, um, the program and the course, uh, based on what we’ve heard from different fundraisers who’ve applied and what it is that you’re really keen to learn more about.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: But you also get access to the entire Fundraising Everywhere universe during that time. Um, so I’d love to hear a little bit about what you learned most being on the Digital Learn- Learning Grant program over the last six, six-ish months. Um, I’ll head to you, Kaylee, back to you
Kayleigh Wingate: Yeah, sure. So for me, this was my first sort of venture into fundraising.
Kayleigh Wingate: I’ve got a background of copywriting, social media, and marketing. Um, so I just really needed a fresh set of eyes of all the fundamentals of fundraising to know that I’m being compliant, I’m approaching things strategically, we’re getting the most out of, out of me being here essentially, ’cause, you know, again, a lot of hats.
Kayleigh Wingate: Um, but it has really helped me to guide through every area that I needed to know. So starting with strategy, um, breaking it down into even, you know, I’ve got years of social media experience, but hearing someone else speaking about it, you always learn something new, and it’s true here as well. Um, but also, you know, email marketing.
Kayleigh Wingate: I’m, I’ve got back into that after a very long break of not doing it. Um, so having those f- fundamentals, the introduction to what makes a good email journey, how best to approach your messaging and things like that. And that has really helped me to go back to our newsletters and our campaigns and say, “Actually, we should be doing it this way.”
Kayleigh Wingate: Um, so that’s been great. But yeah, I, I just think it’s not just been the grant program itself, it’s been getting involved in all of fundraising everywhere has been great. Mm-hmm. I’ve gone to most of the conferences month on month as well. Um, you know, I mostly am in the office, but having those work from home days to sit there and listen to people just talk passionately about the topics that they’re great at has been amazing.
Kayleigh Wingate: Um, I’ve saved so many resources. I have a massive folder Yeah … um, and lots of notes. And I just feel like, you know, even there’s just me, but eventually there might be more of us. Having that information to say, “Look, I found out from these guys all of this stuff,” it’s been great. Mm-hmm. Amazing. You can pass it on to other people.
Kayleigh Wingate: So yeah, brilliant.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Aw, I love that Kaylee. Thank you. Um, particularly the fact that, yeah, you’ve been able to utilize going to the conferences in between because, again, they’re online, they’re accessible at a time that you can make it, um, as well. So that’s been brilliant. Thank you, Kaylee. And how about you, Claire?
Claire Caborn: Um, well, uh, I agree with everything Kaylee has said. Um, I, um, initially wanted to go on this program because we had not ever dipped our toe into digital fundraising. It was brand new for us. Um, so I wanted to learn as much as I could. And as Kaylee mentioned, the resources, I too downloaded all the resources.
Claire Caborn: Awesome. And there are so many of them, but it’ll be really useful to go back to as and when required. Um, I, I think what I learned most about being on the program is that there’s almost no set ingredient. Um, and, and it’s okay to have a go, and it’s okay to fail. And it’s not really a fail, it’s, “Well, I’ll try it this way.
Claire Caborn: Okay, that didn’t quite work, so I’ll try it another way.” And that’s okay because for me, I was always looking for that magic ingredient. “If I do this with social media, this will definitely work.” And listening to all the speakers, actually, that’s not true because, um, f- uh, Meta are always changing their their algorithms.
Claire Caborn: And I was thinking, “Somebody’s definitely gonna say, ‘You follow this ingredient and this will work.'” But actually nobody said that, which made me feel so much better thinking, “Okay, I mean, I don’t know nearly as much as some other people, uh, in fact most people,” but- It’s okay to have a go, try different strategies, and it’s okay not to beat yourself up if it doesn’t work.
Claire Caborn: Um, so that was my main, uh, reason for, uh, for going in and the main thing I, I, I got from it. I also loved all the, um, storytelling, um Um, uh, uh, um, speakers, which were brilliant because I, I’m a natural storyteller and I, and I love to tell a story, but it’s also really nice to hear other people’s perspectives of how they tell their stories.
Claire Caborn: Um, and there’s, no matter how much you know, there’s always room to learn more and a different approach.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Oh, I really love that, Claire. Um, really, really love that. And I think that’s why we set up Fundraising Everywhere in the beginning. Um, Nikki and Simon have been fundraisers for a really long time, who are our founders.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, and they, you know, very much so were like, “Where do you go for people who are just trying some things out or, like, maybe not getting everything wrong, or don’t know all the answers? And how do we bring those people together so that we can share the answers and people know that they’re not alone?” Um, and I know that that was a real big driver, um, as well as being able to share training and, and expertise, of course, and skills.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: But a real big driver was where do you go for that sense of community, particularly to know, like, you’re not alone. Everyone’s trying this out for the first time and no one’s got all the answers. Um, and I’m really, really glad that both of you, um, have found that with Fundraising Everywhere. I was gonna say that, actually, and, and you’ve already brought some of that out as well, Claire, like, you know, going through a program like this and hearing from others is, is invaluable.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Like you say, just hearing other people’s stories. Um, what do you think has, like, changed, either in you personally or things that you’re gonna think about implementing in your organization or, uh, even confidence and, and things in terms of learning going forward? What’s changed for you both or what’s different?
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Kayleigh, I wondered if you had any thoughts on that.
Kayleigh Wingate: Yeah. So for me, I definitely felt a bit overwhelmed and I think- Mm-hmm … a lot of people do in fundraising. It’s a beast. There is a lot of different things you need to know, especially if you’re doing all of it. Um, but I f- feel more confident. So going through and listening to other people, people who, you know, have more expertise than I do, for example- Mm-hmm
Kayleigh Wingate: um, it has been great just to step back and say, “Actually, I feel like I know what I need to do,” um, you know, and to be more strategic. Because going into a role for the first time, you don’t, you often don’t know. You need to find your footing. And having that confidence and that strategy work has been brilliant.
Kayleigh Wingate: Um, so now what I’m currently doing off the back of this is redeveloping our fundraising strategy, ’cause everything is different. It’s very digital nowadays. Um, gr- trust and grants are not always easy to get onto. I’m sure Claire agrees with that as well. Um, so trying to diversify our fundraising is something we’re really trying to do at the moment.
Kayleigh Wingate: But I also just did a social audit as well. So- Using the social media, uh, training on the grant as well. Just trying to reapproach and see how we can tell effective stories on social media in the right way. Um, so yeah, there’s, there’s bits and pieces to do. It’s an ongoing project, but I feel like this has sparked my sort of drive to go, “Look, let’s just get, get on with it.
Kayleigh Wingate: Don’t worry if it doesn’t work.” Everyone, everyone is different and everyone should fail, I think, you know? Yeah. Like, you, you should prepare to fail because you can learn good things from it. So I’m just trying to get myself thrown in and say, “Try it.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Let’s see if it works.” Yeah. And you never know, you might not.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, and the likelihood is you might not, um, because like you say, like you’re learning something from it. Um- Mm-hmm … and it’s gonna be exactly like, that’s gonna mean that you change what you do in the next way that you do the social media-
Kayleigh Wingate: That makes it even better, doesn’t it? You know- Yeah … like when you’re suddenly like, “Oh, actually this went well.”
Kayleigh Wingate: Like, you, you just, you get those wins and it- Yeah … it feels great. So yeah.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Yeah. Awesome. I’m excited for you, Kaylee. That’s really exciting. Um, thank you for sharing that. And Claire, um, what’s been your kind of changes or things that you’re keen to take forward?
Claire Caborn: Um, ideas. Honestly, um, I used to, you know, listen to speakers and come off the conferences and, I mean, my head’s already buzzing with ideas, but it would just literally just be overspilling and I’d be so excited about all the different ideas.
Claire Caborn: So sharing all those ideas, uh, back to the team. Um, but essentially, um, last year we dipped our toe just very slightly into the Big Give Christmas Challenge. But this year it’s our 30th anniversary, so we wanted to kind of go a bit bigger. Um, so one of the main reasons, again, for, for me being on this program was to, um, trying to inform, um, using it as a tool to inform our strategy for our Big Give Christmas Challenge this, this, this year.
Claire Caborn: So there’s so many things, um, that we learnt and that I learnt that I c- I’ve, you know, passed on, um, to the rest of the team. Um, and, uh, yeah, it’s just enc- it’s encouragement, isn’t it? And, and ideas, strategies. Um, so that’s what, um, you know- Amazing … that’s how it will help and inform our work.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Amazing. I really hope that you’ll come back on maybe the Fundraising Everywhere podcast or maybe a conference session in the future, um, once you’ve kind of got your results from your Big Give or, or how it went.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: No matter how it goes, um, your learnings- Yeah … we’d, we’d really love you to, to, to share that with us, um, on the platform in a way that you’d be super comfortable with. And the same, Kaylee, um, once you’ve maybe figured out where you’re at with your, with your strategy, um, and the social media audit, if there’s any lessons learnt that you, that you kind of observe, I’d love you to share those back with us if you feel comfortable with.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, and yeah, kind of, I guess other people in the community will, will learn from that, uh, as well- Mm-hmm … with you both, which would be brilliant. Um, well I guess before we close off, I’ve really valued both of you sharing not only what you’ve learned and taken away both from a skills perspective, but also from again, like, uh, I guess confidence building or, or encouragement or, or knowing that you’re part of a, a community of people who are all trying things differently.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, I’d love if you had any thoughts on we are opening the applications or we have just opened actually, uh, they are open, uh, for the Digital Learning Grant Program 2027- Um, and of course we’re encouraging lots of people to apply. I think we’ve had 250 applications so far, I think. Um, and we’d love to see lots more, ’cause we are granting 250 spaces.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, and of course we wanna make sure that we, we s- empower, I guess, and, and encourage as many people as possible to come through the doors so we can give as many people as possible that opportunity. Um, why should people, uh, apply for the DLG program in future? Any words of wisdom from you both, um, as to why they should apply?
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: If they’re listening in, um, why should they apply for the program?
Kayleigh Wingate: Um, I guess it’s, you know, it’s a good set of fresh eyes for, for an experienced fundraiser. But then it’s also just, like in my case-
Kayleigh Wingate: Mm-hmm …
Kayleigh Wingate: a really good introduction to the world of fundraising. So it doesn’t matter if you think you know everything.
Kayleigh Wingate: Like, there’s always new things to learn, and I would absolutely say go for it. Get, get on the grant, apply for it. Try, try the journey. Um, it’s often quite overwhelming being a fundraiser and doing it solo as well, and having that encouragement with other people on the grant, the people who are in the talks, the, you know, everything encompassing Fundraising Everywhere is all about learning and just finding out something new and sharing your expertise and your knowledge.
Kayleigh Wingate: And yeah, I just say go for it. You’ll feel more confident. You’ll feel like you’re part of a, part of a fundraising team as well.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: I love that. Yeah. We’re your fundraising team if you don’t have one in your organization. And if you have one, we’re your bigger fundraising team even if you do have one. I love that, Kayleigh.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Thank you so much. Uh, Claire, what about
Claire Caborn: you? Oh, definitely, definitely, um, apply. You will end up with more confidence. You will be energized. You’ll be inspired. The speakers are fantastic. Things never stand still, and what you think is current, um, in your mind may have moved, um, and may have changed in the last six months.
Claire Caborn: And you’re listening to industry experts. Um, I describe it really like it’s having your own fundraising encyclopedia. Um, at any point, you can refer to it and find the answer. ‘Cause it’s not just the program, it’s everything that Fundraising Everywhere offers, and there’s every topic, uh, that you could ever want for, um, on their website.
Claire Caborn: Um, and so it’s not just the course, it’s having access to all of that for six months is, is an amazing opportunity. Um, to the point where I’m 100% planning to join. Whereas before- Yay … I was thinking, well, ’cause I’ll have to join personally. You know, we- it’s a, it’s an expensive thing for a charity to, to, to, to join.
Claire Caborn: Mm-hmm. So I was thinking, “Do I? Don’t I?” 100%- Oh … because as a fundraiser, as I said before, it, nothing stands still. You know, you m- you, things do change all the time. Mm-hmm. Um, the trusts and grants world, which is, that’s kind of my, my, my, my main, um, role, uh, changes all the time. Mm-hmm. And every time I listen to somebody talking about what makes a good application- Uh, you think you know what makes a good application, but then somebody else says, “Well, put this,” and you think, “Ah.”
Claire Caborn: Yeah. And then you’ll f- you’re forever improving and moving forward. Um, so 100%. And it did feel like there was some kind of solidarity between us all when we’re all on the conferences and everybody’s, like, filling up the chat box. And it’s … I found it a very friendly space as well. Yeah. Um, and- Love that
Claire Caborn: and the sort of monthly meetups, which I did some of, uh, were again, there was … It was quite intimate, a few of us, and they were lovely ’cause we’re all the same. We’ve all got the same struggles. And also, interestingly, we all have the same hangups. You think that everybody’s super confident and this, that, and the other, but, you know, we’re all just people doing the very best that we can, and we go up and down.
Claire Caborn: So if you’re thinking about it, do it. You will not regret it.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: I love that so much, Claire. Um, that was brilliant. Thank you so much both. Um, I imagine we’re gonna get applications flooding in from how you’ve, um, described that. Some of the key things for me was definitely from you, Kayleigh, the Fundraising Everywhere are like your extended team.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: I really loved that and everyone in that community. And I loved from you, Claire, that we’re like the fundraising encyclopedia. Um, and I think, yeah, both of those things have definitely been true. Um, and even before I joined Fundraising Everywhere as a staff member, I was also a member of, of the Fundraising Everywhere community, and it was for those reasons, um, as well.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: I think often people look at lots of us in the sector who’ve been here for a long time as well and think, “Oh, they must have it all figured out and, and know everything,” and, you know, we’re all still figuring it out every day. Um, so I love that we get to do that together. That’s really awesome. Um, well, thank you so, so much both, um, for joining me on today’s podcast.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, I really valued it. I know it can be a daunting thing to do. Um, so thank you for being brave, um, and for speaking up and sharing your experiences with others. Um, and as you said, I hopefully I get to see you as part of our membership community, um, for a long time, um, going forward, which will be wonderful.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, and again, thank you so much to our listeners. Uh, if you’ve tuned in today and you’re wondering, “Where can I get more information about this brilliant l- digital learning grant, the fundraising encyclopedia, the fundraising team that you can, uh, be a part of?” You can head to fundraisingeverywhere.com, uh, /dlg2027, I believe.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, or certainly you’ll be able to search DLG 2027, um, and you can apply there. Um, and just another big shout-out to JustGiving. Again, without them it would not be possible to provide this program to so many people. Um, so we’re forever, forever grateful, um, for their partnership and their sponsorship, um, of this program as well.
Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, but thank you again to everyone listening in, um, and hopefully catch you in the next podcast. Thanks very much. Bye-bye.
Jade Cunnah: Thank you for listening to the Fundraising Everywhere podcast. If you’re enjoying this podcast, why not share it with a fundraising friend? And if you’d like to give us a little like or subscribe, it really helps fundraisers like you find us.
Jade Cunnah: Thank you so much. See you next time. Bye