learning and development

Events fundraising can feel like one of the hardest areas to get right.

High admin. Tight budgets. Supporters who sign up full of enthusiasm, then quietly disappear. And for smaller charities, the risk can feel huge. One wrong decision on event places or marketing spend can wipe out months of work.

So when we hear about a charity growing its events income from around £100,000 a year to over £630,000, it’s worth paying attention.

In a recent episode of the Fundraising Everywhere podcast, Simon Scriver sat down with Georgia Akers, Head of Events at Spinal Research, to unpack what’s actually driven that growth. No silver bullets. No “overnight success”. Just thoughtful strategy, relationship-building, and a willingness to change what wasn’t working.

Here’s what events fundraisers can learn from Spinal Research’s approach.

If you work in event fundraising, this probably feels familiar: demand is there, supporters are still stepping up, and results are coming in, but the pressure on your time, energy and capacity hasn’t eased.

The good news is that the latest JustGiving 2026 Event Fundraising Snapshot shows events fundraising is not just holding steady, it’s delivering real value again, both financially and strategically, for charities of all sizes.

And don’t worry, on January 29th we’re hosting the Events Fundraising Conference to show you exactly how you can achieve that too.

Every January we take a moment to pause, look back, and be open about what we’ve learned – and then look ahead at what we’re committing to improve.

Fundraising Everywhere exists for one simple reason: to help fundraisers feel more confident, capable and supported in their work. That means constantly asking ourselves hard questions. What’s working? What isn’t? Where are we creating friction? And where could we do better for our community?

2025 was a big year for us. A year of growth, learning, and deliberate investment. And 2026 is about making sure all of that translates into something even better for you.

This is our review of what we focused on in 2025 – and what we’re committing to next.

The single greatest driver of mission achievement is not the size of your budget, but the strength of your organisation’s work culture.
Staff turnover, internal friction, and burnout erode capacity, stall growth, and ultimately compromise impact. But by intentionally engineering a positive work culture, your charity can drastically improve staff retention, strengthen departmental coordination, drive efficiency, and develop the stability required for agile fundraising operations.
This five-part framework provides a strategic approach to cultural improvement, treating your internal operations with the same care you apply to your fundraising strategy.

As we head into 2026, fundraising leaders are being asked to do something that feels increasingly hard: grow income, modernise approaches, and build resilience, all while teams are stretched, systems are cracking, and confidence is fragile.

That’s why we brought together two key data sets:

How fundraisers are actually using Fundraising Everywhere – what they search for, what they ask, and what they say is keeping them up at night

What sector reports are telling us about growth, opportunity and risk

The aim wasn’t to predict the future. It was to understand where ambition and reality don’t yet align, and what leaders can do to close that gap.

Here’s what we found – and what it means for your strategy in 2026.

We hope you managed to get a bit of rest over the holidays and you found some moments of joy, whatever that looks like for you. For team FE it has involved lots of chocolate (of both the vegan and non-vegan kind – yum!)

We know that Christmas can be a difficult time for some, so if this is you, we see you. ❤️

Getting back to work can be overwhelming, so take it slow. Prioritise only the most urgent tasks and remember to be kind to yourself.

Whether it’s handling emails bit by bit or taking extra breaks, you’re doing great.

The new year is full of opportunities, but there’s no rush. Start with care and a clear mind. You’ve got this!

We’ll be here, ready to support you whenever you’re ready to dive into 2026.

On any given day in the charity sector, fundraisers are doing a lot of emotional and practical heavy lifting.

They are juggling targets, stewarding donors, holding stories of trauma, and trying to raise money in a cost of living crisis. Enthuse’s Donor Pulse Spring 2024 shows that over half of people still feel it is harder to give than it was six months ago, even as inflation eases. At the same time, CAF’s UK Giving 2025 report finds that only around half of UK adults are now donating, down from 58 percent in 2019, which equates to roughly four million fewer donors.

In short, everyone is under pressure. Which is exactly why safe, inclusive workplaces for queer and trans fundraisers cannot be treated as a side project or a “nice to have”. They are central to whether your organisation can attract and keep brilliant people and whether your fundraising actually works.

This blog is based on a session from the Fundraising Culture & Change On Demand Programme, which is a conversation between Cam St Omer-Donaldson (she/her), Head of Membership Engagement, and guests Luca Straker (they/them), CEO of Proud Changemakers, and Arlo Hilton (they/them), a partnerships and inclusion specialist. It digs into what it really looks and feels like to create safe spaces for queer and trans colleagues, and how you can move from policy on paper to culture in practice.

Today’s focus is on queer and trans staff, but many of the ideas here will support everyone on your team.

During our Getting Code Ready webinar, some of you shared thoughtful questions, thank you!

Below you’ll find answers & related links that might help with questions asked in the chat, links to the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice, and pointers to supporting guidance also included.

The purpose of the webinar was to share key overall changes, frameworks and top tips on getting code ready, hearing from others on how they are doing this and how they’re staying code ready for the future also. We have provided, similar to the webinar, sign posts to the Fundraising Regulator directly as the regulatory body responsible for the Code of Fundraising Practice.

Hello, reader! And if you joined our ‘Getting Code Ready’ webinar, welcome back!

When I found out nearly 2,000 of you had signed up for the webinar, I’ll be honest, I thought either we all really love compliance or we’re all simply curious (worried?!) about how to get it right.

If you are trying to grow events income this year, the wind is at your back. Running is booming again, ballots are breaking records, and the charity place has never looked more valuable. Here is a practical, keep-it-simple plan shaped by Mark Roby from Run For Charity’s session at the Events Fundraising Conference 2025, plus the latest sector data.

If you are trying to grow events income this year, the wind is at your back. Running is booming again, ballots are breaking records, and the charity place has never looked more valuable. Here is a practical, keep-it-simple plan shaped by Mark Roby from Run For Charity’s session at the Events Fundraising Conference 2025, plus the latest sector data.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that fundraising is all about asking for money.

But a good fundraiser knows that that’s actually only a small part of the job. The real time-consuming stuff, and the really important stuff, is the things that happen before and after the asks. In fact, if you get really good at the “in-between” stuff, you start to see your asks get easier and your results get better.

And yet we neglect these things.

Why?

Exam results do not tell us whether someone is a good teacher. How many paintings they sell does not affirm the value of an artist. Income raised does not prove whether someone is a good fundraiser.

These are indicators, certainly, but as standalone metrics they tell us little about a professional’s competence. Van Gogh, for example, is believed to have sold only one painting in his lifetime. Recognition after death is scant validation for the individual.

How often has a fundraiser left an organisation only for people to realise they were better at their job than they had been given credit for when doing it?

Fundraising is no longer just about asking for donations – it’s about guiding supporters on a journey. In “From Giving to Raising,” Eoghan Beecher outlines how charities can use behaviour data, personalised messaging, and first-party platforms to build deeper relationships, increase retention, and drive lasting impact. Dive into key principles for designing a meaningful donor experience at every step.

94% of website users don’t trust a poorly designed or outdated website, demonstrating the necessity of keeping your charity’s site fresh. But updating your organisation’s website may seem overwhelming, with multiple components to optimise. Where should you begin?

Fortunately, simple content adjustments can improve your website’s performance, enhance user experience, and turn more visitors into donors.

This guide explores simple content updates you can implement into your website refresh strategy.

Fundraising professionals everywhere have felt the immense impact of economic volatility, political uncertainty, and shifts in public perception. At a time when charities need support the most, 87% of donors claim that financial limitations prevent them from providing regular contributions, while 12% cite a lack of trust.

Amid the changes rocking the fundraising world, delivering a consistent, remarkable donor experience is more crucial than ever. Some donors might not be able to contribute monetarily or may just be looking for more meaningful ways to get involved and show their support. This guide will explore creative ways to involve donors in daily charity operations so you can provide enriching experiences and keep supporters around.