October 2024 Round-up

It’s a bumper edition of our monthly newsletter so make yourself a drink, get comfy and see what’s happening in the fundraising sector...

I want to start this month’s newsletter by saying a huge congratulations to Manny Kang, who has recently won Fundraiser of the Year at the Pride of Britain Awards. Manny was crowned Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year at the National Fundraising Awards back in July – I’m sure you’ll agree it’s a brilliant achievement for Manny and his fundraising efforts for Dementia UK

Also at the Pride of Britain Awards, Jacob Newson won the Young Fundraiser of the Year, for his tireless efforts raising money for the RAF Benevolent Fund and St. Gemma's Hospice in Leeds, in memory of his mum.?

Both Manny’s and Jacob’s achievements are absolutely brilliant and I’m in no doubt they have been expertly supported by fundraisers at the charities they are raising funds for. A massive well done to all involved.

Fundraising Convention and recent regional and special interest conferences

We had a great response for our Fundraising Convention 2025 Call for Papers which closed this week. We received over 240+ applications and our Convention board will be going through these in the coming months to hand pick the sessions for next year's programme. If you are new to the sector we still have our Rising Stars programme which is open for applications until Monday 18 November. Successful candidates will be paired with a mentor and able to speak at the event, this is great for career fundraisers so please do pass this on to someone you think would benefit from this opportunity.

We will also be looking for Convention volunteers at the start of December so keep an eye out on our socials for that.

I was so pleased to see really positive feedback from delegates at recent Chartered Institute conferences that have taken place around the country, organised by our regional and special interest groups.

We heard that the Central South Conference was ‘such a valuable day for me as someone starting out on their fundraising journey’ and that the West Midlands Conference was ‘an incredible day of learning and connecting’, that provided ‘amazing sessions on thinking big when small’.

Delegates said the Insight Conference was a ‘brilliantly organised and wonderfully curated event’ with an emphasis on ‘being inspired and sharing new ideas’.

Our regional and special interest groups are a vital part of the Chartered Institute so well done and thank you to all the group volunteers who make these events happen.

Useful information and insight

In September Remember A Charity reached millions of people across the UK during Remember A Charity Week and the campaign is continuing to inspire the giving public with the wonderful world of legacy giving as part of their activity. Stay tuned for a celebrity backed broadcast day on the horizon!

Project leads from The Power of Small have asked for organisations to contribute to a fantastic resource which maps the ecosystem of support for small voluntary organisations in England. If you are looking for support on fundraising then we’d recommend checking this out, and you can also take a look at our Small Charities’ Hub, which is packed with open-access content and resources.

AI and Fundraising

How, when and if fundraisers should be using AI is a topic high on many people’s agendas so I’m really pleased that next week we will be sharing an AI collection of resources. Members will get access to a range of content that brings together real-life examples of how charities are using AI, opinions from seasoned fundraisers, guides and more.

Our organisational members already have access to an on-demand AI in fundraising masterclass, led by Sue Turner, an expert in AI and data.

I would also invite everyone to participate in this AI and Non-profit Fundraising survey that we are running in partnership with the University of York and Durham University. The survey results will shape our understanding of how fundraisers, philanthropists, and the non-profit sector view the introduction and adoption of AI technologies.

Fundraising, Government and Regulation

We continue to see changes in the use of AI, and we’ve also seen a significant change in the political landscape following the General Election. With so many new parliamentarians looking to strengthen their constituencies, it’s the perfect time to put charitable giving on their agenda and highlight the role they can play in fostering a favourable fundraising environment. To make this happen, we have created a short guide that members of the Chartered Institute can share with MPs on how to support charitable giving.

The Chartered Institute is very pleased to have been involved in discussions with the Government about the new Civil Society Covenant Framework. The Prime Minister has outlined a commitment to build a new partnership that can harness civil society’s full potential and deliver against the government’s five missions. The draft Framework has been published and charities are invited to review it and provide feedback, please do so by Thursday 12 December.?

We are finalising our response to the Fundraising Regulator’s consultation on the Code of Fundraising Practice. This consultation is our final opportunity to feedback on the proposed Code, ahead of it being finalised next year. We are encouraging all members to review the sections that are relevant to their fundraising activities and send us any feedback to [email protected]

Events happening soon

Giving Tuesday is just over five weeks away – have you started your planning yet for how to get involved in this global day of giving?

This year it takes place on Tuesday 3 December and charities in the UK are invited to take part with the theme of Give Your Way. The theme highlights the numerous ways people can support charities – through different fundraising methods and other ways of giving too.

As part of this new theme, we will be running a media campaign to raise awareness of the different ways someone can support charities, and why such support has never been more important to sustaining and growing services. If you have plans for this Giving Tuesday or a positive story about the difference donors and volunteers have made, please email [email protected]

If you need some inspiration, insight and ideas, members can join us next week on Thursday 31 October for a webinar about Giving Tuesday. We have a great panel of speakers lined up - the global and European directors from Giving Tuesday and hear from Natwest about their match-giving fund and how you can get access to it.

If you are interested in becoming a member and gain access to this webinar and more, speak to one of the membership team or visit our website.

Coming up soon we also have two webinars which are open to all. On Wednesday 6 November we look at the ethics of gift acceptance and refusal with Rogare - The Fundraising Think Tank , and on Thursday 7 November you can hear from Omaze, the RSPCA and CALM to find out what it’s like to work with the million-pound house prize draw specialists.

Thanks for reading all this – it’s great that there is so much good to share with the fundraising community.

Take care,

Katie

Katie Docherty, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising