Registration and Refreshments
09:00 - 09:30
09:30 - 09:35
Main stage: Welcome from Third Sector and Housekeeping announcements
09:35 - 09:55
Keynote: more information coming soon
In this opening session, we recap the past year and you can hear from a charity leader about the state of where the sector is now, and learn the key trends you need to be aware of ahead of us splitting into stages for the day.
09:55 - 10:15
Keynote: more information coming soon
Changeover Break
10:15 - 10:25
10:25 - 10:45
Opening keynote: Painting the bigger picture - Shifting from transactional partnerships
Partnerships
Session description:
When it comes to partnerships, many charities tend to focus solely on corporate fundraising or grant-funding to deliver projects. However, the modern partnership needs an approach that focuses on deeper, more transformative collaboration - and allows both to jointly diagnose the issues at hand, achieve shared goals of social change, as well as invest in and build capacity for innovation.
Talking points
Transformative collaberation
Diagnosing the problems and Defining your shared goals
Keeping communities at the heart.
Speaker: Steven McIntosh, Chief Partnerships Officer, Macmillan
10:25 - 10:45
Opening keynote: PwC
Finance & Fundraising
Speakers:
Daniel Chan, Partner, PwC
David Baxendale, Partner, PwC
10:25 - 10:45
Case study: Unicef
Charities showcase
More session info to follow!
Speaker: Hannah Thami, Philanthropy Manager, Unicef
10:45 - 11:05
RSPCA & Smart Energy GB - Building a strategic partnership to support pet owners during the cost of living crisis
Partnerships
The cost of living crisis has been one of the biggest challenges for animal welfare for decades. Worryingly, the RSPCA's 2024 Animal Kindness Index found almost eight in ten pet owners (78%) felt that pet ownership had become more expensive over the last year. In this tough financial climate, pet owners are having to make heartbreaking choices and the RSPCA has really felt the impact too - with more animals coming into our care, rehoming rates having slowed in recent years; and more reports of animals being abandoned as costs spiral.
The RSPCA has been doing everything we can to keep pets in loving homes - and that's why we're so pleased to have partnered with Smart Energy GB to support our work in food banks. Find out how this innovative partnership has delivered real impact for pet owners in crisis.
Talking points:
- Thinking outside the box - so what does animal welfare have to do with smart meters anyway?
- Help where it’s needed - reaching low-income and digitally excluded audiences in a way they trust.
- Key learnings - heroes, hiccups and horizon.
Speaker:
- Ellen Camillin, Senior Corporate Development Manager, RSPCA
- Gem Desouza, Corporate Partnerships Manager, RSPCA
10:45 - 11:05
Presentation: A no-nonsense insight into the world of charity finance.
Finance & Fundraising
The session will introduce you to budgeting, cash flow, forecasting, risk and reserves, and is designed to break down barriers to understanding financial terminology, financial management tools and data.
Talking points
- Building blocks of financial management
- Risky business
- Rainy day reserves
Speaker: Caron Bradshaw OBE, CEO, Charity Finance Group
10:45 - 11:05
Presentation: The Corporation Of The Church House
Charities showcase
More session info to follow soon!
Networking break
11:05 - 11:35
11:35 - 11:55
Presentation: Creating value through strategic alliances
Partnerships
Talking points:
- Overview of how the process works
- Weighing up when to take a financial vs a services partnership
- Winning the pitch
- Onboarding and relationship process
- How to build a working corporate relationship
- Partnership retention
- Extending that relationship
Speaker: Daniel Valentine, Head of Communications at The Chartered Governance Institute
11:35 - 11:55
Case study: Save the Children, Project Evolution – Recovery leading to growth
Finance & Fundraising
We don’t need to rehash the turmoil we all went through during Covid – this is about what happened next
What changes we quickly implement
Talking Points
- Early results
- Where are we now?
- Where do we want to get to?
- Reflections
Speaker:
- Helen Slee, Supporter Led Fundraising Lead, Save the Children UK
- Lisa Aubrey, Director of Community Fundraising & Engagement, Save the Children
11:35 - 11:55
Case study: The rebrand
Charities showcase
Cats Protection showcases the details of the process behind their successful rebrand, which launched nearly 2 years ago and how this has brought people together and had a positive impact on cats.
Talking points:
- Assessing whether you need a rebrand
- Process - What makes an effective rebrand
- Brand Health metrics
- The impact this has had internally, on recruitment and importantly on cats.
Speaker: Nicola Shepherd, Head of Brand and Marketing, Cats Protection
11:55 - 12:20
Case study: Partnerships - A Regional Approach
Partnerships
Partnership is a strange word, isn't it? For me, it brings to mind Hugh Grant in Love Actually, talking about the 'special relationship' and how that 'covers all manner of sins'. So how, in this world where 'partnership' can often mean contract, exploitation, unequal relationship, and lots of other unproductive things, do we actually practice partnership?
At Shelter, we have a number of national partners, who we are delighted to work with around the country, and dozens of local ones that help enable our Community Fundraising team to flourish. Tim Baker, our Senior Community Fundraising Area Manager for the North of England shares some of the successes, some of the challenges, and some of the ways of creating lasting, relational, partnerships that bring a real impact.
Speaker: Tim Baker, Senior Community Fundraising Area Manager for the North of England, Shelter
11:55 - 12:20
Session pending
Finance & Fundraising
More information coming soon.
11:55 - 12:20
Presentation: The Corporation Of The Church House
Charities showcase
More information coming soon.
Speaker: Stephanie Maurel, CEO, The Corporation Of The Church House (Church of England)
12:20 - 12:45
Case study: Football Should Be Unforgettable: Building a Strategic Charity Partnership with The FA
Partnerships
Over the past 4 years, this partnership has been transformative for Alzheimer’s Society, increasing brand awareness, signposting more people than ever to dementia information, and raising over £1million for research and support services. Find out more about how these organisations collaborated to create a partnership with real impact.
Talking points:
- Building a partnership with impact – how we build campaigns that appeal to fans and show tangible impact for people affected by dementia.
- Involving England players to help build awareness of symptoms of dementia.
- Keeping fans part of the game for as long as possible – announcing Wembley Stadium as the first dementia-friendly national stadium, and creating a community café at the stadium for residents affected by dementia from underserved communities.
Speaker: Sarah Greenwood, Corporate Account Manager, Alzheimer's Society
12:20 - 12:45
Case study: Doubling income in a time of declining donations
Finance & Fundraising
Join Islamic Relief UK, who discuss how they have been able to double their worldwide income over the past 2 -3 years, at a time when the sector has seen donations decline. This will be a case study presentation of their achievements, followed by a Q&A session.
Talking points:
- Context
- Overview of methods
- Tips and tricks on how you can implement these strategies in your charity
- Conclusion and looking to the future
Speaker: Zia Salik, Director of Fundraising, Islamic Relief UK
12:20 - 12:45
Case study: Joint working models - HoardingUK
Charities showcase
Legislative and policy frameworks expect that, as statutory and third sector organisations, we will work effectively together.
We know that this would make our processes more person-centred, cost-effectively, and time managed.
Yet, due to having less and needing to do more, we may continue to behave reactively – instead of intentionally.
The discussion will present the Gloucester Hoarding Initiative’s innovative joint working model.
Speaker: Megan Karnes, Founder/Chair, Hoarding UK
Lunch break
12:35 - 13:55
13:55 - 14:35
Session pending
Partnerships
More information coming soon.
13:55 - 14:35
Panel: Fundraising strategies - What you need to know for 2026.
Finance & Fundraising
Our panellists discuss strategies for fundraising going into 2026, what does it take to navigate the cost of living crisis?
What do our panellists foresee affecting the sector? Are we still in a phase of post-COVID recovery or have financial issues moved past this?
This session will provide tangible takeaways you can implement going forward and how you can do this on a limited budget?
Speakers:
Lindsay Jones, Head of Community Fundraising, Shelter
Henry Ellinger-Gane, Head of partnerships, Whizz - Kidz
Duro Oye, CEO, 2020 Levels
13:55 - 14:15
Case study: Voices of the exploited campaign.
Charities showcase
Join Link To Change CEO Hayley Brown, who discusses the processes of how to make your own campaign in-house.
Talking points:
- How in-house campaigns are done in comparison to the larger charities
- How you can make your own materials
- How to measure the success and impact of your campaign.
Speaker: Hayley Brown, CEO, Link to Change
14:05-14:25
Case study: Session pending
More information coming soon.
Afternoon break
14:35 - 15:10
15:10 - 15:35
Keynote: British Heart Foundation
This keynote is reserved for the British Heart Foundation, please come back later for more information!
Speaker:
Dr Charmaine Griffith, Chief Executive, BHF
Nicole Yost, Director of Corporate Affairs and Communications, BHF
15:35 - 16:05
Keynote: Transformation in motion: bringing Macmillan's new strategy to life
Macmillan Cancer Support’s Chief Executive Gemma Peters reflects on the organisation’s continued evolution and six months of delivering its ambitious new strategy. At a time when many charities are having to think differently about what they do and how they do it, Gemma talks openly about the challenges and opportunities from Macmillan’s transformation that apply to the sector more broadly - especially around looking ahead, shifting culture and bringing colleagues, customers and stakeholders along on the journey.
Speaker: Gemma Peters, CEO, Macmillan
16:05 - 16:10
Chairs closing comments
The Third Sector Editorial Team
Close of Day 2