Frequently asked questions
We look forward to welcoming you to Fundraising Convention 2025. We’re excited to be shaping and delivering another high quality, accessible and affordable learning and networking experience for you.
1. What is special about Fundraising Convention?
We’ve structured the event to give you options. The choice to glean content from a range of specialisms to broaden your exposure to multiple areas of fundraising, or the option to pick one single topic to learn and practice in a set period with focus and intensity.
Highlights:
- Over sixty sessions and six tracks of specialist learning for you to choose from
- Programme for all levels of fundraising experience
- Sessions dedicated to your areas of specialism
- Hear from speakers from outside the sector
- Excellent value for money for members and non-members
- Our speakers are volunteers sharing their knowledge and experience
- Priced to ensure access to all.
What are the key benefits of attending?:
- Learn and share best practice
- Discover the latest trends from across the sector
- See and hear examples of innovation happening across the sector
- Gain ideas to advance your organisation / charity
- Find ways to progress your career
- Get advice and guidance from experts
- Improve the way you work and discover efficiencies
- Network, interact and connect with like-minded fundraisers
2. How do you ensure that Convention stays fresh and relevant?
We carefully capture the feedback of delegates and the wider membership population, so this has been and still is crucial in our planning. Changes in the makeup of our Convention Board will help ensure that we continue to review and improve our approach, format, and content curation. This means that delegates can expect to hear from some of the most relevant speakers in fundraising, selected by fundraisers themselves.
We’ve ensured that the sessions respond to the rapidly changing climate in which fundraisers at all levels are working. This includes sharing expertise on the topics that matter now, as well as horizon-scanning sessions that will offer invaluable insights for your future planning.
There will also be chances for you to network with others in the sector at the time that you need it most, enabling you to access the support you need.
3. What changes have been made?
The following changes took place:
- As a result of clear feedback, Convention will last for two days rather than three days. As you’d expect, it will remain a professional development opportunity that will become an invaluable source of information and connections to help you in your fundraising role over the coming months.
- You’ve told us that you want virtual access to the event to accommodate the learning and development needs of those who cannot or choose not to travel to a centralised location. So, a specially curated programme will allow us to make a hybrid offer available to you.
- We will be offering more diverse online content for our virtual delegates to ensure it is a specially curated take on Convention.
4. What will you be doing to keep ticket prices accessible?
Rising living costs are affecting us all. We will offer:
- A discount on all ticket options as part of our early bird deal
- A special small charity rate
- Discounted tickets for Chartered Institute members of all types
- Subsidised tickets to allow our amazing volunteers to attend at a specially reduced rate
- Bulk ticket purchase discounts
Plus, we will absorb any event ticket site administration fees instead of passing them onto you.
The Chartered Institute is a registered charity whose purpose includes equipping fundraisers and fundraising charities. All our conferences, events and training are part of us delivering that core purpose.
We are running Fundraising Convention to bring the fundraising community together to learn, connect and improve their performance. This will further help us all to deliver excellent fundraising for a better world.
5. Is food and drink provided as part of the ticket price?
Yes – All beverages during the day plus lunch
6. Will bursaries be available?
We are offering bursaries through our regional, national, and special interest groups. These are intended to increase the diversity of our attendees and to increase accessibility for those who might not otherwise be able to benefit from the fresh, high-quality content that you’ve come to expect from Fundraising Convention.
7. What are you doing to make the event inclusive?
Several important things have been put into place:
- We’ve selected a purpose-built venue in a well-connected location which is easy to find and navigate
- We have plans in place to release the programme agenda and timings well in advance of the event, so that delegates can plan their participation easily
- A tailored, easy to use online event platform will be available to all delegates to allow delegates to schedule their time, access resources and connect with other fundraisers.
- We will ensure that there is a dedicated area for neurodivergent participants, and others that require quiet and space
- We will work with individual speakers to overcome economic barriers to their involvement in the event, to widen our pool of voices
- Gender neutral toilets will be available and signposted
- A prayer room will be available
- British Sign Language interpreters will be secured to meet delegate needs
- We will aim to accommodate special dietary restrictions
8. What accessibility measures are in place within the QEII Centre?
The QEII Centre is committed to providing access to all. Their staff are trained to assist visitors with limited mobility and other disabilities or needs.
Driving
Blue badge holders can park on the QEII Centre forecourt free of charge. Parking in this location is subject to availability so delegates can call them directly to enquire.
Disabled passengers arriving by taxis or alternative vehicles may disembark on the forecourt.
Public Transport
The nearest step-free tube station is Westminster, which is served by the Jubilee, District and Circle lines.
Getting Around the Centre
There is a ramp from the forecourt which leads to the QEII Centre front doors and is wide enough for easy wheelchair access. In addition to this, a DDA compliant registration point is also available to wheelchair delegates. All meeting and conference rooms have step-free access via corridors wide enough to easily manoeuvre a wheelchair.
There are nine passenger lifts, all of which can accommodate a wheelchair. One of these is a fireman’s lift that can be used in an evacuation.
There is no fixed seating at the QEII Centre, therefore wheelchair spaces can be positioned anywhere in the meeting rooms. Staff can fit a wheelchair ramp to the stage in larger meeting areas, or arrange a portable wheelchair lift to provide access to the stage in smaller meeting rooms.
Disabled Toilet Facilities
There are accessible toilet facilities throughout the QEII Centre. These are equipped with emergency alarms and can be accessed from all our rooms with lifts where needed.
Assistance and Guide Dogs
Delegates are welcome to bring a guide dog, hearing dog or other assistance dogs into the QEII Centre.
Induction Loops
Most rooms have permanent induction loops for the audio impaired, and in the rest, they can be fitted by arrangement. If a delegate requires this facility, the Chartered Institute events team can liaise with staff on your behalf. Contact convention@ciof.org.uk to discuss further.
Personal Evacuation Plans
Staff must ensure that everyone can be safely evacuated in the unlikely event of an emergency. If delegates feel that their disability could delay their evacuation or that of others via the fire escape stairs, a mutually convenient personal evacuation plan will be put in place.
9. Location - How are you involving and reaching out to fundraisers across the UK?
Our conferences and events are now hosted virtually and in different locations across the UK.
We continue to work closely with our group volunteers to understand the needs of UK fundraisers. We support regional, national, and special interest conferences, webinars and networking, equipping fundraisers with the tools to improve their fundraising activity.
We also bring fundraisers together in accessible locations to facilitate professional development, online training and qualification opportunities.
We’ll always listen to our members and delegates to find out what they want from Fundraising Convention, including where and how it is hosted. We’re open to alternative ways of providing learning and support. We will be reviewing what we offer for future years so that it continues to provide valuable opportunities to network, share and learn.
10. How are group volunteers being recognised?
So that as many of our volunteers as possible can attend we have a special volunteer rate available. We also offer two complimentary tickets to each Chartered Institute volunteer committee so that they can attend Fundraising Convention.
11. Why do you have a separate team of Fundraising Convention volunteers?
We recruit a dedicated team of volunteers to ensure the smooth running of the event. This includes signposting, providing guidance and support, registering, and vetting attendees, supporting speakers, being on hand during sessions, and setting up / breaking down the event. These volunteers are a joy to work with and significantly enhance the experience of our delegates.
12. Why do you have a Convention Board?
The Board is made up of committed professional fundraisers who have volunteered their time to source content for the event. They are central to ensuring that the event meets a range of needs and helps drive sector learning and development forward. Details of the current Board will be available on our website shortly.
13. Diversity and Inclusion - What’s your stance on paying speakers?
Our purpose is to enable members to fundraise better. Fundraising Convention is one part of delivering that core purpose. We run the event as cost-effectively as possible to ensure it is good value for our members and so that we can continue to support fundraisers and fundraising charities around the UK.
The Chartered Institute of Fundraising is a charity itself and we work on a peer-to-peer learning model. Accessibility is a core principle of our event delivery. We want to increase representation from a broad spectrum of people within the fundraising community and place value on hearing from third parties that can provide insight to our members. We want to eradicate the barriers and level-out disparities that may affect becoming a speaker.
As a result, we work to ensure we have diverse speakers at the event and aim to be transparent and fair in our engagement with speakers. We will work with individual speakers to overcome any economic barriers to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to speak at our events. We have a fund that speakers can access if required.
14. Safeguarding - What are you doing to enhance the safety of attendees?
Updated safeguarding processes and procedures have been embedded. All participants will commit to the updated Code of Behaviour at Training and Events. A central screening process will ensure that anyone who has been suspended or expelled due to an investigation or is subject to an investigation cannot take part.
Further training has been provided for staff, volunteers, and trustees to ensure that everyone understands how to manage, record and act on any concerns or complaints.
15. Programme - There are two sessions that I want to attend at the same time. Will you be repeating any sessions?
We have scheduled Convention so that each of our tracks is discussing important topics within their area across the two days. If you’re interested in following one area of fundraising, you will be able to follow that track throughout Convention and develop a complete understanding of this aspect of fundraising.
We do understand that whatever your area of interest, there will be crossovers with different tracks. Unfortunately, there may be some clashes with other sessions that you want to attend and whilst we won’t be repeating any sessions, we will be adding resources to a session for all delegates to use and we encourage delegates to use the event app to connect with other delegates and even speakers to better understand any sessions that you attended or to ask about sessions that you couldn’t.
16. I am buying a ticket for one day and there are sessions on another day that I'm interested in. Can I use my one-day ticket to select individual sessions on other days?
No.
17. Awards - Are you running the Fundraising Awards this year?
Yes. We are bringing back the National Fundraising Awards for 2025.