As we start our planning for the 2026 Chartered Institute of Fundraising Convention we are really looking forward to reading the wonderful submissions from our colleagues across the sector, as ever you are always generous in sharing your experiences, learnings and time!
Our theme for 2026 is ‘Small shifts, Big Impact’ and we believe that in a sector that is facing constant pressure and change, innovation doesn’t have to mean big budgets or bold tech. I have worked in the sector for 20 years, in large and small charities. The always present constant is the brilliant teams of fundraisers I have worked alongside, who always give their absolute best to provide vital income for our charity’s beneficiaries.
While in smaller charities we often don’t have the budgets for innovation resource or technology, we still find innovation in every day. Those subtle changes and iterations on existing campaigns and events often contribute to a greater result! I still remember seeing a presentation at one convention where a team had changed their ask on a mailing for a mass participation walk. Who knew I’d be learning about donor psychology? I took that back to my teams and we doubled our spring appeal that year.
For your abstract, please look to make it as detailed as possible - imagine yourself as a fundraiser reading it! We do appreciate your ideas may not always be fully formed 6 months ahead of the event, but to help you being selected we do need to be able to visualise what your session will be about and how it will meet our theme and be of interest to our audience. If you are an agency submitting, please do include your charity partner details as well, again this increases your chance of selection.
The session title is another key element. Make sure it represents what you will be talking about and ideally your abstract should be between 400 and 700 words. We need it to demonstrate key learnings, impact or thought leadership in your chosen area.
As I mentioned, remember that we as fundraisers are reviewing your submission and we (and you) must always keep our audience in mind! The event is run by fundraisers for fundraisers, and we are looking for submissions and presenters that will inspire our community. We want delegates to leave the event with key takeaways, ideas and inspiration! Often, it’s the simplest of ideas as well – that sometimes when busy workloads take over, may have slipped off our plans. I remember a wonderful ‘thankathon’ presentation one year – again I took this back to my teams. Staff from all over our organisation took part and we hit the phones one Christmas, simply to say ‘Thank you and Merry Christmas’. Our supporters loved it and a secondary bonus – we had donations flooding in.
I hope this is helpful, and thank you once again for finding the time to submit – we really appreciate it and are very much looking forward to starting our selection and curation process next month!
Best wishes,
Tracy