Fundraising Summit - Challenge. Influence. Lead.
29 June 2027 8:30am - 5:30pm, Royal National Hotel London
How do you build a fundraising culture that retains good people? What happens when reputation, income and values collide? Where should you invest in AI? And how do we respond if fewer people choose to give?
The Fundraising Summit brings together experienced fundraisers and leaders to examine these difficult questions, challenge established thinking and explore the decisions that will shape fundraising's future.
Who is it for?
Experienced fundraisers, managers, heads of fundraising, directors, CEOs and emerging leaders who influence fundraising strategy, lead people or make decisions about their organisation's future.
What will you gain?
- Fresh perspectives on difficult decisions: Explore how other leaders are responding to challenges around organisational culture, public trust, AI and changing patterns of giving.
- Stronger strategic thinking: Challenge your assumptions, examine evidence and consider different approaches to the decisions facing your organisation.
- Ideas to inform your leadership: Connect with experienced peers and leaders from other sectors, and identify priorities and approaches you can take back to your organisation.
Explore the programme
Big questions. Candid conversations. Different perspectives.
The Fundraising Summit brings together voices from within and beyond the fundraising profession to explore the challenges leaders cannot afford to ignore.
From retaining talented people and navigating public scrutiny to deciding where to invest and responding to changing patterns of giving, the programme focuses on the decisions that matter.
Creating Relationships in an Attention Economy
Attention is harder to earn, loyalty is harder to sustain and people's expectations of organisations are changing. What does the evidence tell us about how people form and maintain relationships with organisations, and what might this mean for fundraising?
Drawing on research, emerging trends and insights from beyond the charity sector, this opening plenary examines the changing landscape of attention, trust and loyalty. It will establish a shared understanding of the challenges facing fundraising and the questions leaders need to consider as they plan for the future.
Five conversations exploring the decisions, challenges and responsibilities shaping fundraising leadership today and the future of our profession.
1. Building Healthy Fundraising Cultures
How do you create a fundraising culture where people can perform well, develop and want to stay?
Explore how leadership decisions influence performance, wellbeing and retention, and what needs to change when expectations, behaviours or organisational culture are working against your people.
2. When Charities Fight Back
What happens when reputation, income and organisational values collide?
Hear from charity leaders who have faced difficult decisions under public scrutiny. Explore how they navigated competing pressures, the consequences of their choices and what others can learn from their experiences.
3. AI, Innovation & Organisational Transformation
Where should fundraising leaders invest in AI, and what should they stop doing?
Move beyond the technology itself to examine the strategic choices involved: where to invest, what to change, how to manage risk and how to bring people with you.
4. Rebuilding a Culture of Giving
What happens if fewer people choose to give?
Explore the evidence around changing participation in charitable giving, why people disengage and what fundraising leaders can do to encourage broader participation and strengthen the UK's culture of giving.
5. Same Challenges. Different Thinking.
What decisions have leaders in other sectors made that fundraisers could learn from?
From retail and hospitality to technology, sport and financial services, hear how organisations outside fundraising have tackled familiar challenges around loyalty, relationships and changing customer expectations.
Through practical examples, candid reflections and audience discussion, explore the decisions behind different approaches, what worked, what didn't and what fundraising leaders might apply in their own organisations.
Beyond Fundraising: Leadership, Legacy and the Future of Our Profession
Live recording of CIOF's Let's Talk Fundraising podcast
What does it take to move from leading fundraising to leading an entire organisation?
Hear from former fundraising leaders who have become CEOs as they reflect on the decisions, challenges and experiences that shaped their careers.
This closing conversation will also look beyond individual career journeys to consider the responsibilities today's leaders have for developing others, strengthening the profession and shaping its future.
Be part of the conversation
The Fundraising Summit is an opportunity to step away from immediate pressures, engage with different perspectives and think about what your organisation – and the wider fundraising profession – needs to do next.
Join us to challenge your thinking, strengthen your leadership and help shape what comes next.