Fundraising Symposium

Our annual Symposium is adapting to the current fundraising climate

This year, we are launching a new Symposium in response to the evolving fundraising landscape. Attendees will hear directly from fundraisers and leading experts, gaining insight into current opportunities and strategic approaches to fundraising.

The plenary session will be followed by practical breakout sessions designed to help you build skills, connect with peers across the sector, and feel better equipped to take your fundraising further in 2026 and beyond.

PLENARY (10:30-12:30)

The plenary will focus on research, development and insights on the current Trusts & Foundations climate. This will also feature a panel discussion with representees from the sector on the day to discuss and give insights on the funding landscape, changes in funding practices and how they have adapted in Trust & Foundations (T&F) Fundraising

This is open to anyone who works in the arts, in any capacity of fundraising in any sector and would like to find out more about Trusts and Foundations fundraising, even if it’s your first time or if you are a seasoned pro!

From the plenary you will:

• Gain insight on the current funding landscape
• Get the opportunity to gain insight from fundraisers
• Have the opportunity to chat and network with others over lunch

Our headline speaker will be Jo Jeffery from the List- who will be joining us online!

Nearly two years ago, Jo Jeffery shared a simple spreadsheet that she had set up to log changes to grant-making to help manage her client’s prospects and portfolios. She never imagined it would spark a movement - a sector wide group project. She simply thought, “This is interesting to me, maybe it’ll be interesting to others too.” At a time when navigating trust and foundation fundraising had become increasingly difficult, that spreadsheet became The List, a single place to track the pausing, spend down, and restructuring of charitable trusts and foundations in the UK.

We will also be hosting a panel discuss where we will hear insights from arts fundraisers from our member network. They will be discussing their experience of T&F fundraising now, the reality of managing relationships with T&F funders, opportunities for developing their fundraising plans, alongside answering your burning questions!

Joining us for the panel will be Lara Albergo from Bruiser Theatre Company, Paul Sweeney from Playhouse Theatre and Max Beer from The Art Fundraisers.

THE BREAKOUT SESSIONS (13:00-14:30)

This year we are delighted to have leading experts share their insights and knowledge in these curated breakout sessions, ideal for anyone fundraising in any capacity within the sector. Before booking, please read the session information as we will not be able to 'swap' sessions on the day.

Case for support- with Oonagh Desire

A good case for support is a great asset for any fundraising efforts, be it support from trusts and foundations, corporate sponsorship or individual giving incentives. A compelling, consistent narrative along with the relevant information about whatever it is that you’re fundraising for, is at the heart of all fundraising!

During this session Oonagh will guide you through the practical elements of creating your case for support and how to get donors invested in your organisation. Drawing on her 25 years of experience in arts, culture, and the voluntary sector with a background in management, fundraising and engagement, Oonagh provides strategic guidance, capacity building and change management support.

Are you Fundraising Ready? – with Brona Whittaker A&B NI

Take the time to reflect and assess whether your organisation is truly prepared to fundraise effectively! Through a Fundraising Readiness Audit, you will be able to reflect and identify strengths, gaps, and priority actions across strategy, systems, skills, and resources—leaving with clear insights and next steps to build confidence and maximise fundraising success!

Fundamentals of a Fundraising Strategy- with Holly Foskett A&B NI

A fundraising strategy is a written plan of action that identifies potential sources of funding, timescales, and the roles and responsibilities and key actions required to make the timescales realistic and achievable. With this, break out session we will give an overview on what to include in your strategy, who needs to be involved and an overview with types of fundraising you can explore as part of this journey!

Showing your impact- with Maurane Ramon Thrive

During this session you will learn practical tools to capture, track, and report impact in a clear and meaningful way. Learn how to move beyond outputs to credible evidence, streamline data collection, and turn impact information into insights that support learning, accountability, and decision-making.

Maurane is the Head of Client Development at thrive. Whether it is audience research, project evaluation or communication, Maurane is thrive’s own Swiss army knife, coming with a versatile set of skills to answer Northern Ireland’s arts sector’s needs.

Thrive offer accessible, practical help across research, evaluation, and marketing for the arts and heritage sector in NI.

BOOKING YOUR PLACE

Tickets for the full day are available for £30 + VAT for A&B NI Members and £40 + VAT for non-members.

When booking, you will be asked to select 2 breakout sessions. You are guaranteed 2 breakout sessions but please be aware that this event will book