Hello Fundraisers,

Welcome to our June Fundraising Newsletter, bringing you the latest fundraising news, training and events - plus new funds.

In this month's issue:

Fundraising News:

• 1-2-1 sessions on offer with Children in Need
• New research into how to make your legacy ask
• Updated guidance on data privacy and fundraising
• Lloyds Bank Foundation launches new nine-year strategy

Training & Events: 

• Digital Fundraising - 16 June
• Proving Your Value to Funders - 16 July
• Social Media Marketing and Remarketing for Community Building - 21 September

New Funds: We have also pulled together a variety of new funds for you.

Please contact Alison for fundraising support if you have any questions or issues you would like to talk through.

Kind regards,

Alison Morey

1-2-1 sessions on offer with Children in Need

Our Meet the Funder session with Pam Bacon, Impact Officer for the South East at BBC Children in Need proved popular, with several local groups finding the session helpful it very helpful.

Pam is also offering 20-minute 1-2-1 sessions on Microsoft Teams on Thursday 18 June.  Please email Alison to book a 1-2-1 slot.

BBC Children in Need funds vital support for children and young people struggling with challenges caused by mental health, poverty, social inequity and family-related issues. They support not-for-profit, community-based organisations in their work to help address some of the day-to-day challenges that impact children and young people up to the age of 18 years, living in the UK.

New research into how to make your legacy ask

Legacy fundraising might feel like something for organisations with dedicated teams and big budgets - but it isn't. A recent report by AAW Group, launched at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising Convention, found that legacy fundraisers generated 17x the income of community fundraisers. 

 In 2024, the average residual gift (a proportion of unallocated money in a will) was £65,000, while the average pecuniary gift (a specified amount) was £4,500 - someone donating £5 per month would take 75 years to reach the average pecuniary figure (source: ArtsFundraising). Legacy income now makes up an average of 30% of fundraising income for the top 1,000 charities receiving legacies. 

A new study by Professor Russell James and Claire Routley finds that donors fall into four broad money mindsets: planners, bargain-seekers, status-motivated donors, and those with financial anxiety. What encourages someone to include a charity in their will is different from what influences how much they leave: and each group needs a different conversation.

You don't need a campaign to act on this. You need to know your supporters well enough to have the right conversation with the right person - and that's something smaller organisations are often better placed to do.

• Planners respond well to practical information: how a gift in a will actually works, how it fits alongside other financial planning.
• Bargain-seekers are more likely to engage when you explain the tax efficiency of a charitable bequest — especially relevant given recent inheritance tax changes.
• Status-motivated donors want to see lasting impact: what a gift has built, what it made possible.
• Those with financial anxiety need warmth above all: a real story from someone who had the same worries and found a way through.

Legacy fundraising is a long game but the charities benefiting from legacy income in ten years are the ones starting those conversations now. You don't need a dedicated programme -  just a simple message, sent to the right person, at the right moment.

Updated guidance on data privacy and fundraising

The Fundraising Regulator has published new guidance to help charities handle personal data correctly when fundraising.

Getting data privacy wrong can harm the people whose data is involved, damage public trust in charities, and risk enforcement action from the Information Commissioner's Office.

Coming nearly a decade after GDPR came into force, the updated resource takes into account recent changes to data protection law, including the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, and is designed to help organisations stay compliant with the Fundraising Code of Practice.

Lloyds Bank Foundation launches new nine-year strategy

Lloyds Bank Foundation has launched a new nine-year strategy, with ambitions to support more community organisations than ever before and to have an impact in every parliamentary constituency in England and Wales by 2030. The foundation, which awarded over £20 million in grants to 662 charities in 2024, has pledged to grow its investment in communities year on year and to fund a broader mix of organisations - including charities, social enterprises and CICs of different sizes and focuses.

Importantly for small and local charities, the foundation has confirmed it will maintain its commitment to a relational, long-term approach, staying flexible while being clear about eligibility and criteria for each of its programmes.

Charity Networking Event - 12 June, Enterprise House Egham

Our next Charity Networking Event will be held this June in Egham - and, for the second year, we are going to open up the event and give the floor up to all of you.

Your organisation will have the option to take a short five‑minute slot to introduce your work, talk about current projects or services, and share opportunities to collaborate. Spaces are limited, and priority will go to groups that did not present at last year’s similar event. Please email Alison if you'd like to book one of these presentation slots.

You’re also very welcome to attend without presenting — simply sign up below:

Digital Fundraising Training - 16 June 2026

VSNS Chertsey Office

Join us for our Digital Fundraising training, where we’ll explore how to attract and engage donors through social media. This session will cover:

• Understanding your audience
• Telling your story effectively through digital channels
• Mapping out your donor journey

Whether you’re new to digital fundraising or looking for new ideas and ways to refine your approach, this training will provide practical insights to help you boost digital engagement and donations.

Proving Your Value to Funders - 16 July 2026

VSNS Chertsey Office

Please note: this training is now full. Please contact Alison to join the waitlist or ask us to run this training on a future date.

Writing a funding bid isn’t just about filling in a form, it’s about turning your funding application into a story that funders want to be a part of.

It’s about making a compelling case for support, one that moves beyond good intentions to clearly show why your work matters. It’s about showing that no one else is already doing it for the community you support, evidencing the need, proving how and why it works, the change it is already making for individuals and in relieving demands on wider local resources, and the reasons it deserves backing for ongoing and increased impact.

Proving Your Value to Funders is a practical, insight-driven course designed to help you transform your funding applications into powerful stories of change.

The course will help you:

• Move beyond telling a funder your project will make a difference and show them how and why it already does with real-world examples
• Present your work as a compelling story of change, addressing the challenges and issues the funder cares about
• Back up your ambition with meaningful facts, figures, lived experience and evidence of the benefits through case studies
• Using data effectively (without overwhelming the reader)
• Connect emotionally while staying professional
• Demonstrate how your work reduces pressure on other services and the community, how it prevents escalation and crisis and illustrates long-term change
• Position your organisation as a credible, investable partner
• Present outcomes clearly, concisely and confidently so they feel confident in you and what you’re telling them!

Who this course is for

• Charity and community organisation leaders
• Social enterprise founders close to launch or those contemplating a community project
• Bid writers and fundraisers
• Anyone responsible for securing funding

Whether you’re new to bid writing or looking to strengthen your success rate, this course will help you present your project and organisation with clarity and credibility.

By the end of the course, we hope that you won’t just be asking for funding, you’ll be inviting funders to invest in meaningful, measurable change.

Social Media Marketing and Remarketing for Community Building - 21 September 2026

Staines Library

This workshop explores how to strategically use social media to attract, engage, and retain audiences through authentic community building. We will look at what is a reasonable expectation from your efforts, what kind of goals to set and how to achieve them. We will also cover the technique of growing an email list from your social media and website, and the fundamentals of remarketing, leveraging repetition and targeted messaging to really engage followers and subscribers  

By the end of the course, you will understand how to integrate social media, email marketing, and remarketing strategies into a cohesive system to nurture relationships and boost their engagement.

Key Topics: 

• Designing social media content that captures your target audience 
• Achieving engagement and building an online community  
• Growing and managing an email list effectively 
• Creating remarketing campaigns that reinforce brand awareness through repetition 
• Nurturing closer connections and longer-term relationships 

Big Give for Christmas

Applications are now open for the Big Give's Christmas Challenge.

The week-long initiative takes place in early December to coincide with Giving Tuesday, enabling charities to secure match funding from Big Give’s network of Champion funders, including philanthropists, foundations and corporate partners.

Deadline to apply is 5pm, 3 July.

Persimmon Charitable Foundation open for three £50,000 donations

Charities helping young people into work can apply for a donation from the Persimmon Charitable Foundation. Applications opened on Monday, 1st June – with three £50,000 donations available for UK-based projects focused on:

1. Employability
2. Children and young people aged 14-25
3. Areas of economic and social deprivation.

With the Foundation’s support, recent successful applicant Bristol City Robins Charitable Foundation (pictured) is piloting two programmes providing tailored mentoring, life skills development and wellbeing support: one aimed at 14 to 16-year-olds and another for 18 to 25-year-olds.

The deadline for applications is 11.59pm on Sunday, 21st June.

For further information about the Foundation and the application process, please visit the Persimmon Charitable Foundation website.

Henry Smith Foundation Early Years Parenting Fund

This is the first year of a five-year programme with a focus on improving the development of children most at risk of poor Early Childhood Development (ECD) outcomes by investing in effective parenting support. The first round is focused on communities where outcome gaps are largest.

Organisations should be working closely with and understand parents ('parents' refers to anyone with a primary caregiving role for a young child) with children aged newborn to five years from:

• Black (Caribbean or African, Any Other Black), Pakistani, and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and/or
• Growing up in the most deprived 20% areas nationally (using the official deprivation index for that nation).

The funding aims to support organisations that are trusted by the communities they serve and that can evidence the difference their work makes. Organisations with an annual income between £100,000 and £5 million can apply for a total grant of £225,000 (£56,250 per year for four years). The fund also provides support and relationship-building.

Grants can be used towards general running costs, as well as used for work that helps achieve the following objectives:

• Improve children's outcomes across physical development, cognitive development and social and emotional development through support for effective parenting
• More families accessing support that feels culturally relevant, safe and responsive
• Learn what works best for groups most at risk of poor early childhood outcomes to influence public sector service and other support.

Arnold Clark’s Cost of Living Support Fund

Smaller charities, voluntary and community organisations that are working with those most affected and vulnerable to the increased cost of living can apply for grants of up to £2,500. The summer 2026 round is only for applications seeking support in the following areas:

• Accommodation aid for shelters, women's aid, homelessness assistance (food or housing) and help with appliances and household bills (case by case) - for example, an organisation focused on energy bills for the community.
• Food and utility banks for hygiene banks, baby banks, food poverty, resources for refugees and asylum seekers - for example, food vouchers, pet food, food/utility packages, and laundry services.
• Poverty relief and equal opportunities for disability groups and youth groups in lower-income areas - for example, funding for social activities or work experience, amateur sports clubs, and community-based trips (case by case).

Note starting this year - charities and community groups may submit one application per campaign (Cost-of-Living, Community Support and Gear Up For Sport) per calendar year. If successful in one campaign, they are ineligible to apply for any other campaign within the same calendar year. Applications to multiple campaigns are permitted, provided only one application is submitted per campaign; however, the funder will only approve a maximum of one application per organisation. Additional applications to the same campaign within the same calendar year will be disqualified.

There is no set deadline for applications; however, it is recommended that groups apply as early as possible after the round opens as applications may close early due to high demand.

Grocer’s Charity

The Grocers' Charity awards about £1 million each year. It receives about 1,000 applications each year, with around 14% of applicants receiving a grant.

Charities with a turnover of £500,000 or less (except for medical charities which have a limit of £15 million) can apply for one-off grants of up to £5,000 to support the following areas:

• Relief of hardship: provide training courses, better facilities, or parenting support; support and empower those who experience or are at risk of homelessness, including domestic violence/abuse; work in areas of high deprivation.
• Children and young people: build children and young people's strengths and potential to empower them to participate and take action to realise their goals; support children and young people's wellbeing through peer support or group activities. 
• Elderly: provide services that end social exclusion; befriending or other programmes to end loneliness; and services that enhance daily activities or home life. 
• Disability and inclusion: identify and tackle the barriers to inclusion and participation; and provide front-line support for disabled people.
• Health: undertake ethical research into specific medical conditions; support people with medical conditions by purchasing a piece of equipment or other tangible project; support people with wellbeing concerns or mental health illnesses. 
• Military: provide innovative programmes, education or employment for ex-service people; and support the physical, emotional and mental wellbeing of current and ex-service people and their families. 
• Arts: provide opportunities, education and skills development of creative talent for artists with financing challenges or disability support requirements; engage with marginalised audiences (eg disabled, BAME, and people living below the minimum poverty threshold for the appreciation of arts, performances or exhibitions). 
• Heritage: conservation and restoration of historic buildings (excluding places of worship); conservation of historical objects and paintings. 
• Environment and conservation: support of the protection and survival of plants and animals by maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystems, and protecting biological diversity; educating of behavioural changes addressing environmental issues (eg littering and waste); countering the effects of pollution and climate change (eg ideas and projects which tackle the issue of plastic waste and those to reduce carbon emissions). 

Deadline for applications is 15 August 2026.

Idlewild Trust

The Idlewild Trust offers grants of up to £7,000 twice a year for projects that aim to conserve historic or artistically important objects and works of art, including artefacts, textiles, furniture, metalwork, manuscripts, and wall paintings. Works must be in museums, galleries, and historic buildings or their grounds, and be accessible to the public.

Priority will be given to applications that include a knowledge-sharing element as an outcome of the project, such as with professional colleagues, for example, a webinar, lecture, or published article. A public engagement activity that helps to improve the public understanding of conservation practice is encouraged.

The following are not eligible for a conservation grant:

• Places of worship.

• Structural repair of buildings or routine maintenance, cleaning and preventative work on objects or works of art.

• Capital projects/new facilities including extensions, redevelopments, heating and lighting.

• Environmental projects or conservation of lands.

• Large projects that are dependent on a major grant if that major grant has not yet been secured.

For this round, applications are open from 8 June to 5 September 2026.

CPF Trust

This small grant-making charity offers grants of between £1,000 and £3,000 once a year to other charities. The grants can support the following priorities:

• The arts.
• Education.
• Support for carers and older people.
• Early intervention projects for disadvantaged children and young people.
• Animal welfare.
• Health and disability.

The trustees will consider making grants towards revenue or capital costs and for project or core funding. Only one-year grants are made. Applications are accepted from 1 June to 30 September 2026.

Alec Dickson Trust

Grants of up to £500 are available for projects that:

• Encourage youth volunteering - particularly those that involve lots of volunteers- and encourage people to continue volunteering in the long term.
• Have a positive impact on disadvantaged communities and individuals, particularly projects that address a specific need and have a long-lasting and meaningful effect on those they reach.
• Are innovative and try to do things differently, such as using social media creatively or using existing resources in new ways.

Applications are reviewed on a quarterly basis (January, April, July and October). The deadline for the current round of applications is 1 July 2026.

cardfactory Foundation's Community Fund

The cardfactory Foundation is offering fixed grants of £10,000 for projects that meet one or more of the Foundation's priority areas:

• Families experiencing financial disadvantage - support families facing long-term, sustained economic hardship, rather than short-term or one-off events, that restricts their ability to meet essential needs like food, housing, or heating. The focus is on addressing immediate pressures while also supporting longer-term stability and resilience.

• Hardship and Crisis Support (Acute) - provide time-bound support to individuals and families experiencing a recent triggering event or escalation in risk (e.g. fleeing domestic abuse, imminent homelessness, or sudden bereavement). There is particular interest in how organisations deliver sustained improvement and longer-term stability beyond the initial crisis response.

• Vulnerable children and young people (0–25) - support young people facing circumstances that threaten their safety, wellbeing, or development. The goal is to protect these individuals, build their resilience, and help them achieve stability. This includes support for those with care experience, at risk of exploitation, young carers, or those with complex needs (SEND).

The two-week application window is expected to open 22 June 2026 and close 3 July 2026.