Join us for a one-day interactive learning experience which will transform your understanding of how major gifts are actually secured.

We have analysed 700+ origin stories of major funding partnerships and discovered that they all come from just five starting points.

Come to this workshop to discover the reality of high value fundraising – does funding come from your intentional planning or do funders approach you?

You will be guided by Bill Bruty who has over 40 years of fundraising experience for causes all over the world.

As a result of this session, you will be able to:

• Overcome the barrier of ‘no unsolicited applications’

• Build a strategy to open all of the five pathways for major gifts

• Understand the role of a fundraiser and the power of collaboration

Places are limited to 20 participants as this will be very interactive learning that will address your specific challenges.

Date: Wednesday 29th April 2026

Time: 11am-3pm (with an hour break for lunch)

Location: online

Price: £250 (including VAT)

Join us for a lively and informative discussion which will be essential for both fundraisers and grant makers.

Date: 6th May 2026, 11am - 1:30pm (including an hour of networking)

Location: the Art Workers’ Guild, Queen Square, London WC1N 3AT.

Price: In person £150 (including VAT)

Online £75 (including VAT)

Recording Only £20 (including VAT)

Over the last 21 years we have been through unprecedented financial turmoil: a financial crash in 2008-9 and a global pandemic in 2020-21. Over the same time, UK trusts have tripled their grant-making. What’s going on and why?

What can we learn from the last 21 years and how can this inform our preparation for the next 21? This event will provide unique insight into the world of UK foundations – from five different perspectives:

Reflections and Projections on UK Trusts’ Philanthropy, 2004-2024

Bill Bruty, a fundraiser with over 40 years of experience who has shaped the landscape of UK trust fundraising. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-bruty-99a1b11/

Judith McNeill, following an early career in medical research, she brings insights from 30 years of fundraising, grant making and charity leadership roles, as a CEO and Trustee. https://www.linkedin.com/in/judith-mcneill-part-three/

Lesley Alborough is a philanthropy pracademic with 25 years experience whose work explores how funders and fundraising organisations understand and respond to one another. https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesleyalborough/

David Carrington, formerly CEO and trustee of several trusts and foundations and consultant to philanthropists and on social investment. https://davidcarrington.net/

The ‘FTL Fishtank,’ a dataset of 100 UK foundations with analysis going back to 2004.