Useful information – w/c 04/05/26
May 4, 2026
Events, training, charity news, surveys, research, feedback, reports, services and much more – in one handy place!
This page will be updated with new information as we receive it during the week. Please check back regularly. (Last update: 06/05/26 – items added on this date are marked as [NEW])
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[NEW] Building stronger charities: Lessons for trustees
Recently charities have faced many multifaceted challenges: increasing demand for services, a constrained funding environment, and an uncertain political landscape. Trustees have a crucial role in ensuring that organisations can thrive in this environment, deliver on their charitable mission and continue to serve those in need.
NPC have launched their 2026 trustee seminar series, Building stronger charities: Lessons for trustees, supported by the The Clothworkers Company. Across six free, online events taking place from May to October, they will share practical guidance, real-world examples, and actionable takeaways to help trustees lead their organisations with confidence.
Finance for Non-Finance People
Tuesday 5th May, Online. Many trustees, directors and managers don’t come from a finance background — but still carry responsibility for financial oversight.
This practical session with Dodd & Co will build confidence in understanding accounts, asking the right questions, and identifying risks early.
Designed to help you make informed decisions and strengthen financial governance.
Escape to Safety Community Exhibition – Refugee awareness training
Tuesday 5th and Thursday 7th May, Carlisle. This is a profound training experience immersing people in the journey and life of refugees alongside up to date factual information about refugees.
The Open Evenings are free to attend and no booking is needed. People are likely to spend an hour attending.
Find out more on Penrith and Eden Refugee Network’s Facebook page here and click on the thumbnail image for a poster with more details
Understanding Governance: The Trustee Role
Wednesday 6th –Thursday 7th May, online. Governance fundamentals for new and experienced trustees.
If you are new to the role of being a charity trustee, this course will provide the perfect introduction, while experienced trustees will also benefit from a refresher of their responsibilities and comprehensive updates on evolving elements of the trustee role.
Getting to Work on Modern Slavery in Cumbria
Thursday 7th May, Workington. A Modern Slavery network building event for frontline workers in Cumbria. Keynote presentation from Streetlight UK.
To confirm your place email jo@churchestogehercumbria.org.uk
Click on the thumbnail image view the flyer for the event.
Best Practice Reporting
Tuesday 12th May, online. In the current economic climate where fundraising from funders and the public alike is a tough ask, it is important that you sell your charity in the best possible light. We all know that funders will look at your statutory accounts and therefore they need to reflect well on your organisation to provide key messages in a way that encourages them to fund you.
Our half day online course will give the tips on best practice reporting in the sector and show you how to think about your Trustees report differently. It is much more than a compliance document and an opportunity to ‘tell your story’ in an engaging way.
Excel: Beginner & Advanced
Excel is an incredibly useful tool to help you store, analyse and present your data. Even with basic skills there’s a lot you can do to help with your organisation’s monitoring and evaluation practice – but how do you get started?
➡️ Beginner: Tuesday 12th May, online. More information here
➡️ Advanced: Tuesday 16th June, online. More information here
Masterclass: An introduction to generative AI
Wednesday 13th May, Online. This one-hour in-depth masterclass shows you how to effectively and ethically use artificial intelligence (AI). Attendees, for just £20 per person, will gain practical advice, using real-world examples, showing you how to actually implement AI from one of the charity sector’s experts.
AI Innovation Lead at Twinkl, James Shamsi, will introduce the basics of generative AI, explore the opportunities and risks, and show you exactly how AI can save you time, reduce costs, and unlock new capacity. You will see real-world use cases from fundraising, marketing, operations, and service delivery, along with frameworks that you can simply copy and adapt.
Attendees will leave with a checklist to start using AI effectively the moment the masterclass ends.
Digital Fundraising Summit 2026
Thursday 14th May, online. Back for its eighth year, Charity Digital’s Digital Fundraising Summit returns with a full day of action-packed insights from experts across the charity and tech sectors. The event featuring a dynamic programme of informative webinars.
The theme this year, Building Fundraising Resilience, reflects the need for fundraisers to adapt and thrive in continually changing conditions. They will be exploring how to prepare for the unpredictable, how to strengthen supporter relationships, and how to diversify income with speed and confidence.
Practical uses of AI for your charity
Tuesday 19th May, online. This course aims, in just three hours, to boost your everyday use of AI.
The course takes a hands-on, practical approach, showing charities how to use AI to improve meetings, boost email marketing, smash data analytics, enhance workflow efficiency, and so much more.
Get Your Charity Featured in the Media
Thursday 21st May, online. Get your Charity Featured in the Media is a practical workshop for people in marketing and communications roles in charities who want to gain positive media coverage for their cause — even without prior media experience or big budgets. Over the course of the session, you’ll learn how to craft and share stories that grab journalists’ attention, how to pitch them effectively, and how to turn coverage into long-term impact for your organisation.
Whether you’ve never written a press release before or you’ve dabbled in media outreach but want better results, this session will give you clear strategies, real-life examples, and simple tools to help you approach the media with confidence. You’ll leave with practical techniques you can use right away — and the resilience to keep going until your story gets told.
Supporter Experience Conference 2026
Thursday 21st May, online. Join Fundraising Everywhere for a half-day conference dedicated to helping you smash your supporter experience strategies and raise more money with your supporters.
Join fundraisers from across the sector for a day dedicated to helping charities build stronger, more meaningful supporter relationships. Hear from expert speakers, explore fresh ideas, and discover practical strategies to improve supporter journeys, strengthen engagement, and boost long term loyalty.
Making the most of M365 apps – tips and tricks
Tuesday 26th May, online. This three-hour session shows you how to master 365 apps.
The first section will cover an overview of the apps available. It will explore web vs desktop applications, the joys of Copilot, the best way to use Microsoft Forms, and the secrets of Sway.
The second section is dedicated to Teams, exploring meeting and channel management, file storage, whiteboards and polls, and so much more.
Preventing Charity Fraud
Thursday 28th May, online. Combining 25 years’ expertise as a charity lawyer and governance trainer with frontline experience from various voluntary leadership sector roles, Claris D’cruz will lead this half-day training course to help your charity prevent and deal with fraud or suspected fraud.
This training is relevant to charity trustees, CEOs, finance directors, finance managers, charity advisors and anyone with responsibility for dealing with fraud in their charity.
Throughout the morning we will explore the types of fraud and financial crime to be aware of, the controls and procedures to prevent fraud and how to handle a fraudulent incident.
[NEW] Understanding Governance: The Trustee Role
Wednesday 3rd –Thursday 4th June, online. Governance fundamentals for new and experienced trustees.
If you are new to the role of being a charity trustee, this course will provide the perfect introduction, while experienced trustees will also benefit from a refresher of their responsibilities and comprehensive updates on evolving elements of the trustee role.
[NEW] Nonprofit Summer Customer Round Table
Thursday 11th June, online. Join Mhance for an in-Person Nonprofit Summer Customer Round Table.
Here you will be joined with other like-minded charitable organisations and key members of the mhance team to discuss key topics.
Data Protection Training for Charities
Thursday 11th June, online. It is important for every charity leader to ensure their organisation is fully compliant with the latest data protection regulations.
This half-day course will guide you through the key points to consider and what measures you should have in place. You will also learn how to avoid some common data protection pitfalls.
Impact Reporting for Charities
Tuesday 16th June, online. Funders want proof of the difference your organisation makes. They want to understand your charity’s impact across services and locations, and what the benefit is of the services they have agreed to fund.
Amongst other things this session looks at ‘what is impact and how do you measure it’, ‘what does impact look like’ and how do you engage with your stakeholders to maximise impact.
[NEW] How charities can build financial resilience in an uncertain funding environment
Wednesday 17th June, online. Charities are operating in an increasingly challenging funding environment. Rising demand for services, sustained cost pressures, uncertainty around public spending and policy change, and volatile markets are forcing charity leaders to rethink how they fund their missions – both now and for the long term.
In this Rathbones Charity Expert Series webinar, we are joined by Emma de Closset, Chief Executive of UK Community Foundations, to explore how charities can strengthen their financial resilience in the face of ongoing pressure and uncertainty. Drawing on her extensive experience across the charitable and philanthropic landscape, Emma will share insights into how charities are adapting their funding strategies, reassessing risk, and planning for a more unpredictable future.
This session will be particularly valuable for chief executives, finance directors, trustees and senior charity leaders who are navigating difficult funding decisions and looking for informed, practical perspectives on building resilience in an uncertain landscape.
Finance for Trustees
Thursday 25 June, online. How confident are you that you really understand your charity’s finances? It’s a complicated business, what with managing different types of funds and income, the accounting and reporting rules, as well as dealing with tax and VAT.
This course, lead by the team from leading accountancy firm BDO, will give you the tools to get to grips with how all that works in your own organisation, and includes time to chat with fellow trustees over the practicalities and challenges you face.
[NEW] ICO publishes ‘soft opt-in’ guidance for charities, with fundraising boost expected
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published guidance for charities using new legal powers to contact supporters, which is predicted to enhance the sector’s fundraising capabilities.
Updated last month, the ICO’s guidance on direct marketing using electronic mail now includes a new section on how to use “the charitable purposes soft opt-in”, introduced as part of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 on 5 February.
The change means that charities can now send electronic mail marketing about their charitable purposes without the recipient’s consent, provided that they meet certain requirements.
[NEW] Is AI actually saving you time?
The use of AI is on the rise, but does it make you more efficient?
[NEW] Prime minister attends first Civil Society Council meeting
Prime minister Keir Starmer attended the inaugural meeting of the Civil Society Council at Number 10 in April, in which a pledge was made to “unlock” procurement opportunities for the sector.
Mark Russell, chief executive of the Children’s Society, said the first meeting on Wednesday of the council, formed to oversee the Civil Society Covenant’s implementation, had come at an important time.
Posting to LinkedIn, Russell highlighted frustrations around procurement and commissioning across the sector, stating that the partnership would seek to address these challenges, among others.
[NEW] Increasing violent racism: what can charity leaders do to support racialised staff?
It is well known and documented that experiencing racism in all its various forms has negative effects on our mental health. The Institute of Health Equality released a report in October 2024 that shows how racism damages racialised people’s mental health by increasing stress and producing an atmosphere of fear.
With hate on the rise, charity leaders must take action to support staff affected by discrimination and racism. This article from DSC shares some advice on how leaders can support their colleagues in the face of increasing racism, with the advice inspired by their Charities Against Hate guide, available to download for free
[NEW] The unspoken challenges of volunteering
Good volunteer management isn’t about control – it’s about enabling. Giving people structure, support and, when needed, honest feedback. Get this right and something shifts, your volunteers stop being unpredictable variables and start becoming a genuinely strategic part of what you do. They bring skills you hadn’t planned for, solve problems you hadn’t quite named, and advocate for your work when you’re not in the room.
In this DSC article, CEO Debra Allcock Tyler considers the importance of a smarter approach to volunteer management.
[NEW] Government sets out roadmap to spread philanthropic investment beyond London
The UK government has published a new strategy to direct more philanthropic giving to England’s most disadvantaged communities, with a particular focus on reducing the concentration of funding in London and the South East. Despite an estimated £14 billion being donated to charity across the UK in 2025, the benefits have not been shared equally, with London currently receiving more than a third of all funding from the largest philanthropic foundations, and four times the value of Gift Aid donations compared to the UK average.
Our Place to Give: a roadmap to grow place-based philanthropy, published last week by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), sets out a three-pillar plan to connect donors with local causes, build stronger partnerships between philanthropists and public bodies, and unlock further investment into underserved areas.
This article by UK Fundraising breaks down the policy paper and sector response.
[NEW] Third Sector Podcast: Small charity infrastructure, donation decline and an AI fundraising experiment
In the latest episode of Third Sector Podcast, the team reflect on three significant sector stories from the past month. Emily Burt shares her perspective on concerns raised by small charity representatives following the news of a restructure at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.
Lucinda considers the findings of the Charities Aid Foundation’s UK Giving Report, and asks whether falling levels of individual donations point to the need for a strategic shift in fundraising. And Emily Harle provides details of an experimental AI agent that has raised £500 for a London Marathon runner.
[NEW] Why people give – aligning your ask with donor motivation
As charities, every time we fail to ask for support when people are motivated to give, we miss an opportunity. Equally, we may use data to identify those most likely to give to our cause, but if our ask does not align with their giving cycle, they are unlikely to respond.
To help charities put insights from the UK Giving Report 2026 into practice, Charities Aid Foundation’s Impact Consultant, James Moore, explores how organisations can shape their fundraising around what motivates supporters most. In this blog, he offers practical guidance to strengthen engagement and inspire meaningful action.
[NEW] Government challenged in Lords debate on charity support amid falling donations
The government was challenged last month in a House of Lords debate on its support for charities amid falling donations.
Baroness Pithkeathley, a founding member of ACEVO and former CEO of Carers UK, opened the debate on Monday by expressing concerns about the Charities Aid Foundation’s UK Giving Report 2026, which revealed that charitable giving from the British public fell by 10% to £14bn last year.
In response, culture minister Baroness Twycross said that despite the research findings, “charitable giving has broadly kept up with inflation over the last decade and the proportion of those who give is the same as the previous year”, adding that the government’s newly published place-based philanthropy strategy aimed to combat falling donations.
[NEW] Regulator updates guidance as unmanaged conflict cases rise
The Charity Commission has published updated guidance on how charity trustees should identify and manage conflicts of interest after seeing an increase in cases.
Published today, the commission issued advice to help trustees manage financial conflicts where a trustee or someone connected to them stands to gain monetarily or otherwise.
The regulator’s guidance also covers conflicts of loyalty or obligations to another person or organisation that could influence a trustee’s judgment.
[NEW] What is a content management system (CMS)?
Picking the right content management system (CMS) is a vital task for any organisation. Charity Digital explore the basics of a CMS and the general benefits you can expect.
Hospices body demands over £112m in recurring funding from government
Hospice UK, which represents over 200 hospices, has delivered a letter to Downing Street to demand an additional £112.5m in recurring revenue funding, among other measures, from the government.
The move comes after the membership body reported recently that nearly six in 10 hospices in England had made, or were planning, cuts to frontline services.
A one-off investment of £100m for hospices, distributed by Hospice UK, was provided by the government last financial year but the umbrella body is now calling for recurring funding.
Charities warn of campaigning suppression risk from regulator’s new powers
A group of prominent charities have warned that the sector’s campaigning and advocacy work could be suppressed if the regulator is handed increased powers without sufficient consultation.
Some 18 charities and voluntary organisations wrote to culture secretary Lisa Nandy in April, urging her to consider the sector’s advice before proceeding with plans to widen the Charity Commission’s remit.
Proposed in its social cohesion strategy in March, the government plans to allow the regulator to strip charitable status, disqualify trustees and remove senior managers at voluntary organisations suspected of harbouring extremism.
Charity leaders attend No 10 roundtable to discuss impact of US-Iran war on sector
Voluntary sector leaders have attended a government roundtable in Whitehall to discuss the impact of the US-Iran war on charities and the communities they serve.
In April, eight representatives from infrastructure bodies including ACEVO, NCVO and the Charity Finance Group (CFG) met ministers and government officials at Number 10.
The meeting began with remarks from civil society minister Stephanie Peacock and economic secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby.
Over 130 charities back campaign to combat social divisions
More than 130 charities have now pledged their support to a campaign aimed at addressing social divisions in Britain.
Ahead of a week of activities from 13 to 20 May across the country, A Million Acts of Hope has today urged 100,000 people to sign a card in tribute to “people who work to make their communities brighter”.
The Biggest Ever Thank You Card has already garnered nearly half its targeted signatures as part of the campaign backed by charities including Crisis, Mencap and Trussell.
[NEW] Charity sector risks public trust as AI use outpaces governance, report warns
Charities in the UK are now widely using artificial intelligence but most use remains informal and free from trustee oversight, according to a new report.
The Future Charity Report by Charity Excellence warns that increased AI use in the sector is “creating a growing risk to public trust unless governance and transparency catch up”.
Drawing on data from hundreds of charities, researchers found that 76% of UK charities were using AI in some form, up from 61% the previous year, but much of this use was informal and ungoverned, such as staff using generative AI tools independently.
[NEW] The Lost Hours Report: Bridging the Development Gap in the UK Workforce
UK businesses are currently delivering a record 19.6 million training sessions annually – yet one in 25 employees is still not fully proficient in their role. Increasing budgets and a crowded schedule of courses are failing to cultivate a workforce that reaches its full potential.
The voluntary sector is losing £28m each year due to inefficient staff training, according to data from a compliance training provider. Skillcast’s Lost Hours Report found that the charity, voluntary and social enterprise sector accounted for 1.45 million lost hours annually, the fifth highest sector surveyed. To track the source of this development gap and investigate how businesses can respond, this sector-by-sector study examines where training time is being lost, and how it can be reclaimed.
Disclaimer
The information above is provided in good faith. Whilst every care is taken to ensure that it is correct, Cumbria CVS cannot accept liability for any omissions or inaccuracies and does not take responsibility for the quality for any services or products mentioned.
