Making the case for community-first fundraising
through stories, strategies, and evidence.
This runs live and will not be recorded
For the past two years, I've been exploring a question I can't stop thinking about.
What if charities have been looking for sustainability in the wrong places?
We talk constantly about grants, appeals, campaigns and acquisition. But what if the organisations that thrive over the next decade are simply those that become exceptionally good at helping people belong?
I'd like to share the evidence I've gathered, introduce a framework I'm developing called The Friends & Heroes Way — and most importantly, hear your perspective.
This isn't a webinar. It's a working conversation with people who care deeply about the future of fundraising.
This is a two-hour roundtable — you talk to me, I talk to you, and then we talk to each other — about what it actually means to build a community around a cause.
I will share my framework for turning friends into monthly donors and legacy givers. But first I want to understand what you know, what you've tried, what got in the way, and whether this is even the right moment for your organisation.
Because there's no point in me creating a framework that works perfectly on paper and falls apart in real life.
I'll bring the framework. You bring the reality. Between us, we'll find the truth.
A closed-door roundtable. An open conversation.
Why creating a sense of belonging may be one of the most overlooked drivers of sustainable fundraising — and what the evidence actually says.
Stories, case studies, research and fundraising principles that suggest a Friends First approach could strengthen donor acquisition, retention, volunteering, legacy giving and major donor development.
A simple community-first framework I've been developing over the past two years to help charities grow supporters before asking for donors.
Where would this work brilliantly — and where might it fall short? I want your honest feedback based on your organisation, your capacity and your supporters.
Could a meaningful Friends programme really be launched in as little as seven days and managed in just 2–4 hours a month? We'll examine the assumptions together — honestly.
Help shape the next evolution of the Friends & Heroes Way by challenging the thinking, asking difficult questions and contributing your own experience. We'll also discuss tech, tools and AI to make this easy to implement — without needing more staff, big budgets or burnout.
This isn't a webinar. It's a conversation.
I'm not looking for people who will simply agree with me. I'm looking for experienced fundraisers, charity leaders and innovators who are willing to pressure-test an idea that I believe could change how smaller charities think about fundraising.
This is not for you if you're looking for a quick fix or a marketing hack — or if you're not willing to sit with a big question for two hours.
Case Study
Tara Talabi had a mission that mattered — a charity supporting widows through one of life's hardest seasons. What she didn't have was a brand, a system, or a single donor.
She didn't find strangers on the internet. She didn't run a big campaign. She recognised the people who were already there — already orbiting her mission, already part of the ecosystem that had quietly formed around her cause, without anyone ever naming it.
Six weeks later, Tara had a manifesto, a voice, an invitation system — and one hundred founding patrons. People from her own circle who had always been there, waiting to be asked properly.
"She has almost searched around in my head and then all these nuggets are falling out that I didn't even know were stored up in there. It's been brilliant."
— Tara Talabi, Founder, The Widows WalkNonprofit Storytelling Strategist · Founder, The Vivid Story Agency
I created the F.R.I.E.N.D.S.™ Framework after years of watching brilliant, dedicated charity leaders exhaust themselves on the grants treadmill — knowing there had to be a better way.
I'm on a mission to help people who change lives for a living.
Thursday 2nd July · 7:00pm GMT · Live on Zoom · Free
This runs live and will not be recorded.
No spam, ever. Just your confirmation and a reminder before the event.
The second best time is this Thursday evening.
Free. Live. Two hours. No recording.
Thursday 2nd July · 7:00pm GMT · Live on Zoom · Free