Get Grants

Practical Support from the Funding Experts

Get Grants FREE Virtual Conference 2025
Get Grants FREE Virtual Conference 2025

Thank you to everyone who took part in Get Grants FREE Virtual Conference in October 2025!
All of the session recordings are now available. The full programme, speakers, can be found below.

All FREE Recordings from Get Grants FREE Virtual Conference 2025

Get Grants FREE Virtual Conference 7th & 8th October 2025

TWO days of expert fundraising advice, top tips, Q&As, networking, peer-support, and lots of chat!

Across 7th & 8th October 2025, Get Grants are leading a FREE Virtual Conference full of celebration, inspiration, and practical advice and support.

Following the success of our first-ever Virtual Conference in 2024, we’re bringing back Get Grants FREE Virtual Conference for 2025!

Over 2 days, Get Grants FREE Virtual Conference will bring together thousands of Fundraisers from across the UK for a programme led by Get Grants Experts, funders, and other speakers from across the sector.

Expect expert advice, top tips, Q&As, networking, peer-support, and lots of chat! As with everything we do, every session will have practical support and advice that you can take away and put into practice.

Get Grants FREE Virtual Conference is for Fundraisers of all levels of experience to build their confidence and celebrate the amazing work they do with like-minded, friendly people!

Building on our popular FREE Virtual Events and amazing Get Grants Community,  we want to reach as many fundraisers as possible – help us spread the word and share with your networks!

This Virtual Conference is entirely FREE – no fees, no sponsors, no advertising. We’re also keeping it simple and accessible – no break-out rooms and no choosing which sessions to attend. Can’t attend all the sessions? The recording will be made available to everyone, also FREE!

The line-up of speakers & funders and the full programme can be found below.

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Get Grants FREE Virtual Conference Programme 2025

Day 1 – Tuesday 7th October 2025

10.00 – 10:15 Welcome! John Ellery – Get Grants
10:15 – 11.00 Unbeatable Bid Writing Vic Hancock Fell 
11:15 – 12.00 Practical Storytelling Andy King
12:30 – 13:15 Funders in Conversation Localgiving & Groundwork
13:30 – 14:15 Fundraise Smarter, Not Harder! David Page
14.30 – 15.00 Reflections John Ellery – Get Grants

Day 2 – Wednesday 8th October 2025

10.00 – 10:15 Welcome! John Ellery – Get Grants
10:15 – 11.00 Rejection to Resilience Rosie Milsom
11:15 – 12.00 Stewarding Human Connection Jamila Daley-Jeffers  
12:30 – 13:15 How Not to Use AI Michelle Stein 
13:30 – 14:15 Funders in Conversation Henry Smith Foundation & The Hilden Charitable Fund 
14.30 – 15.00 Reflections John Ellery – Get Grants

Meet the Speakers

John Ellery – Get Grants

Founder & Director of Get Grants. You may already know him from Get Grants FREE Virtual Events and Training! John set up Get Grants in 2012. He has a passion for supporting small grassroots community organisations and this is reflected in everything we offer at Get Grants, such as our Core Costs and Bid Writing Credibility Masterclasses.

Vic Hancock Fell

With a sole focus on small charities, Vic helps socially purposed organisations feel more confident, make more impact, and rediscover the joy in their work.  With nearly 20 years of experience in the social good sector, Vic has worn many hats – Co-Founder, Fundraiser, CEO, Volunteer, Trustee, Chair, Consultant, and Trainer. Vic is the Founder and Director of Fair Collective.

Andy King

Andy King is an award-winning storyteller. In July 2022, Fundraising Magazine named him ‘the most influential fundraiser in the UK’. Andy’s passion is helping charities tell their most important stories to those with the power to change the ending. He is also Director of Fireside Fundraising and delivers Get Grants Corporate Fundraising Training Course.

Ian McLintock

​Ian McLintock dedicates his life to supporting small charities. He is the founder of Charity Excellence Framework, a one-stop-shop for anything a non-profit needs and the UK’s largest charity community with over 50,000 members. Best known for his free resources, data insights, frank perspectives on sector trends, and AI rabbits.

Rosie Milsom

Rosie Milsom helps people create the confidence, impact and income they’re truly capable and worthy of. She is both an experienced multi-discipline fundraiser and certified life-coach. She is passionate about helping charities of all sizes to become more confident in their fundraising, and has delivered some of our most popular Masterclasses including Demonstrating Impact and Case for Support.

Michelle Stein

Michelle Stein is a former British Museum and WaterAid fundraising leader and founder of Handmade Fundraising, specialising in high-value relationship fundraising. She has trained thousands worldwide, showing that any organisation can attract major gifts with the right tools and mindset (yes, even the tiny ones who think they can’t).

Mike Zywina

Mike Zywina is a fundraiser with over 15 years’ experience supporting charities and social enterprises to develop fundraising strategies, become sustainable, and design successful funding bids. He founded Lime Green Consulting in 2014 and has recently delivered Accessing Invite-Only Funders and Stronger Bid Writing Masterclasses.

Funders

The National Lottery Community Fund

The National Lottery Community Fund is the largest community funder in the UK. Each year, they give out £790million and fund an idea every 8 minutes. Their impact spans grants of up to £20,000 for community projects to sector-leading innovation and society-changing strategic funding programmes.

Quilter Foundation

Since launching in 2018, the Quilter Foundation has awarded over £4 million in grants. Everything they do at the foundation is guided by the organisations they fund.  Having launched their new strategy earlier this year, their approach to funding centres on responsible funding, collaboration and being charity-centred. They do this through participatory grant making, Funder Plus support, and strategic partnerships.

The Clothworkers’ Foundation

The Clothworkers’ Foundation provides capital funding to charities and social businesses that work with marginalised and disadvantaged people and communities, and those working towards a more equitable society. Since 1977, they have given capital grants totalling more than £158 million.

Lloyds Bank Foundation

The Lloyds Bank Foundation is an independent charitable trust with over 40 years impact under their belt. Known for offering unrestricted multi-year funding, in 2026 they launched a new 9-year strategy ‘In a Good Place’, connecting and catalysing community-led change.

View the full Get Grants FREE Virtual Conference 2024 programme, speakers, and session recordings here.


All FREE Recordings from Get Grants FREE Virtual Conference 2024

What attendees said about Get Grants FREE Virtual Conference

“So much magic here over the past few days, thank you so much for bringing us all together – I feel rejuvenated!”

“Feel energised and beginning to see my worth — thank you”

“Thank you the last two days have been well worth letting my emails pile up !! 👏”

“Fantastic and positive conference. I feel reinvigorated to get back to it after what seems like an age of negativity around fundraising in the sector.”

“Absolutely fantastic 2 days, thank you! We feel less alone, like we are doing a lot of things right, and understand how to take rejection better :-)”

“I’ve been in fundraising for 5 years and this has been the best conference I’ve ever been to. Thank you.”

“FANTASTIC and a much-needed conference”

“Thank you for the feeling of not being alone and for such a well-organised and delivered 2-day session, for free, AMAZING! 🤩”

“Very accessible – very interesting – and surprisingly fun. Thank you!”

“Get Grants is proving to be a major life-line for charities and other small organisations. You are extremely good at identifying the barriers and helping us to keep going. Thank you very much.”

“It’s so good to be having more open conversations on mental health in fundraising. So many of us are under extreme pressure and are isolated.”

“Very insightful, thank you!!! Wonderful to see the great community of grant writers/fundraisers 🌻”

“Really great to feel talked to, rather than talked at.”

“A superb day which has provided so many take away messages which will really help my work and wellbeing; thank you so much”

“It’s reassuring to hear about the struggles and acknowledge it’s not an easy environment to raise funds. It feels like I can give an informed message to the trustees from a BIG group of people.”

“I had not heard of Get Grants before the conference invitation came through. You are so knowledgeable and have facilitated an extremely informative day. I am the fundraiser for our charity, I do the publicity, marketing, recruitment etc etc and it can often feel quite lonely. This has been fabulous today in being connected with other people that are speaking my speak and knowing what it is like in my role. THANK YOU!”

“Very accessible and helpful – thank you 🙂”

“What a fabulous day! Really looking forward to tomorrow! Thank you so much for putting this Conference together and running it so well. All guest speakers have been brilliant, most informative and very motivational, thank you for an extremely useful day :)”

“Thanks so much Get Grants! It’s been an amazing blend of wellbeing, grant writing practicals and funders’ feedback for me!”