Included is a chance to add your voice to the Department for Economy NI’s latest consultation, opportunities to enhance your fundraising, receive pro bono support worth thousands, and become a Charity of the Year.
Also highlighted are important updates from funders, a simple, ethical way to find unwanted goods from businesses, and publications about grantmakers including for Trustees Week 3-7 November 2025, insights into who are the Trustees behind grantmaking trusts and foundations.
News
Department for Economy NI launches consultation to define Social Enterprises in Northern Ireland
Growing the Social Economy Sector is a priority for the Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald and making the sector sustainable is a key feature of her economic vision. In order to deliver on this, funding from the government needs to ensure it is targeting social enterprises correctly. The Department for the Economy has launched a consultation on a proposed definition framework that could provide clarity on what a social enterprise is, including the features which make it different from other business models. Click link to find out more and add your views by 23 December 2025.
Fundraising Regulator’s New Code effective 1 November 2025
From 1 November 2025, fundraising regulation in the UK is evolving to reflect modern fundraising practices. Fundraising organisations should review the new code and support guides and begin preparing to ensure compliance.
Opportunities
Thread Fundraising offers over £100,000 worth of pro bono expert fundraising support
Fundraising specialist Thread Fundraising is offering one UK charity the chance to partner with them for a full year (Jan-Dec 2026) to help drive fundraising growth.From strategy and campaigns to automation and AI, you’ll get access to everything they do - at no cost. They are keen to stress this is not a consultancy giveaway, but a genuine partnership designed to help one charity grow their income, strengthen their supporter experience, and build sustainable fundraising foundations. Applications are invited from UK-registered charities with a fundraising income of £1 million or more (but less than £10 million), a working CRM, and leadership support for the partnership. Submit application to Fundraising Accelerator by 6pm on Friday 7th November 2025.
INIclusion Day: Call for disability charities
On 3 December, Garfield Weston, Media Trust and Initiative UK invite disability charities to take part in INIclusion Day — a one-day creative challenge that marks the 30th Anniversary of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
The event will bring together over 200 digital marketing professionals to co-design inclusive, accessible campaigns and learn how to reach wider audiences through paid media. Charities taking part will:
- Receive pro-bono creative and strategic support from leading advertising professionals
- Strengthen their campaign idea with expert input on messaging, accessibility and reach
- Contribute to a new Inclusive Paid Media Playbook, developed by Initiative and Media Trust, to share best practice across the sector
To find out more and to apply by 9am, Tuesday 4 November please click here.
Mandi Conway Fundraising Training Fund
Thanks to Fundraising Everywhere speaker's donating back their speaker fees, they have €6,300 to award towards funding training opportunities for those without budget.
If you:
- are employed by a UK or Irish charity
- haven't been given training budget in 2025
- have fundraising training you'd like access in the next year
you can apply to the Mandi Conway Fundraiser Training Fund to receive full or partial funding for your next course or conference. Deadline November 14th 2025.
Ordnance Survey searching for Charity Partner of the Year
The national mapping service for Great Britain is looking for a charity it can join forces with to tackle issues around digital exclusion in education. Their next charity partnership will focus on education and digital inclusion, with a charity supporting one or more of the following:
- access for underserved communities
- early careers, universities, and academics
- STEM education
- the use and/or development of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
They’re looking for a charity that empowers those who need it most, covering the whole of the UK. Eligible organisations must be a registered charity, CIO or CIC in the UK, are independently audited, be independent of state, political party, and religion, and support communities across the UK. Applications open on November 4th, 2025.
Funder Updates
Change Maker Funding Programme announces temporary pause
The Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) is pausing all calls for applications to the Change Maker Funding Programme to allow for improvements and simplification following stakeholder feedback. This affects all calls under 1.2 and 6.2 within PEACEPLUS. This short-term measure will support the development of a more accessible funding programme moving forward. They intend to reopen for applications mid-November. Click link for more information. SEUPB thank everyone who provided feedback which will help improve how these funds are delivered over the coming years.
Paul Hamlyn Foundation announce Arts Fund not accepting new applications
Instead of opening for new applications, the Foundation will give out the same amount of funding through renewing existing grants and reconsidering applications received over the past year.
KFC Youth Foundation Grants under review
The KFC Youth Foundation supports organisations focused on empowering young people in the UK to fulfil their potential and build a positive future. They have announced they are reviewing their grants programme. They are taking time to reflect on how their grants programme can best serve the communities and individuals they support and have temporarily closed the grants page as they review and to redesign their approach. They aim to reopen the programme in January 2026.
Resources
Creative Lives supporting creativity across the UK and Ireland
Creative Lives’ goal is to help local creativity across the UK and Ireland flourish. For October they offer another chance to win a micro-grant of £250/€290 to tell your story about the power of networks in helping groups achieve. Their partnership with Disability Rights UK continues in November with three free online events open to everyone to explore how we can all help to break down barriers and boost access to everyday creativity. And their new handy guide documents research that highlights the benefits of participating in local creativity which you can use to strengthen funding applications.
A Good Thing in Northern Ireland
Ahead of November’s Buy Nothing Day, we’re highlighting A Good Thing, an award-winning non-profit online platform that matches wonderful UK charities with organisations that have things to donate.
Almost anything can be given away to charities via A Good Thing. For example, in Northern Ireland a stack of Wooden pallets recently found a new home and if you’re a charity on the lookout for 2 external doors and can collect from near Lisburn, visit.
It takes just 30 seconds to create an account at www.agoodthing.org.uk/signup.
Once signed up, your charity will begin receiving email alerts about free items nearby. And for businesses looking for an ethical way to donate unwanted items, you can start to create listings to give your items direct to local charities.
Grantmaking Publications
Who are the Trustees behind grant-making trusts and foundations?
In 2024, PBE partnered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales to survey 2,194 trustees. 233 of the survey respondents chose “Grant Making Foundation” as a principal focus area of their work.
This report, commissioned by the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF), focuses on these 233 trustees in England and Wales.
Findings reveal that, compared to trustees from across all sectors, trustees from grant-making trusts and foundations (GMTFs) are:
- Less likely to be under 50, and
- More likely to have household incomes exceeding £100,000
While these were the only statistically significant differences, it highlights that trustees from GMTF were more likely to belong to majority groups across most demographic characteristics including sex, ethnicity, and disability compared to trustees across all sectors presenting both opportunities and challenges in ensuring that trustee boards across the sector reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.
ACF’s Foundations in Focus 2025 report
The Association of Charitable Foundations’s new report, Foundations in Focus, brings together UKGrantmaking data and expert insights on the key drivers shaping foundation giving in 2023-2024 – a year marked by continued increases in demand for funding.
Key findings include:
- £8.2bn in grants were made by foundation in 2023-2024 – a 12% increase on the previous year, continuing a trend of year-on-year growth
- Rising demand for charities’ services and the impact of inflation meant foundations had to increase spending just to maintain support levels
- Application volumes surged, with some foundations reporting up to 400% more applications than in previous years
- Foundations responded by spending more, launching new programmes, and streamlining processes to meet need
- Some are drawing down endowments faster than they can rebuild them, raising questions about the long-term capacity to sustain support.
