Funding the Future 2026: Diversifying income for charities and social enterprises

A collaboration between Voluntary Norfolk, FUSE Network and Community Action Norfolk (CAN) Funding the Future is back for 2026!

Taking place on Thursday 29^th January from 9:30am – 4pm at Dereham Memorial Hall

Here’s some information about it:

Explore new ways of generating income for Norfolk VCSEs. Gain insight into the funding landscape & make new connections.

• Ready to shake up your organisation’s funding?
• Curious about corporate giving?
• Eager to explore social investment?
• Want to learn about new income streams and reimagine the future funding of your organisation?

Join the Empowering Communities Partnership for a whole day filled with fundraising expertise, skill-sharing and opportunities for networking, with lunch and refreshments included! This event sold out quickly the first time we ran it; this year it's back with more tickets and a bigger programme!

We will be joined by a range of local funding specialists and those with lived experience of diversifying their voluntary, community or social enterprise(VCSE) organisations' income streams. We welcome any Norfolk-based VCSEs to join us for the chance to learn from experts and peers, ask questions of local funders and make new connections!

Maybe you’ve felt intimidated or overwhelmed by where to start with new fundraising streams? Or perhaps you’re unsure how to explore your options? There will be chances throughout the day to network with both funders, practitioners and fellow VCSE professionals, gaining insights, expertise and useful contacts.

Here’s what to expect:

Keynote speech from Richard Morris, Co-Founder and CEO of The Giving Machine, on funding challenges, innovation and changing the mindset of VCSEs

Your choice from 6 workshops: 

• Workshop: Unlocking Youth-Led Funding
• Workshop: Funding Pathways for Skills and Employment Projects
• Workshop: Winning Public Sector work: A Practical Guide to Tendering for VCSEs
• Workshop: Write Bids that start with Strengths: Embedding ABCD into Funding Applications
• Workshop: Earning the Ask: Connecting with your Audience on Social Media
• Workshop: Building Meaningful Corporate Partnerships that Fund your Mission

And there's more......

• A range of information stands with local and national funding opportunities, support and signposting
• Inspirational panel discussion on Social Investment featuring Good Finance, Rebecca White and SIB Group
• Plenty of opportunities to network with speakers, contributors and attendees to learn from each other
• Delicious lunch from local caterers Tall Orders, plus tea and coffee throughout the day

Other things to note:

This whole day event, unlike many of our other events, incurs a charge of £20 + VAT and Eventbrite fee per participant . This is to ensure attendance and increase the scale and reach of the event as well as to contribute to the costs of the day, which are subsidised by the Empowering Communities Partnership. Lunch and all refreshments are included in the price. We kindly ask that you pay via credit/debit card when booking. The price has been kept the same as the 2025 event.

Tickets are limited to a maximum of 2 per organisation, to allow as many VCSEs as possible to benefit from the day.

Click the "Book here via Eventbrite" button below to secure your place.

We look forward to seeing you there!