SIDCN Fest 2026 Brings Small Charities Together for a Day of Big Ideas
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
More than 270 people from over 230 organisations across more than 20 countries registered for this year’s SIDCN Fest 2026 - a global gathering of small charity leaders, fundraisers and trustees united by a shared commitment to learning, connection and innovation.
On 24th June, as part of Small Charity Week, SIDCN hosted its annual Fest: a day of online learning, connection and celebration for small charities working globally. This year’s theme, “Outside the Box,” put the spotlight on creative fundraising ideas that go beyond conventional trust funding, and it’s fair to say the day more than lived up to it.
A day built for small charities
Running from 10am to 3pm, the packed programme included keynote talks, member spotlight breakouts and informal networking, all shaped around the realities small charities face day-to-day. You can read the whole programme here. Vic Hancock Fell opened with top tips for small charity leaders, before Bill Bruty of Fundraising Training Ltd. shared insights from over 700 funding case studies on securing major gifts.
The morning's ‘Outside the Box Fundraising’ breakouts handed the floor to members themselves, with spotlight sessions from organisations including CWE-Tech, Bristol Link with Beira, EduKey Gender Support, Pratham UK, AkaMusyi, Child Rescue Nepal, EduSpots and Kids for Kids. Their inspiring sessions covered everything from consortium fundraising and diaspora giving to gamified peer-to-peer campaigns and building support for overlooked crises. We’re grateful to each of our members who took the time to prepare and deliver such thoughtful and informative sessions.
You can find recordings of all the sessions on the SIDCN Fest YouTube channel.
Some of the highlights from attendees were:
“AkaMusyi’s session with Purity – there were lots of creative ideas."
“Diaspora Fundaising - interesting to understand if it’s appropriate to invest time and energy into.”
“Shifting Power - practical and inspiring funder insights from Roseline and Patricia.”
The afternoon turned to further important conversations: Sabrina Segal of The Risk Collaborative on rebalancing risk and power in the sector, followed by breakouts on locally-led funding (Patricia Essel and Roseline Orwa) and a thought-provoking session from Lucy Morris of INTRAC, reframing organisational closure as a legitimate strategic choice rather than failure. The day wound down with networking rooms organised by cause and region, where attendees were encouraged to share a "brag" moment with new connections.
A truly global room
Part of what made this year's Fest particularly special was who was in the (virtual) room. Over 270 people registered, representing more than 230 organisations across upwards of 20 countries - with close to half in leadership roles as chief executives, founders or trustees. 130 attended on the day and all registrants have been given direct access to session recordings, which we know from feedback are hugely valued. SIDCN is a small charity itself and we are really encouraged by the engagement with this year’s fest.
From the team
SIDCN Trustee, Ania, reflected on the experience from behind the scenes of her first Fest:
"Knowing how hard it is to orchestrate a full-on event online, it's been a great experience. It also gives me more visibility on who our members are and what they come to SIDCN events for."
Fellow trustee Anna captured the spirit of the day:
"Such great teamwork in pulling everything together... Overall it was a long but memorable day, fun yet also thought-provoking, and ultimately offered incredible insight into the world of smalls."
Thank you!
We want to say a huge thank you to our speakers, member organisations, trustees and volunteers who made SIDCN Fest 2026 what it was, and to our sponsors - Dan Bishop Finance, Qlic IT for Charities, The Risk Collaborative, and Vic Hancock Fell - for helping bring the day to life.
We're already gathering ideas for next year. If you were with us this June, thank you - and if you missed it, keep an eye out for our AGM in January and SIDCN Fest 2027.
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