Charity Finance Group

Today’s Spring Statement saw no announcements of additional support for the charity sector, with no mention of charities in the Chancellor’s speech. We will continue to advocate, on behalf of the sector, for more support for charities and the people who rely on them. Read the rest of our thoughts on the Spring Statement: https://loom.ly/JdCCMAI

The month of March is when people across the world celebrate the achievements of women and the contributions they make. We speak to a few women about leading the way in charity finance: https://loom.ly/sYu9ZSU  Caron Bradshaw OBE Nicki Deeson Jill Halford Sue Hall FCMA CGMA Jenny Howard Ruth Jenkins Angela Linton Sharon Martin Liz Pepler MIAB FRSA Geetha Rabindrakumar Kelly Ryder Kath Q. Nazreen Visram (She/Her)

Huge thanks to Naziar Hashemi, Crowe UK and Charity Finance Group for an excellent session yesterday on the coming FRS 102 updates and what they are likely to mean for the new SORP. Lots for us to digest here at St John Ambulance Cymru. Changes to revenue recognition and leases are definitely going to impact us. If you are in charity finance in any way I'd highly recommended jumping on their next session in April available on the CFG website to get a head start on the coming changes.

Congratulations to 𝐃𝐫. 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐤𝐚 𝐃𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐢𝐝𝐚 for winning the Lucky Draw and taking home a LEGO Bus at the Charity Finance Group's 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 & 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓!🎉 🚌   It was amazing to see so many attendees get involved and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.   Enjoy your prize, Anoushka! 🎁

The Charity Finance Group Digital and Technology conference yesterday had a great agenda with some really informative sessions. One of the stand out sessions was by 𝗭𝗼𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗭𝗼𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 where she did an insightful talk on, "Bridging The Digital Skills Gap". I have included some of the key takeaways from that session below: 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 💷 The cost-of-living crisis is significantly affecting capacity 💰 7 out of 10 charities are struggling to progress digitally due to their finances  💳  60% of Charities biggest barrier is funding to invest in infrastructure and systems and Tools 🎆 Three quarters of Charities are planning to move forward with their digital plans this year 💻  81% of Charities using digital tools in their service delivery AI & Emerging Trends 💡  31% of Charities want their board to look at emerging tech and AI tools        Charities want their CEOs to stay informed on emerging tech trends & AI, 39% want senior leadership teams to understand the related risks and opportunities. ✴️  In 2023 35% of Charities were using AI ✴️   In 2024 61% of Charities were using AI 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼: ✅  Develop a skills programme that creates a competitive advantage ✅   Gather use cases ✅   Develop an organisation wide approach and implement the right strategy and governance 💡 Only 15% of services are developed by diverse teams 💡 30% of Charities are not doing user research with diverse groups 💡 Only 15% monitor diversity and inclusion extensively for digital and technology suppliers 💡 Build into your AI policy encouraging staff to look at outputs with a critical and to be aware of biases      #AI #Charity #Tech #Procuretech #AIinCharities Peter Cooper Kavita Cooper BSc FCIPS Chartered coop

Isio at the Charity Finance Group Investment Conference! Isio experts Mark Irish, CFA, CAIA and Max Bawden, CFA gave a session on "Integrating Sustainable Investment into Your Strategy." 🌱📈 In this session, we explored: • How charities can adapt their investment strategies to integrate sustainability, while carefully considering costs, governance, and returns. • Various approaches to constructing sustainable portfolios. • Effective methods for implementing and monitoring stewardship and impact. You can learn more about Isio’s approach to Sustainable investment here: https://lnkd.in/epB-4ZE3 Don't forget to visit our stand to learn more about how Isio can support your financial goals. #Charities #Finance #SustainableInvestment

It was a pleasure to present alongside Rachel Titchen today at Charity Finance Group’s Investment Conference. In our session titled: “Multi Asset Funds: How diversified is too diversified?” we discussed how charity investments are dominated by Multi Asset funds, and how charities can be more tailored in their strategic asset allocation decisions based on their investment objectives. Despite some inevitable technical difficulties, we were fortunate to have some really good engagement in our polls! I wanted to share the results of one of our questions that I thought was especially interesting. Unsurprisingly, risk/return was high on the priority list for charities when setting their investment policy. It was, however, pleasing to see that other elements of the investment portfolio weren’t too far behind! We hope that our session gave attendees food for thought on how strategic asset allocation decisions are crucial not just for achieving return, but for achieving these other investment goals too that are so important for charities. Thank you Joanna S. and the rest of the Charity Finance Group team for organising. Great event, loved meeting everyone and looking forward to the next one!

Charity leadership experts Judith Miller and Maggie Smith share their insights on what makes a great leader in 2025. With backgrounds in charity and finance leadership, and as leaders of CFG's Inspiring Financial Leadership course, Judith and Maggie share the traits that make great leaders and why keeping the spotlight on diversity, inclusion and wellbeing remains vital. Listen now: https://loom.ly/XGb7Dr8

Our comprehensive Investment Conference is back by popular demand! This one-day, in person event is designed to provide you with relevant information to secure a successful investment portfolio for your charity. Key topics that will be covered during the event: -Investment Strategies and Policy -Getting Started with Investments -Ethical and Impact Investment -Maximising your Return on Investment -Cash – Are We Holding Too Much? -How Diversified is too Diversified? Examining Multi-Asset Funds With speakers from Broadstone Isio Newton Investment Management PMCL Consulting Book today: https://loom.ly/TQySyk8

Charity leadership experts Judith Miller and Maggie Smith share their insights on what makes a great leader in 2025. With backgrounds in charity and finance leadership, and as leaders of CFG's Inspiring Financial Leadership course, Judith and Maggie share the traits that make great leaders and why keeping the spotlight on diversity, inclusion and wellbeing remains vital. Listen now: https://loom.ly/XGb7Dr8