Rathbones Charity Expert Series: Resilience in the Future Funding Landscape
|Charities are operating in an increasingly challenging funding environment. Rising demand for services, sustained cost pressures, uncertainty around public spending and policy change, and volatile markets are forcing charity leaders to rethink how they fund their missions, both now and for the long term.
In this Rathbones Charity Expert Series webinar, we are joined by Emma de Closset, Chief Executive of UK Community Foundations, to explore how charities can strengthen their financial resilience in the face of ongoing pressure and uncertainty. Drawing on her extensive experience across the charitable and philanthropic landscape, Emma will share insights into how charities are adapting their funding strategies, reassessing risk, and planning for a more unpredictable future.
The session will focus on the practical realities facing charity leaders today: how to balance short‑term financial pressures with long‑term sustainability; how to think differently about income mix, reserves and endowments; and how governance, investment strategy and forward planning can support greater resilience.
Key themes we’ll explore include:
- How charities are reassessing their funding mix in response to prolonged financial pressure and uncertainty
- Which income streams are proving most resilient, and which are becoming less reliable
- Balancing immediate funding challenges with long‑term financial sustainability
- Whether reserves policies and endowment strategies are being revisited in light of volatility and rising demand
- How investment strategies can support more predictable income while protecting capital
- Planning for uncertainty around public spending and policy change
- The role of trustees and boards in strengthening financial resilience during challenging times
- Practical steps charities can take now to build long‑term funding resilience
This session will be particularly valuable for chief executives, finance directors, trustees and senior charity leaders who are navigating difficult funding decisions and looking for informed, practical perspectives on building resilience in an uncertain landscape.
