The Fundraising Everywhere Podcast The Art of Donor-Led Events
In this episode of the Fundraising Everywhere podcast, host Simon Scriver sits down with Angie Turner, Senior Philanthropy Manager at the Children's Trust, to explore the art of donor-led events and building sustainable major gifts programs.
With over 30 years of fundraising experience, Angie shares her journey from being in foster care to becoming a successful fundraiser who has built a £700,000 annual major donor program from scratch. She reveals the secrets behind her most successful fundraising strategy: donor-led pledge dinners that have raised up to £100,000 in a single night.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- How to organise donor-led events that turn guests into long-term supporters
- The power of the "pledge moment" and why asking on the night is so effective
- How to identify the right people to host events (and why not everyone is suited for it)
- Practical tips for contact mapping and guest list development
- How AI tools like ChatGPT are transforming fundraising workflows
- Why relationship-building remains at the heart of successful fundraising, even after 30 years
Angie also discusses the challenges facing fundraisers in 2025, the importance of cross-team collaboration, and how the Children's Trust raised a record-breaking £240,000 during the Big Give Christmas Challenge.
Dive deeper at our Fundraising Events Conference on Thursday 29th January
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