With changing audience expectations, evolving platforms, and AI reshaping content discovery, staying visible and connecting with the right audiences online is a major challenge. But you don’t have to face it alone! We can help you take your digital engagement to the next level.
In this online conference, we’ll bring the sector together to share best practice, support one another, and strengthen digital communications across charities. This conference will connect you with leading voices and practitioners to explore audience behaviour, platform changes, algorithm updates, and content trends that drive engagement.
You’ll gain practical insights and tools to cut through the noise, avoid common pitfalls, and make your digital communications more visible, human, and impactful. We’ll also cover strategies for tailoring your content across channels, engaging different generations, and using audience insight to guide decisions.
By the end of the day, you’ll leave with actionable frameworks, fresh ideas, and the confidence to navigate the digital landscape, reach the people who matter most, and make your charity’s voice heard online.
Who should attend?
This conference is for anyone responsible for charity communications online. This includes those working in social media, digital, comms, marketing and as content leads, heads of department, managers and officers. It will provide practical takeaways to help your charity cut through the noise, connect with audiences more effectively and maximise the impact of your digital communications.
Why not take advantage of our group booking discount and bring your colleagues along? It’s a perfect opportunity to step away from day-to-day pressures, connect, and strengthen collaborative working. To find out more email: events@charitycomms.org.uk
10:00- 10:02 | Welcome
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10:02-10:05 | Housekeeping
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10:05-10:35 | Charity social engagement: trends you need to know about (Mainstage) As platforms, algorithms and audience expectations shift, digital engagement is evolving. At the same time, trust is fragile, making credibility and human connection critical. This session explores how charities can adapt to keep supporters connected and online communities safe. It considers how charities can reclaim control, define standards and build trusted, values-led spaces, with practical insights to strengthen engagement, manage risk and support safe, confident communities.
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10:35-10:40 | Movement time |
Parallel sessions, peer discussions and questions Please choose one talk to attend from below. Following the talk there will be a chance to discuss what you’ve heard with your peers, and then you’ll rejoin the room for an opportunity to ask speakers your burning questions. | |
10:40-11:00 | Deepen relationships with engagement actions (Mainstage) Are you looking to build deeper relationships with your supporters to boost your campaigning and fundraising impact? Engagement actions could be the missing piece that can take your communications from good to excellent. This practical session explores how to design meaningful engagement actions that go beyond clicks to build lasting connection and trust. Through real examples and actionable tips, you’ll learn how to create opportunities for supporters to participate, feel valued and stay involved, strengthening relationships that drive long-term impact for your cause.
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10:40-11:00 | From links to answers: practical actions for the AI search era (Parallel stage) Search is fundamentally changing. AI summaries now appear at the top of results, and the use of AI chatbots is mainstream. We are moving from a “query and link” model to a direct “answer engine” model, where users may never scroll beyond the summary. As people rely on AI-generated answers, will they ever reach our content? and what impact might this have on charities? Madeleine and Helen will share their research on AI summaries and offer practical actions to help your content remain discoverable in the AI age.
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11:00-11:20 | Breakout discussions We know there’s a wealth of experience in the room, and these peer discussions are designed to lean into that. They offer space to reflect on what you’ve heard and to explore how it applies to your own work, alongside others facing similar challenges. The more you engage, the more you’ll take away. There will also be a reflective exercise for those that don’t feel comfortable in group discussions. |
11:20-11:30 | Q&A sessions with your stage hosts |
11:30-11:50 | Break. Time for a cuppa. Time for a screen break and a cuppa! |
Parallel sessions, peer discussions and questions Please choose one talk to attend from below. Following the talk there will be a chance to discuss what you’ve heard with your peers, and then you’ll rejoin the room for an opportunity to ask speakers your burning questions. | |
11:50-12:10 | Measuring what matters: a smarter approach to reporting on social media (Mainstage) Tired of justifying likes to stakeholders? In this session, Athar will share a scalable, standardised reporting methodology that doesn’t require third party software. It will allow you to measure engagement in a meaningful way that deprioritises vanity metrics and helps you to set performance benchmarks for all your social channels. You’ll also get practical excel templates to support use of the methodology when you get back to your desk. Whether you have a large social media team or you’re a one-person comms team in a small charity, you’ll leave with clear a framework and the confidence to champion social media using data that actually tells the right story.
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11:50-12:10 | Engaging diverse audiences: smarter segmentation and digital strategies for deeper impact (Parallel stage) How do you turn audience insight into meaningful digital engagement that drives income and influence? Drawing on the experience of Islamic Relief UK, this session explores how robust audience research, nuanced segmentation and channel analysis can shape more effective communications. Discover how understanding diverse audiences at a granular level informs platform choice, messaging, and content strategy. Learn how tailored, insight-led messaging can strengthen engagement and support marketing and fundraising outcomes. While rooted in engaging British Muslim communities, these practical approaches offer valuable lessons for any charity seeking to better connect with and grow diverse digital audiences.
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12:10-12:30 | Breakout discussions We know there’s a wealth of experience in the room, and these peer discussions are designed to lean into that. They offer space to reflect on what you’ve heard and explore how it applies to your own work, alongside others facing similar challenges. The more you engage, the more you’ll take away. There will also be a reflective exercise for those that don’t feel comfortable in group discussions. |
12:30-12:40 | Q&A with your stage host |
12:40-13:40 | Lunch break |
13:40-14:10 | Beyond algorithms: how to build real digital power (Mainstage) We talk a lot about digital strategy. But most of us are building on borrowed ground, dependent on platforms we don’t control, measuring progress through metrics designed to serve tech billionaires more than our causes. This session flips the script. Tash will lead a practical digital power mapping exercise that helps you see your entire digital ecosystem differently: where your real vulnerabilities are, which tools and platforms are genuinely working for you, and how to build digital resilience that compounds over time. Expect honest conversation about vanity metrics, owned audiences, and practical tools to take back to your teams to build lasting digital power in an increasingly volatile landscape.
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14:10-14:15 | Movement time |
Parallel sessions, peer discussions and questions Please choose one talk to attend from below. Following the talk there will be a chance to discuss what you’ve heard with your peers, and then you’ll rejoin the room for an opportunity to ask speakers your burning questions. | |
14:15-14:35 | From brand to people: top tips for encouraging employee generated content (Mainstage) As trust shifts from brands to people, employee-generated content is becoming essential for visibility on LinkedIn. Drawing on her work at Amnesty International, Eleshea Williams will share how empowering staff voices has driven growth and engagement, from overcoming barriers to building a culture of confident posting. Alongside this, Tereza Litsa will explore how to design and scale EGC programmes, align them with organisational goals, and turn employee advocacy into a sustainable, strategic driver of reach, trust, and influence.
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Organic social isn’t dead. But your content strategy might be. You open your social analytics. Comments are down. Follower growth has slowed. The content looked good – so what’s going on? Don’t panic: you’re living in the age of the (social) lurker. In this honest, practical session, Kerry and Nina draw on learnings from 100s of charity social audits to cut through the noise. They’ll share what’s genuinely driving engagement in 2026 – and what you can safely stop doing. You’ll leave knowing exactly what to prioritise and how to make social feel strategic again.
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14:35-14:55 | Breakout discussions We know there’s a wealth of experience in the room, and these peer discussions are designed to lean into that. They offer space to reflect on what you’ve heard and explore how it applies to your own work, alongside others facing similar challenges. The more you engage, the more you’ll take away. There will also be a reflective exercise for those that don’t feel comfortable in group discussions. |
14:55-15:05 | Q&A with your stage host |
15:05-15:15 | Breathing space and movement time |
15:15-15:30 | Bringing it all together In this session, Gemma will sum up some of the main themes of the day, helping you to embed learnings and consider how you might apply them to your own work. There will be an opportunity to consider what action points you’ll be taking away too.
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15:30-15:35 | Close
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Adeela Warley 
Gemma Pettman 
Vanessa Weddell 
Rebecca Fitzgerald 
Florian Engel 
Danielle Boobyer 
Lorena Lang 
Helen Olszowska 
Madeleine Sugden 
Athar Abidi 
Abdul Basit Ali 
Tash Rajan 
Tereza Litsa 
Eleshea Williams 
Kerry Watkins 
Tonina Takova
With huge thanks to our sponsors:
Keynote sponsor:
StrawberrySocial is a social media moderation agency specialising in brand protection, online safety and community engagement for charities. Our team of experts have the knowledge and skills to protect, moderate and engage with your online audiences 24/7/365. We are proud to work with leading brands and charities including NHS England, NSPCC, SuperAwesome, Which? and Samaritans. We offer flexible packages, trial periods and discounts to charities.
Parallel package sponsor:
Impact Stack is the technology platform that will take your mobilisation to the next level. You can launch your next online action with confidence, win over elected officials and engage your supporters. Get access to all of these features, a fully branded design for your landing pages, plus integrations with the technology you already love. And yes, Impact Stack allows you to quickly launch a range of exciting engagement actions. You can join hundreds of charities like Amnesty International, Mencap, Trussell and Shelter. Sign up for a demo today.
Social for Good is a certified B Corp social media agency working exclusively with charities, NGOs and purpose-driven organisations. Founded in Brighton in 2010, we’ve spent 15 years helping purpose-led organisations cut through the noise, reach the right audiences, and demonstrate real impact from their social media activity. From strategy and training to content, paid media and influencer management, we focus on measurable outcomes that resonate with supporters, funders and stakeholders alike. At our core, we believe social media is a force for good. We empower the good guys to amplify and measure their impact through ethical and strategic social media.
Advice appointments sponsors:
Creative Triangle is leading the way in Accessible Design, creating fully WCAG 2.2-compliant online solutions for clients in the charity sector, including Canal & River Trust, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Kidney Research UK, Thomas Pocklington Trust, and the Centre for Ageing Better. Established 20 years ago, we offer big-brand expertise with a small-agency approach, delivering value-driven solutions. Our services include branding, print, digital, campaigns, animation, strategy, and accessibility. We ensure high-quality, impactful results, often within tight deadlines. With a focus on accessibility and creative excellence, we help charities achieve their goals effectively and efficiently.
We believe good brands deserve great things, and that’s why we’re here. Yoyo is a B Corp certified brand and digital agency dedicated to helping mission-driven organisations like yours. We’re passionate about partnering with you to create powerful brands and beautiful, user driven websites that truly grow your impact.
We design and build bespoke digital experiences from the ground up. Whether it’s defining a crystal-clear brand identity, developing a website that unlocks your organisation’s full potential, or optimising for future growth with SEO, our purpose is simple: to help you succeed and do even more good in the world.
Digital Delegate Bag sponsor:
Ave is a B Corp-certified brand, design and digital studio purpose-built for charities, not-for-profits and public sector organisations. For over a decade, we’ve combined audience insight, strategy and creative thinking to build distinctive brands, accessible websites and campaigns that help organisations communicate more clearly, engage people meaningfully and increase their impact. Our clients include WWF, Shelter, NSPCC, Magic Breakfast and NHS organisations across the UK. Alongside our client work, we created On Purpose, providing free tools, resources and training to help charity professionals make their communications work harder.
Interested in sponsoring?
If you’re interested in sponsorship please contact Emma: emma@charitycomms.org.uk.