Grace Mary to Lion Farm Big Local in Sandwell is one of the West Midlands' strongest examples of what long-term community investment looks like. This visit includes a tour of their hub and community enterprise activity and a chance to meet with young people involved in the Wallace Youth Project.

How do we measure impact in ways communities actually value? This online session explores why output-driven metrics alone fail. Drawing on Firs and Bromford's experience, we examine how long-term investment builds community voice and agency, the role of power in shaping success, and practical approaches to measuring meaningful change. Perfect for funders rethinking evaluation approaches.

Equity and inclusion are easy to commit to on paper. This session is about what they look like in practice — the barriers that emerge in community governance, how discrimination can take hold, and what it takes to genuinely challenge it.

This session draws directly on the experience of Big Local areas in the West Midlands. It examines different models of infrastructure support, the practical challenges of building resident-led governance, and how organisations responded when partnerships broke down and had to be rebuilt.

Community Interest Companies (CICs) are becoming increasingly common across the West Midlands. This WMFN session will explore how funders assess and support CICs, with insights from Richard Dowsett at the National Lottery Community Fund on opportunities, challenges and practical approaches to funding this growing organisational model.

This is an online briefing to equip funders with clarity, confidence and practical insight on how charity campaigning and engagement can remain lawful, ethical and effective in a contested political environment.

Join WMFN on 20 January for a session on the Government’s Youth Offer. Hear from the National Youth Agency, Solihull MBC, Rigby Foundation and WM Youth Focus as we explore what the Youth Guarantee means for the West Midlands and how funders can strengthen youth provision, equity and long-term impact across the region.

Join WMFN on 25 November for a workshop on the Civil Society Covenant. Hear from Lloyds Bank Foundation, NTU/NCVO and 360 Giving, explore the latest data on sector resilience and funding flows, and consider practical regional actions to strengthen collaboration between funders and the VCSE in the West Midlands.

Join WMFN on 21 October for a Members Roundtable Exchange on funding CICs in the West Midlands. Hear from leading funders and sector experts, explore good practice and challenges, and share your experiences to help shape how CICs are supported as part of the region’s growing social enterprise ecosystem.

Join WMFN and IVAR on 25 September for a lunchtime online session exploring how small funders can embrace Open & Trusting practices. Discover practical ways to reduce burdens on charities, build stronger partnerships, and shape funding approaches that reflect the realities organisations face across the West Midlands.

Join our July Members Roundtable for vital updates on West Midlands on the impact of recent disability and welfare reforms. Discuss practical implications and evolving funding landscapes. Share your experiences and gain key sector insights. This members-only exchange offers valuable sector knowledge.

Explore how AI, data and digital tools are shaping the future of funding and civil society. Join us on 20 June for WMFN’s 2025 Annual Conference—designed for funders, public agencies and third sector organisations ready to learn, connect and lead. Early bird tickets now available.

Join our April Members Roundtable for vital updates on West Midlands migration trends and refugee resettlement reforms. Share insights on funding implications and connect with peers on crucial policy shifts. This members-only exchange offers valuable sector knowledge.

Join this half-day WMFN workshop to explore how place-based funding drives lasting social and economic change. Hear from sector leaders, including Power to Change, Lloyds Bank Foundation, and Barrow Cadbury Trust, as they share insights on partnerships, challenges, and measuring success. Hosted by Rathbones Birmingham.

Are you clear on the legal distinctions and duties in grant-making, including grants, gifts, trusts, and contracts? Join Kirsty McEwen, Partner and Head of Charities and Not for Profit at Higgs LLP, for a seminar exploring the standards of care and legal requirements for funders, trustees, and panel members.

Join us for the next members roundtable exchange on Tuesday 21st January 2025. For this meeting, the Operations Director, National Emergencies Trust will join us and  share their role and work nationally and in the West Midlands.

Please join Trustees for the WMFN AGM and discussion on Wednesday 20th November 1pm - 2pm. If you are interested in becoming a Trustee or becoming more involved please do join us at the AGM to find out more……

Join us for a facilitated workshop by Adapta Consulting on understanding the current scope of AI in funding and the pros and cons of its use. Adapta Consulting will explore funders current use of AI, policy and practice approaches and share any current good practice.

Come to the next members roundtable exchange and sharing any changes in funding strategy or programmes; insights from grantmaking or evaluations. IVAR will join to share current thinking on approaches to monitoring and reporting.

Join our one day Annual Conference as we explore the rise of participatory funding, where communities have a say in resource allocation. Discover if this approach is right for you, learn from real stories, and journey towards fairer, more effective funding. You will have the chance to learn, reflect and network with colleagues across the funding sector in the West Midlands.

This joint hands-on workshop with Birmingham City Observatory and Digital NNS is a follow-on from the WMFN November 2023 seminar on the latest ONS data insights. Feedback from members indicated an interest to explore in more depth and become familiar with different data sets with funding data that can help improve understanding of how data can be used to support work on funding, hence this event.

Places are limited.

The next Members Roundtable Exchange will be held on Tuesday 23rd April starting at 12.30pm. Please book your place and join us. Bring funding programme updates or insights and evaluations from funding programmes. An update on Birmingham City Council’s 2024-25 budgetary announcement and implications for the VCSE is planned.

You are invited to the first roundtable exchange of 2024 to be held online. This is an opportunity for members to share updates on funding strategies, grant programmes and learning and insights from funding and research. A particular agenda item will be an update on Birmingham City Council Section 114 and potential implications for the VCSE and services.

WMFN Trustees welcome you to join them for the 6th AGM on Wednesday 22nd November starting at 1.30pm @ Investec office. The formal business will be followed by a presentation and discussion on the next 3 years strategic priorities

The latest ONS data (2021) provides public policymakers with further evidence of demographic and household changes in the UK. Latest data sets help to inform further policy and service priorities in the West Midlands and Birmingham. Members are invited to attend the in person seminar @ Investec, Birmingham to better understand the implications for funding priorities at both place and community interest levels.

We are delighted to announce the launch of the West Midlands Charity Forum (Investec, VWV, WMFN), a joint series of roundtable discussions for the charity sector on sustainability and environmental issues. The first roundtable discussion is on ‘Better Streets for Birmingham’.

You are invited to the next members roundtable exchange. The theme will be on the Winter support for vulnerable households and individuals and responses to the cost of living crisis.

One year on from the WMFN 2-day online Annual Conference on Funders responding to the climate emergency, we are bringing funders that attended back together, to share their progress and provide an update on where they are in their journey. It will be an opportunity to hear the outcome of an ACF annual survey reviewing progress of over 100 signatories to the Funders Commitment to Climate Change; progress of members and others against the 5 climate change pillars; any tools used that were effective in moving forward and learning from what is working, and different ways of investing responsibly and sustainably.

WMFN Annual Conference 2023 is taking place on the 27th June 2023 and is themed on Learning from the Pandemic. Our Full Programme is due to be announced shortly.