The event was created to bring together like-minded organisations and people to talk openly about funding, the challenges facing the sector, and how we move forward together. It was a brilliant evening filled with expert advice, a live panel Q&A, practical tips, and incredible food and drinks supplied by Brick House.
We heard from Alex Phillips at Unltd* about what funders are really looking for, and Carl Barton from Eran Learn, shared some fantastic insight around writing stronger funding bids. I was proud to represent Wavemaker and talk about the importance of partnerships and collaboration.
Write your awesome label here.
Write your awesome label here.
Write your awesome label here.
It really made me reflect on how much things have changed over the 10 years Wavemaker has been going. Funding bids are becoming harder and harder to secure simply because more organisations are competing for the same opportunities. More than ever, it feels vital that organisations come together, share strengths, share skills, and be honest about where the gaps are.
One of the things I spoke about was how the challenges communities are facing today are simply too big and too interconnected for any one organisation to tackle alone. Real partnerships are rarely built through contracts first, they’re built through conversations, cups of tea, trust, and networking events like this.
True collaboration is about much more than logos on a poster. It’s about shared purpose, co-design, and co-delivery. That can be challenging at times, but the people closest to the challenges are often closest to the solutions too. A genuinely great evening. Huge congratulations to Maurice and the team at Colab for putting it all together, and thank you for having me.
