Blog 

I don't know about you, but there are certain partnership examples that the Fireside team keep coming back to in conversation. You know the ones. Someone mentions them in a meeting and suddenly everyone is nodding along because it’s just such a neat example of how corporate partnerships should work. For us, one of those examples is the partnership between Mamas & Papas and Tommy's. At first glance it might seem like a fairly classic fit: a baby brand partnering with a baby-re

February is full of excitement for Fireside - and for me personally. We’re working on an incredible range of clients from Scottish Opera, Women for Women International and Avon Wildlife Trust… and my little bear of a nephew just turned one! I’ve been in workshops and petting zoos alike this week. A lot of our conversations recently have been focussed on how to build a pipeline, and I wanted to give our two cents on why some prospects just won’t work: 1. You only think they’re

We did it! We made it to February! The days are getting longer and we’re only a week or two away from the sun setting after work, rather than during . I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely felt this winter more than the usual - and I’ve started to really plan my calendar with things to look forward to help me get through it. I thought it’d be nice to share some of those things I’m looking forward to in the next few months:  Know your offer On the 18th of March at 10am,

I don't know about you, but the last few weeks the Fireside team have been obsessed with The Traitors. When I say that I've personally been obsessed, I mean obsessed . I mean reading clickbait articles such as 'Why Claudia Winkleman always wears fingerless gloves on The Traitors' level obsessed . Lisa was even obsessed enough to break her ‘no screen time before school’ rule with her kids to catch up on a particular episode. Through conversation with our research lead, Lucy Mi

This was the first year in a long time that I felt real resistance coming back to work. I absolutely love my job, but I also love not setting an alarm in the morning, and the change of pace feels particularly hard coming into 2026. It’s not that I don’t want to work. It’s that I don’t want to overwork… again. It feels like there’s an expectation in the fundraising world to bite off more than you can chew and… chew it. This year can’t be like that. Our bodies, minds and our lo

I recently caught up with an old client for the first time in over a year, and they mentioned in passing that they’d used our work together to land a major partnership. We’re talking a seven-figure, national campaign partnership. They mentioned it like it was just another update, and I nearly fell off my chair. When I asked them how long they’d had it confirmed, they said three months. I was STOKED for them, but also couldn’t believe they hadn’t told me: I’d have thrown them

Last week, we shared Rachel Holborow’s research into the reality of what it’s like to be a corporate fundraiser . The research showed us how much potential there is for corporate fundraising, but also how hard it can be, so we wanted to share three things to look forward to: 1. Christmas. The John Lewis and Coca-Cola adverts are out, meaning Mariah Carey has thawed and… 🎶 It’s Time. 🎶 If there’s one thing the sector needs right now, it’s a break: I hope you get the chance t

It was Fireside’s third anniversary last week, and we held one of our first proper  team away days to mark the moment. We spoke about our favourite and least favourite things about the year. What we were proud of, and what we’d like to change. The team had one primary complaint… …that there used to be an employee of the month programme. Until there were actual employees. The employee of the month hallway would just be a line of pictures of me until it actually mattered. So we

1,095 days ago I sat alone in a co-working space that used to be a Tesco and opened my ‘Fireside Fundraising’ laptop for the first time. I had a virtual coffee with a couple of friends, made a website that looked like a GCSE art project, and got to work. Three years later, Fireside is an actual corporate fundraising consultancy. We’re a team of three (myself, Lisa Clavering and Lucy Mitchell ), sometimes four (when we rope in Laura Swan ) who’ve worked with 40 clients this y

I’m writing this from the lobby of the hotel that hosts the Central and Eastern European Fundraising Conference . I’ve got a few days of...

How much Pixar have you watched over the last few weeks? We know that it’s been the school holidays, and a good Disney or Pixar film is a...

As you read this email, I’ll be hopping off the train to meet my partner’s dad for the first time - which speaks both to the power of...

I hope your July has been kinder than mine! Between the heatwaves and the rainstorms, my chronic stomach condition has been flaring up...

Two weeks ago, I shared a story. I admitted that when I hit send, I was scared.  I told you about what it meant to me to be a gay...

I have to admit. Pride groups used to really frustrate me.  I remember at one of the first fundraising conferences I ever went to, there...

My first few years of fundraising leadership were a whirlwind. I was one of the first fundraisers the charity had ever had. I knew that...

I hope you’ve had a good Easter. I just took my boyfriend away on the first ever holiday I’ve  planned using ChatGPT.  It was recently a...

How is it April already? It feels like this year has whizzed past - though nothing says the passing of time like seeing my nephew every...

February has bloody flown by, eh? If I had a pound for every time I’d heard ‘January lasted forever, but February disappeared in a blink’...

Content warning - this email discusses themes of suicide/ gambling. I don’t know about you, but watching Trump return to presidency has...