Fatima Whitbread to deliver plenary at July’s Fundraising Convention
Melanie May | 9 May 2024 | News
Double Olympic medallist, World Record Holder and World Champion Javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread MBE has been announced as plenary speaker on day one of this year’s Fundraising Convention.
Speaking on Wednesday 3 July at 9.30, Whitbread will share her story, including her early years in a children’s home, how sport became her saviour and the joy of being adopted by the Whitbreads. She will also talk about her numerous TV programmes and challenges, as well as her charity work, including Fatima’s UK Campaign, which aims to help children in care and care leavers to fulfil their potential.
Last year, Whitbread supported the Remember A Charity Week campaign.
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Past plenary speakers
Other well-known plenary speakers in the past have included Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, former BBC arts correspondent Will Gompertz, Peter Bazalgette, and Hannah Ingram-Moore.
Dame Tanni presented the opening plenary on day two of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s Fundraising Convention in 2016, encouraging fundraisers to keep telling the story of the change they help to make, and sharing how RAG fundraising at university helped her find her voice.
Will Gompertz, Fatima Bhutto and June Sarpong were plenary speakers for the 2018 Fundraising Convention, and Dame Kelly Holmes gave a plenary in 2019.
Lenny Henry was the opening plenary speaker of Fundraising Convention Online in 2020, speaking about diversity and representation, supporting good causes, and his own fundraising journey.
Last year, AFP’s first Black female global board chair Birgit Smith Burton gave one of the plenaries: a talk entitled: What’s the Big IDEA? on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access.
2024 Convention details
This year’s Fundraising Convention takes the theme Learning and Thriving Together, and takes place on 3 and 4 July, back at the QEII Centre in London for a second year.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.