# Fatima Whitbread to deliver plenary at July’s Fundraising Convention

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2024/05/09/fatima-whitbread-to-deliver-plenary-at-julys-fundraising-convention/
- Published: 2024-05-09T09:30:00+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**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](https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/09/11/remember-a-charity-week-launches-with-be-remembered-campaign-celeb-support/).

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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](https://fundraising.co.uk/2021/09/14/hannah-ingram-moore-is-opening-plenary-speaker-at-fundraising-convention-online/).

Dame Tanni [presented the opening plenary](https://fundraising.co.uk/2024/05/09/fatima-whitbread-to-deliver-plenary-at-julys-fundraising-convention/encouraged%20fundraisers%20to%20keep%20telling%20the%20story%20of%20the%20change%20they%20help%20to%20make.)
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](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/03/09/will-gompertz-fatima-bhutto-june-sarpong-headline-iof-convention-plenary-speakers/),
and Dame Kelly Holmes gave [a plenary in 2019](https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/05/15/dame-kelly-holmes-announced-as-fundraising-convention-plenary-speaker/).

Lenny Henry was the opening plenary speaker [of Fundraising Convention Online in 2020,](https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/07/06/sir-lenny-henry-opens-the-first-virtual-iof-fundraising-convention/)
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](https://fundraising.co.uk/2023/05/18/ciof-announces-first-convention-plenary-speaker/)
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](https://ciof.org.uk/fundraising-convention/home)
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.