Plenary speakers announced for Fundraising Convention 2025

Howard Lake | 11 April 2025 | News

Monty Halls and Priya Lakhani OBE will present the two plenary speeches at the annual Fundraising Convention in June.

The Chartered Institute of Fundraising has announced that broadcaster, explorer and travel writer Monty Halls will be the plenary speaker on the first day, and award-winning entrepreneur and innovator Priya Lakhani OBE will address attendees on the second day.

Monty starred in the BBC series “Great Escapes” where he lived on the west coasts of Scotland and Ireland with his dog Reuben.

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He is a former Royal Marines officer who worked for Nelson Mandela during the peace process in the early 1990s. He has pursued a career in expeditions, travel journalism and biology.

Priya Lakhani stepped back from a career in libel law in 2008 to set up her own company, Masala Masala, a fresh Indian food brand. In parallel she founded the charity iamSOCO (I am socially conscious) that ensured that the sale of each hot pot of Masala Masala covered the cost of a hot meal for an underprivileged person in India.

She launched education tech AI firm Century Tech in 2013, utilising data mining techniques to provide a personalised learning experience for students. She was awarded an OBE for services to business, community and voluntary initiatives in 2014.

Katie Docherty, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, said:

“Priya and Monty have such interesting backgrounds and stories to share, so I am really thrilled to have them on board for this year’s Fundraising Convention – I am sure they will captivate and inspire everyone who hears them speak.”

The National Fundraising Convention takes place from 9-10 June 2025 at the QE11 Convention Centre in London. Its theme is ‘Fundraising with Purpose‘.

Previous plenary speakers

Previous plenary speakers at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s annual conventions in London include:

• Fatima Whitbread (2024)
  
• Hannah Ingram-Moore (2021)
  
• Sir Lenny Henry (2020)
  
• Dame Kelly Holmes (2019)
  
• Fatima Bhutto, Will Gompertz, June Sarpong (2018)
  
• Jon Snow (2017)
  
• Dan Pallotta (2010)
  
• John Bird MBE (2009)

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.