BIG TOPICS

In 2025, we introduced Big Topics to bring the IFC community together – in person and online – to shape the Manifesto for Change.

Together, we named what we refuse and what we choose, and mapped the direction of travel we want to see for our sector: moving from charity to solidarity, from dependency to agency, from isolation to shared purpose, and from maintaining systems to rewriting them together.

At IFC 2026, it’s time to write the next chapter.

What is already changing – and what role will we play in shaping what comes next?

Civil society and the wider social impact sector are operating in a period of profound transformation. Traditional funding models are being challenged. Communities are demanding greater agency and ownership. New approaches to financing, technology, and collaboration are emerging. And everywhere, people are organising, innovating, and challenging long-held assumptions about how change happens.

And all of this as we continue to navigate the complex realities of political polarisation, declining trust, leadership pressures, financial uncertainty, and rapid technological advances.

Building on the foundations laid in 2025, each Big Topic session this year will explore one defining question. Through research, real-world examples, and practical discussion, these conversations will challenge assumptions, showcase innovation, and equip you with ideas you can apply in your organisations and your communities.

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Competing for Attention with the Radical Right

What can we learn from people who stand in opposition to our values?

Populist and radical-right movements are increasingly shaping public opinion through brazen narratives, savvy digital campaigning, and the cultivation of a powerful sense of identity and belonging.

This session explores why the right is winning the battle for attention, what civil society can learn from its success, and what we need to do differently to compete for influence in the attention economy to mobilise people around their values.

Is True Collaboration Possible?

Is achieving true collaboration impossible – or do we just not try hard enough?

The challenges facing our sector are too big for any one organisation to solve alone. Which is why this highly interactive session seeks to move a desire for collaboration from good intentions to genuine action.

Together, we will tackle the real-world challenges that can make collaboration so hard so we can build a practical playbook for what makes it work.

Who is Already Building the Future of Funding?

AI, data, and emerging tech are rapidly changing what’s possible in fundraising.

Join us to uncover where technology is genuinely delivering results, where it’s not worth investing yet, and how organisations are using AI and digital tools to strengthen supporter relationships, grow income, and build the future of fundraising.

Can We Change the World Without Burning Out?

Burnout shouldn’t be rampant in a sector that exists for the good of us all.

Burnout affects individuals, but it isn’t just an individual problem. When it appears, it can be a sign that the way we lead and organise needs to change.

How can we build healthier, more sustainable organisations where people can thrive – without compromising on our ambitions to change the world?

Can Civil Society Fund Itself?

If we were designing how social change is funded from scratch, would we build the system we have today?

This conversation will explore what a different funding system could look like: Would foundations move more capital? Would resources flow within communities? Would we organise around those communities instead of around individual organisation? Would alternative forms of capital play a meaningful role?

But the biggest question is: If we would change things, what can we start changing now?

Join the International Fundraising Congress to get clear on what matters now.

IFC brings together experiences from across regions, movements, causes, and from organisations of every type and size –  helping you see beyond your own context and learn from people tackling similar challenges in very different ways.

Join us this October 2026 and reaffirm your commitment to being part of a force that shapes the world, not just one that responds to disaster.