Embrace Finance x The Fore Trust

Navigating the financial future(s): An introduction to financial resilience for small charities

17 Sep 2025, 10-12

It’s not that resilient charities don’t experience difficulties. All charities do. It’s just that resilient charities have nurtured the conditions to give themselves the very best chance of bouncing back when they do. Resilient charities:

• think ahead about what the future might hold for their beneficiaries and what this means for their own organisation. 
• know what good financial health looks like and protect themselves against the inevitable ups and downs.
• respond quickly and proportionately when opportunities and challenges come up.
• change how they work when required to - expanding when they can, contracting when they need to - without losing sight of what really matters, their beneficiaries. 

This requires ways of working and decision making which, due to the general hustle and bustle of day-to-day operations, often need to be nurtured proactively. Financial resilience is as much as about what we do and how we take decisions as it is about the numbers and what they actually are.

We will explore:

• what financial resilience looks like and the practical steps we can take to build it in our organisation
• the role of forecasting, reserves, scenarios and metrics in building longer term financial resilience
• the leadership qualities that really help build a culture of resilience building to help navigate uncertainty with confidence

What you can expect:

• Clear and practical guidance tailored to small charities.
• Real-world examples and tools you can apply immediately.

A supportive environment to ask questions and share experiences.

Who delivers this session:

This session is delivered by Liz Pepler MIAB FRSA. Liz is a charity resilience specialist, founder of Embrace Finance and co-founder of the Small Charity Friendly Collective. As well as running Embrace Finance, Liz also provides bespoke mentoring, consultancy and masterclasses to charity boards, leaders and teams at Liz Pepler Consulting.

Liz is co-author of Lloyds Bank Foundation’s Organisational Resilience framework, co-author of the Association of Chair's Financial Leadership in Small Charities and finance trainer for NCVO.

Liz is a practicing member at the Institute of Accountants and Bookkeepers, holds a Masters in Charity Accounting and Financial Management (Dist) and a PG Certificate in Charity Administration. Liz is a fellow of the RSA.

Content:

These materials will be available for two weeks after the session. Please make sure you download what you need. All our content is provided on a Creative Commons License. In short, this means that you are free to use these with the original branding and on a non commercial basis.

Building stronger foundations - organisational resilience for small charities

17 Oct 2025, 10-12

How can small charities stay strong and adaptable in an ever-changing world? This 2-hour interactive workshop is designed to equip charity leaders with practical tools and insights to strengthen their organisations. Using the Lloyds Bank Foundation's Organisational Resilience Framework, we’ll explore the three critical pillars of resilience—Purpose, People, and Money—and delve into the 9 principles that support long-term resilience.

This session will combine expert guidance, peer discussions, and practical exercises to help you build resilience into the core of your organisation. Whether you’re looking to adapt to current challenges or future-proof your charity, this workshop is an opportunity to create a stronger, more resilient foundations.

We will explore:

• The 3 pillars of Organisational Resilience
• The 9 principles for putting this into practice
• Top tips and common elephant traps

What you can expect:

• Clear and practical guidance tailored to small charities.
• Real-world examples and tools you can apply immediately.
• A supportive environment to ask questions and share experiences.

Who delivers this session:

This session is delivered by Liz Pepler and Tom Watson. 

Liz is a charity resilience specialist, founder of Embrace Finance and co-founder of the Small Charity Friendly Collective. Liz is co-author of Lloyds Bank Foundation’s Organisational Resilience framework, co-author of the Association of Chair's Financial Leadership in Small Charities and finance trainer for NCVO. Liz is a practicing member at the Institute of Accountants and Bookkeepers, holds a Masters in Charity Accounting and Financial Management (Dist) and a PG Certificate in Charity Administration. Liz is a fellow of the RSA.

Tom an established coach, advisor and occasional speaker. Tom runs The Good Ship, working as a partner from one-to-one development support, to systems-change and place-based programmes, alongside frontline groups and trusts & foundations, all grounded in Open Infrastructure and principles. Tom blends Data, Technology, Design and Strategy to help charities and social enterprises be more resilient and effective.

Liz Pepler, Embrace Finance and Tom Watson, The Good Ship are designers and deliverers of the Lloyds Bank Foundation's Organisational Resilience programme.