Building Long Term Sustainability Through Income Diversification with Charity Leadership

In an increasingly challenging funding environment, resilience means looking beyond traditional income streams. Grants get tighter, priorities change, and organisations that rely on a single source of funding find themselves exposed. Diversifying income isn't just a financial exercise, but a leadership challenge that touches strategy, culture, and the confidence to try something new. Together, we'll explore: • What financial resilience really looks like in practice — and what it takes to build it • Practical routes to diversifying income, from trading and social enterprise to new partnerships • Real stories from leaders who've done it — including the lessons learned along the way • The messy bits — what happens when new income ideas don't go to plan, and how you adapt Hear from insightful speakers including Laura Walker from Visibility Scotland and Mark McKeown from Turcan Connell, as they share their experience, practical strategies and lessons learned in building long-term sustainability through income diversification. After each speaker, there will be time to reflect on what you've heard and connect it with your own context. This period of individual reflection will invite you to consider questions like: where is your organisation most exposed right now? What untapped assets, skills or relationships could you build on? And what's one realistic step you could take in the next year? What to expect • Light refreshments on arrival • Two inspiring speakers sharing their experience of building sustainable, diversified income • Facilitated reflection and conversation after each speaker • Networking with leaders and decision-makers from across the sector • A warm and welcoming event, whether you love networking or usually avoid it, you'll leave with fresh perspectives and new connections About our Speakers Laura Walker, CEO, Visibility Scotland Laura Walker is an experienced CEO, Vision Rehabilitation Specialist, and Vice Chair of Vision Collaborative Scotland, with more than 20 years of service in the third sector. Throughout her career, she has championed equitable, high-quality services for people with vision impairment and blindness. Laura is committed to and passionate about driving transformational, long-lasting change through collaboration, innovation, and evidence-based practice. Laura is motivated by a firm belief that access to timely, high-quality support for vision impairment and blindness should never depend on geography, resource constraints, or systemic inconsistencies. She is a passionate advocate for tackling the "postcode lottery" that exists across health and social care, using strategic leadership and partnership working to create more equitable outcomes. Since becoming Chief Executive of Visibility Scotland in 2020, Laura has led the organisation through a period of significant organisational growth and transformation. Under her leadership, the charity has launched a successful social enterprise, strengthened its long-term financial sustainability, and expanded its capacity to deliver meaningful impact for blind and vision-impaired people across Scotland. Mark McKeown, Legal Director, Turcan Connell Mark is a Legal Director at Turcan Connell, where he specialises in advising philanthropists on the legal and tax aspects of how they structure their giving. Alongside this, he has significant experience guiding private clients and their families on estate planning and advising the trustees and power holders of grant-giving charities on the exercise of their duties. A member of both the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and the Charity Law Association, Mark has also served on the boards of a number of charities, giving him a first-hand understanding of the sustainability challenges leaders face. He enjoys helping clients establish frameworks for their philanthropic and estate planning objectives, then developing practical, often tax-efficient strategies to bring them to life. For this event, Mark brings a valuable funder-and-adviser perspective on income diversification: how charities can think differently about philanthropic income, legacy giving and the structures that underpin long-term financial resilience. Who's it for? This event is for the people responsible for their organisation's future: charity CEOs, directors, senior leaders and trustees who are thinking seriously about financial sustainability. It brings together two communities. Through Charity Leadership Scotland, it reaches voluntary sector leaders from small, community-based organisations to Scotland's largest charities who are navigating the same income pressures. Through The Melting Pot's Consultancy, our collaborative event connects with a growing network of Directors and CEOs of purpose-driven organisations looking to strengthen their strategy and resilience. If you carry responsibility for where the money comes from, and where your organisation goes next, this event is for you. About Charity Leadership Scotland Established in 2000, Charity Leadership Scotland (formerly ACOSVO) is a membership organisation for the country's voluntary sector leaders. With a growing membership of approximately 650 individuals, its leaders range from smaller, community-based organisations to the largest charities in Scotland. Its unique position as the leading organisation of its kind in Scotland attracts key decision and change makers in the sector, alongside creative and passionate cross-sector partners. About The Melting Pot Established in 2007, The Melting Pot is Scotland's Centre for Social Innovation; a coworking hub, community and consultancy for people and organisations working to make the world a better place. With over 18 years supporting the sector, our work ranges from a central Edinburgh workspace and meeting venue to our Good Ideas incubator for budding social entrepreneurs, to a consultancy that helps organisations confidently try new things. Our unique position as a connector and champion of good ideas attracts a diverse community of changemakers — from individual freelancers and start-ups to established charities, social enterprises and cross-sector leaders committed to doing good for people and the planet.