Corporate budgets are waiting to be spent before April — do you know how to access them? Join Clare Sweeney at Salford Innovation Forum for a practical session on building sustainable partnerships, diversifying income beyond grants, and finding the cross-sector collaborator you didn’t know was looking for you.

If your organisation relies heavily on grants, this session is your starting point for something different.

Clare Sweeney works across the Impact Economy helping organisations diversify income through corporate partnerships, sponsorships, and legacy fundraising. She’s partnering with Salford Innovation Forum to deliver a focused, hands-on pilot session on income resilience and sustainable partnerships.

This isn’t a lecture. It’s a working session designed to leave you with real, actionable next steps.

What You’ll Walk Away With

• Your cross-sector match — identify the collaborator you didn’t know was waiting for you
• A shared language — learn how to speak so that both sides of a partnership understand each other
• A sustainability blueprint — what a lasting, meaningful partnership actually looks like
• The money map — we know where the funding sits, and we’ll help you access it
• The engagement playbook — how to win hearts and minds and make the process genuinely enjoyable

Who Should Attend?

This session is designed for two sides of the same coin:

• Charities, social enterprises, CICs, and purpose-led organisations looking to move beyond grant dependency
• Businesses and corporates interested in meaningful, impactful community partnerships

Why Now?

Many companies have unspent charity budget allocations that need to be committed before the end of the financial year in April. This session is timed to help you take advantage of that window.

What Comes Next?

This is a taster session. Depending on appetite, it leads into either a Lightning Series or a Co-Lab — deeper, structured programmes to turn these ideas into live partnerships.