Moving from dialogue to true collaboration can feel like climbing a double helix; it isn't a straight path. CFG's Emma Abbott shares the lessons learned through recent collaboration with some of the UK's biggest banks, and invites you to be part of the conversation.
At CFG we know that our charity members are our strength and that two or more heads are better than one. But what does genuine, successful collaboration look like? And how do we make it happen?
We've been reflecting on this lately through our work with the banking sector. In 2024, we surveyed charities across the UK about their banking services and discovered that thousands of staff and volunteer hours were being lost to routine tasks such as paying in cash and changing trustees' names on a mandate – time much better spent on delivering charitable services.
We knew we couldn't solve this alone; we needed to work with the banks. So we re-established the Charitable Sector Banking Forum in autumn 2024 and invited all the key players.
Learning about the regulatory and operating environment that banks work within was eye-opening, and the banks felt the same when we explained how charities work. By actively listening to one another we marked a clear starting line for collaboration.
Beware of the conversation trap
We've all sat through meetings where everyone has been heard, ideas shared and every head is nodding. This can look and feel like collaboration, but all too often it lacks substance – it's 'conversation theatre'. The trap is believing that understanding each other's perspectives is the end goal rather than the starting point. Having constructive conversations creates the conditions for collaboration and tangible action, but doesn't constitute it.
Don't trick yourself into thinking that alignment is enough. After discussion, ask: Who owns this? What specifically will they do? By when? What support do they need? Who else needs to be involved? Some organisations ritualise asking these questions by making time before the meeting ends to convert ideas into firm commitments.
Clear decision-making is fundamental to progress. At CFG we use the RASCI (Responsible, Accountable, Supporting, Consulted, Informed) framework. It confirms roles and establishes how decisions are made and by whom.
Infrastructure matters
For truly successful collaboration you need to build the infrastructure around it. Trust and transparency fuel collaboration, from the humble shared document to communications protocols, workflows and project plans. Regular check-ins and feedback mechanisms provide the structure within which collaboration can flourish.
Trust as a verb, not a noun, is at the heart of success. Through our collaborations, we've learned that trust is built through small, consistent actions. It means reliability. Be upfront about the way you work, the way you want to work and what timelines and goals you'll set. Getting these basics right is especially important when collaborating with organisations or groups outside of your own.
Aim for productive tension
True collaboration can only come about when all those involved have a sense of psychological safety – the ability to share and speak without fear of repercussion. However, in the quest for this, you can inadvertently create an environment that pushes out helpful challenge. Without willingness to disagree, push back and hold each other accountable, politeness can trump progress.
The sweet spot comes from blending psychological safety with healthy conflict to create 'productive tension'. This is central to CFG's own culture and crucial to our work as an infrastructure and membership body. Tension isn't always negative – many things depend on it, and collaboration is one of them.
Measure what matters
What gets measured gets managed, and collaboration is no exception. Measuring inputs, outcomes and impact is a whole other article (read Pesh Framjee's excellent article 'From inputs to impact') but simply, we chose to focus on the outputs of our collaboration with the banks, rather than tactics or longer-term impact.
It's important to have that conversation upfront, and to agree what success looks like for everyone. Ask yourself if what you're measuring actually matters, or whether it's measurement for measurement's sake. Measurement should not be a stick to beat the group with, but a means to feed back, learn and improve.
Collaborate then celebrate
Since launching our Banking Challenges Survey in November 2024, we've made notable progress – and that's worth celebrating! We published a guide for charitable organisations to help them communicate more effectively with their banks.
We also developed and launched a training programme – supported by NCVO – for a well-known high street bank, giving staff and leaders a deeper understanding of how charities operate and what they need from their banking services to be more efficient and impactful.
That's what success looks like to us.
Be part of the collaboration!
Charity Finance Group doesn't exist in a bubble - we're a membership organisation driven by our community. If you believe in collaboration and sharing - we have a small favour to ask:
Our 2026 charity banking survey is now open! Whatever the size of your organisation, we invite you to confidentially share your experiences of banking. Once we've analysed the data, we'll report back. And we'll continue to make change happen for the benefit of all charitable and social change organisations based in the UK.
Take the survey (closes 27 April 2026)
Thank you for sharing!
A version of this article was first published by Voluntary Health Scotland in 2025.