Philanthropists and fundraisers have vowed to work more closely together to boost charitable giving following a high level Institute of Fundraising (IoF) hosted meeting.

The invitation-only breakfast gathering brought together high net worth donors and leading charity directors of fundraising to talk frankly about their ambitions, help identify potential barriers between philanthropists and good causes and find common ground.

It was convened by the IoF and the Philanthropy Review, a body of philanthropists working to identify evidence and advocate for practical measures to increase giving.

IoF chief xecutive Peter Lewis who chaired the meeting said: “We’ve felt for quite some time that philanthropists and fundraisers need to better understand each others’ point of view. The meeting provided that opportunity and delivered some valuable learning points which will lead to fundraisers and philanthropists working more closely together.”

 Thomas Hughes-Hallett, chair of the Philanthropy Review, welcomed the opportunity: “It is so good to see fundraisers and funders meeting together to explore how we can improve the value and impact of giving.”

Lewis added: “The atmosphere was very positive – people really want to work together. However there was a general feeling that there needs to be more and better asking from good causes. If philanthropists aren’t being engaged with then why should they even consider giving?”

The IoF will now develop a plan of action to build on the outcomes of the meeting and ensure that practical measures are developed to help improve philanthropist-fundraiser relationships.

“If we can get philanthropists and fundraisers properly engaged at the right level then there is no limit to the additional benefit that could be delivered,” said Lewis.

In January the Institute identified itself as “having a role to increase giving more widely” in its proposed five-year strategy, which has since gone out to review. It said it would do this by improving relations with other sector organisations.