Annual Conference Sponsors 2026
Our incredible sponsors play a vital role in making the conference possible, from funding workshops and creating resources to supporting the annual awards dinner and much more. Their belief in the importance of this event helps us create something truly special for the sector every year.
Read more below about the fantastic organisations supporting the Visionary Annual Conference 2026.
As a small team, we’re also incredibly grateful to the organisations who have generously given their time to help us deliver the event.
Visionary Members
Galloways
Galloways is one of the leading sight loss charities in the North West, providing practical and emotional support to people living with visual impairment across Lancashire and Sefton. Established in 1867, we a long history of helping blind and partially sighted people live independently, confidently and with dignity.
Galloways offers a wide range of services tailored to the needs of individuals and families affected by sight loss. These include rehabilitation and mobility support, assistive technology advice, peer support groups, children and young people’s services, volunteering opportunities, and hobby groups and wellbeing activities designed to reduce isolation and improve quality of life.
Galloways works closely with local communities, healthcare providers and partner organisations to ensure people with sight loss can access the information, equipment and support they need at every stage of their journey. The charity is also committed to raising awareness of visual impairment and promoting inclusion, accessibility and equal opportunities for all.
As a proud member of Visionary, Galloways values collaboration and shared learning across the sight loss sector, helping to strengthen services and improve outcomes for blind and partially sighted people.
Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans
Sight Scotland is Scotland’s largest sight loss charity. For over 230 years, we have supported people with visual impairment across Scotland. Our services span all ages and stages of sight loss and include the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh, specialist learning services, residential care for children and adults, community support and research funding into sight loss conditions. We also run the Scottish Braille Press which is a leading provider of accessible communication, producing braille, large print, and audio materials to ensure people with visual impairment can access essential information independently.
Alongside our services, we campaign for positive social and political change. A recent success was our Fair Rail Campaign, which secured permanent free rail travel in Scotland for companions of blind people.
Sight Scotland Veterans, founded during the First World War, supports armed forces veterans affected by sight loss. The charity helps veterans regain confidence, restore independence, and make new connections through support at home, in local communities and at our Activity Hubs in West Lothian and Renfrewshire.
Together, our mission is to support, campaign and research for people affected by visual impairment and build a Scotland where everyone, no matter their visual ability, can thrive.
Visit: www.sightscotland.org.uk
Vision Support
Vision Support is a regional charity that stands alongside people with vision impairments across Cheshire, Halton, Flintshire, Wrexham, Conwy, and Denbighshire. Together, we provide comprehensive, person-centred support — from practical, everyday help to specialist services — while challenging the barriers that prevent people from living fully. Because we believe every person with a vision impairment deserves to feel confident, connected, and capable.
National Partners
Guide Dogs UK
Guide Dogs is here to help people with sight loss live the life they choose. Our aim is to level the playing field and create a world where people with sight loss can do what they want, when they want.
We understand that every person’s experience of sight loss is different, and our services reflect that. From the very first enquiry, our experts listen to people’s needs and aspirations, offering tailored advice and support. Beyond our iconic guide dogs, we provide a wide range of services for adults, children and young people, as well as sighted guide training that helps make society more inclusive for people with sight loss.
Together, we’re working towards a future where everyone with sight loss can live independently, confidently and without barriers.
Visit www.guidedogs.org.uk
Macular Society
Macular disease is the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK, with around 300 people diagnosed every day. The Macular Society is determined to beat the fear and isolation of macular disease with world-class research, and the best advice and support.
The Society works in close collaboration with local and regional sight loss organisations, and the members of Visionary, to support people affected by this devastating condition and to beat macular disease, for good. The conference is a great opportunity to share experiences and learn from each other, in order to continue to improve the lives of those living with sight loss.
Visit: www.macularsociety.org
RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People)
The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), is one of the UK’s leading sight loss charities. We offer practical and emotional support to blind and partially sighted people, their families and carers. We raise awareness of the experiences of blind and partially sighted people and campaign for change to make our society more accessible for all. We want to change our world so there are no barriers to people with sight loss.
RNIB is delighted to sponsor and support the Visionary Annual Conference. We wish to build stronger more productive relationships at a local level and are seeking to engage with local sight loss charities to provide more opportunities for blind and partially sighted people and improve equity of access. If you are interested in having a discussion, please do not hesitate to email Richard Craig, International & UK Relations Manager
Visit: www.rnib.org.uk
Thomas Pocklington Trust
Thomas Pocklington Trust are a national sight loss charity led by lived experience, that works together with blind and partially sighted people to drive transformational social change.
From learning to earning and everything along the way, we remove barriers and create opportunities with blind and partially sighted people in education, employment and everyday life.
The voices of blind and partially sighted people shape everything we do. Our UK-wide Sight Loss Councils connect local insights to national impact, ensuring we campaign for the changes that matter. From campaigns such as ‘Give me Access to College’ to ‘Streets For All’, we make sure that lived experience drives lasting impact.
Together, we are confronting stereotypes, creating opportunities and building a society where blind and partially sighted people have the power to shape their own lives – no barriers, no limits, no exceptions.
Find out more about Thomas Pocklington Trust here:
https://www.pocklington.org.uk
Learn more about our UK network of Sight Loss Councils here: https://www.sightlosscouncils.org.uk/
Funders and Corporate Sponsors
Birch Tree Associates
At Birch Tree Associates our mission is to enable organisations, communities, and individuals to realise their potential and effect positive change.
Founded by Matt Lee and Nicky Shaw, we bring over 40 years of combined experience working across voluntary, health, and social care sectors. We support charities, public services and social mission organisations to better understand the environments they work in, make informed decisions, and plan for the future.
We provide research, insight, strategy development, facilitation, coaching and mentoring. Whether supporting a leadership team to develop a new strategy, carrying out research to understand emerging trends, or helping organisations navigate change, we work alongside people to find practical solutions that make a real difference.
We have extensive experience working in the vision impairment sector, and in producing sector insight including our 2025 vision impairment sector insight report; detailed mapping of adult services for Vision Collaborative Scotland; and are currently undertaking a UK sector wide mapping of service and resources for children and young people with vision impairment, on behalf of a leading sector consortia.
Our approach is built on four core values. We are people first, supporting leaders and organisations to grow and develop. We are innovative, turning research and evidence into action. We are inclusive, bringing together different perspectives, experiences and voices. We are reflexive, encouraging collaboration, learning and continuous improvement.
Roche Products Ltd
Roche Products Ltd has provided financial support for this conference but has had no involvement in the content.
Visit: https://www.roche.com/
Specsavers
As the leading provider of optometry services for NHS Primary Care and the largest provider of community audiology services, Specsavers changes lives through better sight and hearing. Each practice is owned and run by experts who care for communities throughout the UK. There are currently more than 2,897 optics, audiology, domiciliary and ophthalmology businesses with more than 46,000 dedicated colleagues worldwide, and this year we have cared for 50 million people.
For more information visit www.specsavers.co.uk
The Powell Family Foundation
The Powell Family Foundation’s mission is to support children, young people and adults who are vision impaired aged 25 and under, to improve their emotional and physical well-being, increase their knowledge and skills, and support their independence through the provision of grants to both individuals and charitable organisations.
Since we began in 2023 we have supported over 20 local sight loss charities to either begin or develop services for children and young people who are vision impaired.
In a new initiative, TPFF together with Fight for Sight and Thomas Pocklington Trust will collectively invest significant amounts in a strategic programme. The aim is to work closely with Guide Dogs, RNIB and Visionary, alongside other local and national organisations, to amplify best practice, and support sustainable and scalable initiatives that will deliver a step change for children and young people who are vision impaired.
A UK wide mapping of services, resources and unmet needs, combined with in-depth work to understand the experiences of children and young people and their families/carers, will create a robust evidence base to inform the programme.
Visit: https://tpff.org.uk/.
Volunteero
Volunteero is a Volunteer Management System that takes care of the entire volunteer experience, in a user-friendly mobile app. From role advertisements to exit surveys, we help organisations recruit, onboard, deploy and retain volunteers with less admin and more insight.
At the heart of Volunteero is a central volunteer and, uniquely, client or beneficiary database, so everyone has a single, searchable record of activity, messages, hours, training and documents. Teams can publish opportunities, collect applications and references, and move people through tailored onboarding journeys with automated updates and reminders. Volunteers love it because everything happens in one place, with push notifications that actually get seen.
Once volunteers are live, missions and shifts make it easy to self-serve, book, check in and out, submit reports and expenses, and stay connected. Our GDPR-compliant, WhatsApp-style in-app chat keeps communication fast, friendly and auditable, while Custom Insights dashboards turn real-time data into funder-ready reporting. You can also advertise roles via your website or our recruitment marketplace to quickly reach new volunteers.
Volunteero plugs into your wider tech stack via API and tools like Zapier, with robust permissions and security built in. When you need us, our support is hands-on, responsive and always included.
Visit: https://volunteero.org/
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You can find out more about becoming a Visionary member on our Eligibility and Pricing page