The Charities Aid Foundation has launched a series of workshops to help UK philanthropists “maximise the positive impact of their charitable donations”.

Running from 6 October to 8 December the five workshops will advise major donors on key topics including trends in philanthropy and “capital for good”.

The free workshops are being run following "anecdotal research" from meetings with trusts and various other CAF relations that showed that people are looking for more help with philanthropy - to know which charities are the best for them and how to go about it, said CAF spokesman James Ketchell.

Lesley Pimm, senior client manager for private clients at CAF, who manages over £40m of charitable funds for the organisation, will be running the workshops. She said: “The philanthropic world can sometimes seem complex and daunting and it’s often difficult to know where to start.

“These workshops will, in an informative yet relaxing setting, enable attendees to better understand how they can make a difference, and perhaps introduce them to new ways to help charities.”

The launch also follows several recent calls to boost philanthropy, including that of Adrian Sargeant, Professor of Fundraising at Indiana University who called for a new government body to reinstate a giving campaign and culture minister Ed Vaizey who emphasized the need for philanthropy for the arts.

One of the workshops “Transform philanthropy through art” will feature two key speakers, Harvey Mendelson and Alexandre de Prat I Pont, art advisors from leading international art advisory firm 1858 Ltd.