At MNM Creative, we work alongside charities, community groups, and social enterprises every day. We see the challenges they face up close — the passion, the innovation, and, increasingly, the pressure. What was once a sector built on collaboration and purpose is now being squeezed by a funding model that asks for the impossible: greater outcomes on smaller grants.
The Funding Reality No One Wants to Talk About
Here’s what’s really happening. Organisations apply for grants with a clear project plan and realistic budget. Funders review the application and decide to approve only a portion of the requested amount — but still expect the organisation to deliver every single outcome listed in the original proposal.
It’s the same story across the board. Half the money, all the expectations.
This might look like efficiency on a spreadsheet, but on the ground, it’s unsustainable. You can’t cut budgets and expect delivery to stay the same. When organisations accept these reduced grants (because saying no often means no project at all), they’re signing up for an impossible equation — one that ultimately takes its toll on people and performance alike.
The Hidden Cost: Burnout and Breakdown
Behind the reports and outcome frameworks are real people. Social entrepreneurs, project leads, volunteers, coordinators — all stretching themselves to bridge the gap between limited funding and ambitious targets. It’s not sustainable. Burnout is no longer an exception; it’s becoming the norm.
We’ve seen far too many strong organisations shrink or shut down, not because their work wasn’t needed, but because the system demanded more than they could give. When passion collides with underfunding, something eventually breaks.
The Bigger Picture
This problem runs deeper than individual projects. It’s a systemic issue rooted in how success is measured and how trust is distributed. Funders often want proof of impact before they invest properly — but that thinking traps organisations in a constant state of survival. It’s the equivalent of asking a builder to construct a full house on half a budget and then marking them down when only two rooms are finished.
Time for a New Conversation
We don’t need more short-term wins. We need sustainable partnerships built on honesty, fairness, and shared responsibility. When funders and organisations work collaboratively — shaping realistic budgets, flexible outcomes, and mutual accountability — the impact is stronger, deeper, and more authentic.
At MNM Creative, we’re proud to support organisations that are fighting for change in difficult circumstances. But we also believe it’s time to speak plainly about the pressures in the system. If we keep expecting people to do more with less, we’ll keep losing the very individuals and organisations that hold communities together.
The third sector doesn’t need another round of performance targets.
It needs partnership.