Funding relationships can create valuable opportunities, but they may also introduce pressures relating to reporting, outcomes, timelines, or expectations around scale and visibility. Practitioners sometimes feel pressure to frame projects in ways that appear more linear, scalable, or successful than reality permits.

One reflection for practitioners involves how to communicate ambition, uncertainty, and limitations in ways that feel credible and aligned with project values. Clear articulation of both achievements and limitations can strengthen credibility over time and help establish more realistic expectations.

When communicating with funders, it may be useful to consider:

• what forms of impact are genuinely meaningful;

• what evidence can realistically be demonstrated;

• where uncertainty or limitations exist;

• how participation, community priorities, and meaningful engagement are being protected.

Strong funder relationships are often built through trust and transparency rather than overstated claims.

Click here to go to the next page