Good news on Trust funding — but is it the whole story?

Some genuinely encouraging sector data landed this month. Here's how to make the most of it — and why it's worth looking beyond the headlines. 
 
If you work in trust fundraising, you might have seen the two reports Granted Giving published this month. If you haven't, they're worth a look — they've done a serious piece of work, analysing over 20,000 UK grant-makers and producing some of the most detailed data on the sector we've seen in a while. 
 
The top line is encouraging. UK grant-makers distribute around £17.3 billion a year, and despite the sector losing 818 net funders since 2020, the overall pot has actually grown — by an estimated £379–526 million annually. New funders tend to be larger than the ones that closed, so in expenditure terms at least, this looks like consolidation rather than decline. 
 
That's genuinely good news, and I don't want to dismiss it. But after spending some time with the data — and thinking about the conversations I have with trust fundraisers week in, week out — I think it's worth sitting with a few questions before you take the headlines at face value. 
 
The numbers tell us a lot about the funding landscape. They can't tell us what it feels like to be working in it right now 
 
The data is supply-side — and that matters 
Both reports measure the funder side of the equation really well: how many funders exist, how much they spend, which causes they support. What they can't measure is demand — how many applications funders are receiving, and whether success rates are going up or down. 
 
That gap feels significant right now. AI writing tools have made it faster and easier to submit applications, which likely means funder inboxes are fuller than ever — without any increase in the grants available. And with statutory funding, contracts and individual giving all under pressure, more charities have shifted their focus towards trusts. The same pot, chased by more people. That dynamic doesn't show up anywhere in the data. 
 
It doesn't mean the positive numbers are wrong. It does mean they might not reflect the experience of the fundraiser sitting down to write their tenth application this month. 
 
The picture varies a lot depending on your cause 
One of the most useful things in the Granted Giving data is the thematic breakdown — because the overall picture hides some really significant differences between sectors. 
 
Disability is a genuine bright spot, with nearly 24% of new funders listing it as a theme. But health and overseas aid are heading in the opposite direction. Health funder expenditure is growing, which sounds positive — but that growth is coming from existing funders getting larger, not new ones entering the space.  The data shows that fewer new funders are choosing health as a cause. Overseas aid has seen an even sharper drop in new funders, falling from 15.6% of closed funders to just 1.5% of new ones. 
 
For fundraisers in those areas, the current funding levels may feel stable — but the long-term pipeline is thinning. That's worth building into your thinking now, not later. 

The question isn't just how much money is out there. It's how much of it is available for causes like yours — and whether that share is growing or shrinking. 
 
What to actually do with this information! 
None of this is cause for alarm. But it is cause for being a bit more precise about how you use sector data in your planning. A few things I'd encourage: 

• Look at your sector specifically, not just the overall picture. Where your cause sits in the thematic data matters far more than the headline £17.3bn figure. 

• Prioritise single-theme funders. 42.7% of funders exclusively back one cause area — and these tend to be your strongest prospects, because you're only competing within your own space. 

• Be honest about competition. The reports show that charities per funder ranges from under 3 (armed forces) to over 31 (recreation). If you're in a high-competition sector, your pipeline strategy needs to reflect that. 

• Set targets that reflect reality, not sector-wide optimism. If your income forecasts are built on headline growth figures without adjusting for your specific cause area, they may create pressure that was always going to be hard to meet. 

The good news is real — just read it carefully 
The sector hasn't collapsed. Funding has grown. There are more substantial funders out there than there were five years ago, and for some causes the landscape is genuinely improving. The Granted Giving reports are a real contribution to how we understand this space. 
 
But the fundraisers I see doing well right now are the ones who read data like this with curiosity rather than relief. They use it to ask better questions about their own pipeline — not to confirm that everything is fine. 
 
Use the data to make smarter decisions. Just don't use it as a reason to stop asking hard ones. 
 
This post draws on the Granted Giving Complete Trusts Landscape Report 2026 and State of UK Grant-Making 2026, both published in March 2026. Well worth reading in full.