Showing Up When It's Hard - Building Resilience as a Trust Fundraiser
Nobody tells you this when you start out in trust fundraising.
The rejections are relentless. Not because your work isn't good enough. Not because you're doing something wrong. But because that's the nature of the work. You’ll apply to more funders than will ever say yes. You’ll put time and care into proposals that go nowhere. You’ll build relationships that don't convert. You’ll have weeks - sometimes months - where nothing seems to land.
But you have to keep going anyway.
That's what resilience looks like in trust fundraising. Not a grand gesture. Not a motivational mindset shift. Just showing up, day after day, even when it's hard.
But showing up sustainably - in a way that doesn't burn you out - takes intention. And that's what I want to talk about.
When the rejections are piling up - step back first
When things aren't working, the instinct is often to push harder. Send more applications. Work longer hours. Try harder.
But in my experience, the most useful thing you can do when rejections are coming thick and fast is the opposite.
Step back. Take stock.
Start by asking honest questions about your applications.
Could someone from outside your team - or even outside your organisation - read through your recent proposals and give you an impartial view? Sometimes we're too close to our own work to see why it might not be landing. A fresh pair of eyes can be genuinely invaluable.
Then look at your alignment. Are you applying to funders where the fit is genuinely strong or have you been casting the net wider than you should in the hope that something sticks or to hit your activity target?
Check your relationships too. How warm are they really? Are there connections that haven't been fully developed yet? Warmer ways in that haven't been explored?
And look at the feedback you've received - even the brief, unhelpful responses. Is there a pattern?
Sometimes the answer is that you've done everything right and it just hasn't been your time. Sometimes there's something to adjust. Either way, stepping back to look clearly is always more useful than pushing harder in the wrong direction.
Looking after yourself is not optional
I want to say this clearly, because it doesn't get said enough in fundraising:
You cannot pour from an empty cup.
The emotional weight of repeated rejection is real. The pressure to hit targets, to justify your pipeline, to keep going when the results aren't coming - it takes a toll. And pretending otherwise doesn't serve anyone.
So here are the things I come back to when it gets hard.
Close your laptop in the evenings and at weekends. Try not to check for outcomes outside your working hours. The rejection will still be there on Monday morning - there's no benefit to finding out on a Sunday night.
Get good sleep. Move your body. Get outside if you can. Eat well - whatever that means for you and what your body needs.
Talk to someone. Not necessarily someone who understands trust fundraising - just someone who listens.
No one should feel alone with this.
And be kind to yourself. You’re working in a genuinely difficult landscape, doing genuinely important work, for causes that matter. That deserves recognition - especially when the results aren't always reflecting the effort you're putting in.
Find your community
One of the most powerful antidotes to the isolation and difficulty of trust fundraising is simply being around people who understand.
Come along to our Let's Chat sessions. Join The Huddle. Talk about how you're feeling - not just the pipeline numbers and the application strategies, but the real experience of doing this work. You'll almost always find that someone else in the” virtual” room is feeling exactly the same way.
And if you don't have someone outside your organisation you can talk to impartially - find one. A peer, a mentor, a trusted colleague from another charity. Someone who can give you perspective when you're too close to see clearly.
When to ask for help — and when to know it's time for a change
Finally — and I say this with genuine care — if it all gets too much, don't hesitate to seek support beyond your professional network.
Fundraising burnout is real. And recognising when you need more support than a peer conversation can provide isn't weakness. It's self-awareness. It's what's best for your mental health.
And if you reach a point where the role itself is no longer sustainable for you - that’s important to acknowledge too. Moving on, taking a break, finding a different kind of role — none of these things are failures. They're choices that put your wellbeing first.
The sector needs good trust fundraisers like you. But it needs them healthy and sustainable, not burned out and depleted.
Resilience isn't about never struggling
Resilience in trust fundraising isn't about never finding it hard. It isn't about maintaining a positive mindset through every rejection. It isn't about being tougher or more stoic or more driven than everyone else.
It's about knowing yourself well enough to recognise when you need to step back, ask for help, look after yourself or change your approach.
It's about building the kind of working life and the kind of community around you, that makes the hard days bearable and the good days genuinely joyful.
Fundraising is about momentum, not perfection. And momentum is built one day at a time.
Keep showing up.
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