The Questions Trust Fundraisers Are Really Asking
Honest Answers to the Things That Come Up Again and Again
After nearly two years of running Let's Chat Trust Fundraising Live sessions, delivering training and working with charities, I’ve noticed that the same questions keep coming up.
Sometimes they come from fundraisers who are just starting out. Sometimes from people who've been doing this for years but have never had anyone to ask. Sometimes they come up in the chat during a session and generate so much discussion that I wish we'd had another hour.
I want to answer some of them properly. Honestly, practically and without judgement. Because there really is no such thing as a silly question in trust fundraising. There are just questions that haven't been answered yet, or asked!
Here are seven of the ones that come up most often.
Should I call it an executive summary or just an opening paragraph?
Both can work. But they're not the same thing and the distinction matters.
An opening paragraph can be anything. An introduction to your organisation. A powerful quote. A case study that draws the reader in. All of those have their place. But none of them are guaranteed to pass the skim test.
An executive summary is different not just in name, but in purpose.
By calling it an executive summary you're signalling something important to whoever picks up your application. You're telling them: everything you need to know is right here. The need. The solution. The impact. The ask. In one place. Easy to find.
Because here's the reality. Your application may be read by a busy administrator who needs to summarise it for trustees who may only ever see a snapshot. If you leave it to them to decide what to highlight you've lost control of your own narrative.
An executive summary puts that control back in your hands. It's your words. Your priorities. Your case - presented exactly as you want it to be seen.
I once had a conversation with a funder's administrator - a funder who went on to support us - who told me how helpful our executive summary had been. It had saved them time summarising our application themselves.
Does your Executive Summary approach change for a warm trust?
Absolutely.
For a cold trust your executive summary is doing a lot of heavy lifting. It's introducing you, establishing credibility, demonstrating alignment and making the ask all at once.
For a warm trust, one where you already have a relationship, where they may have funded you before, your executive summary can do something even more powerful. It can reestablish the connection.
Acknowledge their past support. Show them what's been achieved together and why there's more to do.
Something like: "With your generous support last year we were able to... and this year we'd like to build on that by..."
You're not starting from scratch. You're continuing a conversation.
And your executive summary should feel like that.
How many pages should a grant application be?
It used to be that the hard and fast rule was two sides of A4. Maximum.
And honestly? I'd still recommend aiming for two pages where you can. It forces clarity. It makes you prioritise. It respects the funder's time.
But the reality is that some projects are more complex, some funders expect more detail and sometimes two pages simply isn't enough to make a compelling case. In those situations, I'd say three - maybe four - pages is reasonable. But only if every section is earning its place.
Ask yourself: is this easy to read? Does each section contain everything the funder needs to know but in a succinct, purposeful way? Is there anything here that could be cut without losing something important?
If you do go beyond two pages, consider putting your budget or a case study on page three rather than squeezing it into the main narrative. That keeps the proposal itself tight while giving the funder the additional detail they need.
Two pages if you can. Three if you must. And always – always - make every word count.
How much should I ask for?
This is one of the questions I hear most often - and it has two parts.
First: how much do you actually need?
Start there. What does the project genuinely cost? Can elements be broken down into specific parts - pieces of equipment, staff time, a cost per head or cost per intervention? Breaking costs down makes them feel tangible and specific rather than like a round number pulled from thin air.
Second: what is this funder likely to give?
Some trusts are really clear about their funding envelope - they'll state a maximum grant level, sometimes depending on the size of your organisation or the cost of the project. Read the guidelines carefully.
If it isn't stated - look at their accounts. How much have they typically awarded to organisations or projects like yours? What's their average grant level? Their accounts, which are publicly available on the Charity Commission website, can give you really useful clues.
And should you ask for the full amount - or a smaller ask that feels more likely?
My honest answer is: ask for what you need. Don't undersell your project or artificially reduce your ask in the hope it makes you more fundable. Funders can tell when a budget doesn't add up and an ask that doesn't reflect the true cost of the work can actually undermine your credibility.
That said - if a funder's typical grant level is significantly lower than your full project cost, it's worth thinking about whether you can apply for a specific element of the project rather than the whole thing. Partial funding is legitimate and many funders are comfortable with it - as long as you're clear about how the rest will be funded.
How do you make the case for core costs?
Two of the hardest asks in trust fundraising. And for good reason.
Most trusts prefer restricted projects or specific items. They want to fund something tangible, something they can point to and say "we funded that." Which means core costs - the staff, the infrastructure, the systems that make everything else possible - often get overlooked.
The key is reframing.
Instead of: "We need £30,000 for staff salaries."
Try: "With £30,000 we can deliver mental health support to 150 young people over the next year."
Same cost. Completely different picture.
Use language that resonates - "infrastructure", "capacity building", "scaling impact" - rather than "overheads" or "admin." And make sure the connection between the cost and the impact is explicit. Funders need to be able to see, clearly and immediately, what their money makes possible.
I've written a full blog on turning core costs into fundable projects which goes into much more detail.
What about unrestricted funding?
Unrestricted funding is where relationships really matter.
Many funders prefer to support something specific first - a project, a clear outcome, something tangible. But when you've built a strong relationship over time, proved your worth and demonstrated that you're a safe pair of hands - the unrestricted conversation becomes possible.
A client I work with was recently awarded an unrestricted grant after building a genuine relationship with a funder over several years. The funder is usually geographically restricted but made an exception because the trust was there. They knew this organisation, they believed in their work, and they were confident their funding would be used wisely.
That's what unrestricted funding is really about. Not the ask - the relationship that makes the ask possible.
Impact or outcomes - does the distinction matter?
Honestly? I'm not sure there's a meaningful difference between the two.
But I do think the word matters.
"Outcomes" can feel like sector jargon - something from a monitoring framework or a logic model.
"Impact" feels human. It feels like something that matters. And in my experience, funders respond to it better.
So wherever possible - use impact. Not just as a word, but as a mindset. Not what will happen as a result of your project but what will change. What will be different. Whose life will be better, and how.
The shift from activity to impact is one of the most important things a trust fundraiser can make in their proposals. And it starts with the language you choose.
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