How to Make Core Costs Fundable: The Reframing Approach
What are core costs in charity fundraising?
Core costs (the salaries, rent, IT systems and management roles that keep a charity running) are the very things that make life-changing work possible but are often the hardest costs to fund because funders struggle to connect emotionally with a budget line.
Reframing core costs as fundable projects is not about being clever with language. It is about being honest about how your infrastructure enables your front-line work, and presenting that honestly to funders in terms they care about. Here is how to do it.
Why funders overlook core costs, and why that is a problem you can solve
Many funders are looking for tangible, visible impact. They want to know their money will make a real difference. When they see the word “admin” or “overheads,” they often see a black hole—not a life changed.
But the truth is, your core costs can support your impact.
Without the right infrastructure, people, and systems in place, none of the front-line delivery is possible.
So, the challenge isn’t that your core costs aren’t fundable—it’s that they need to be repositioned.
How to reframe core costs as fundable projects: three practical shifts
We go into this in detail in our on-demand webinars, but here are three quick tips to get you started:
1. Shift from Expenses to Outcomes
Instead of saying: "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."
A hospice might reframe a clinical nurse specialist's salary as "£35,000 funds a year of free end-of-life care visits for 40 families."
A youth charity could turn IT infrastructure costs into "this investment lets 200 young people access our online counselling service safely."
An arts organisation might present venue running costs as "this keeps our doors open for 5,000 school children to experience live theatre for the first time."
Notice how the outcome changes depending on what the funder cares about. A health-focused trust wants to hear about clinical reach. A funder focused on social mobility wants numbers and access. Match the outcome to their priorities, not just to what the money technically pays for, and the same budget line can be honestly reframed several different ways.
2. Use Funders’ Language
“Core costs” can feel dry and distant. Different funders respond to different framing, so it's worth having more than one term ready.
An organisation wanting to support grassroots delivery, could respond well to "capacity building" and "organisational resilience". Both signal you're investing in the charity's ability to keep serving its community, which fits how these funders see their role.
Grant makers interested in scale and strategy might respond better to "infrastructure investment" or "enabling costs". These terms frame the spend as a deliberate strategic choice rather than a running expense, which matches how bigger funders evaluate applications.
There's no single correct term. The point is to read the funder's own language, in their guidelines, annual report, past grants and website, and mirror it back. A funder who talks about "strengthening the sector" will respond to "capacity building" faster than to "overheads", even when you're describing the same cost.
3. Tell a Story
Funders connect with people, not spreadsheets so tell the story of someone you’ve helped.
Before: "£12,000 for a part-time bereavement counsellor."
After: "When Sarah's husband died suddenly, she didn't know how to tell their two children. Our bereavement counsellor sat with her for six sessions, helping her find the words. Eight months on, Sarah says her children finally feel able to talk about their dad. £12,000 funds a year of sessions like these, for families who'd otherwise have nowhere to turn."
The figure hasn't changed. What's changed is whether the funder can picture what it buys. The "before" version asks them to value a job title, while the "after" version asks them to value a family who has been able to grieve, and trust them to draw the obvious connection back to the money.
Why this matters now and what it costs charities who do not do it
With competition for funding fiercer than ever, charities can’t afford to leave their core costs off the table—or write them in a way that funders skip over. Reframing these costs isn’t about being clever—it’s about being clear, strategic, and confident in the impact your entire organisation delivers.
Make your applications more compelling
Our free Proposal Matrix helps you build a stronger case for any project — including the ones that feel hard to frame. Download it free.