In this SHORT episode of Purposely, we’re back with fundraising strategist Craig Pollard – on mission creep, funding models, and why confidence might be the most underrated tool in the sector.

Craig opens with a candid look at mission creep – that drift that happens when organisations become a flag in the wind, chasing sustainability instead of staying anchored to purpose. It’s a pattern he sees often, and one that’s easy to rationalise in the moment but costly in the long run.

He makes a compelling case for discomfort. Nothing great happens when everyone is comfortable. The best nonprofit leadership has tension in it – between boards and chief executives, between ambition and accountability. It’s something Craig deliberately brings to his work, and he’s unapologetic about it.

On funding models, Craig is refreshingly direct. Diversification sounds simple but it’s not – it can happen within a single donor, across donor types, by geography, or by income stream. The real question is: what does your future funding model need to achieve, and do you have the strategy and internal capability to get there?

And underneath all of it: confidence. Craig sees a lot of organisations judging themselves far too harshly. When that shifts – when a team understands its own value – things move fast. He shares the story of a girls’ empowerment project in Nepal that went from stuck to building corporate partnerships and international relationships within 16 weeks. Mindset first, strategy second.

Key themes

• Mission creep and the danger of chasing funding over purpose

• Discomfort and tension as healthy forces in nonprofit leadership

• The real complexity behind funding diversification

• Understanding why your funders fund you

• Confidence as the foundation for building better funding relationships

• Moving from dependency to a strategic future funding model

This episode of Purposely is brought to you by Benevity and Trust Investments.