SHORT 'Why Income Is the Wrong Place to Start' Craig Pollard founder CEO Fundraising Radicals

In this SHORT episode of Purposely, we’re back with fundraising strategist Craig Pollard – and this time he’s asking a question that most of the sector is too busy to sit with: what is enough? Craig opens by naming something that rarely makes it into funding conversations: wellbeing. He works alongside people carrying enormous weight – Afghan exiles, communities under pressure, leaders navigating impossible situations – and he’s clear that the sector often measures and incentives the wrong things. His reframe is: rather than being well-funded, be well and funded. He shares a story from the Joseph Heller obituary that stops you in your tracks. Heller – author of Catch-22 – was once asked how it felt to know a wealthy hedge fund owner earned more in a single day than Heller had made in lifetime book sales. His response? “I have one thing he’ll never have. Enough.” For Craig, this isn’t just a good anecdote. It’s foundational to how nonprofits should think about funding, growth, and impact. On funding strategy, Craig challenges the dominant logic. Most fundraising conversations start with income – which, he argues, is entirely the wrong place to begin. His three-eyes framework – Impact, Investment, Income – reorients everything. Start with impact. Be honest about what you’ve invested. Then income follows naturally, because you’re no longer asking for money – you’re inviting co-investors into something they care about. Craig also challenges the idea of unrestricted funding –bluntly, he says it doesn’t exist. All money has motivation, strings, or designation attached. What organisations can do is move up the quality ladder: from project-level funding, to programme-level funding, to purpose-level funding. That shift takes three to five years, requires strategic clarity, and sometimes means reducing your project funding first. It’s uncomfortable – and it’s exactly right. And a note of caution for those dreaming of a transformational grant: Craig has seen organisations receive MacKenzie Scott-level funding and fall over because they weren’t ready for it.Purpose-level funding doesn’t solve problems – it shifts the type of problem.The transition has to be deliberate, careful, and well-supported. •       Wellbeing and the real cost of the funding treadmill•       Being well and funded – not just well-funded•       ‘Enough’ as a strategic and philosophical foundation•       The three-eyes framework: Impact → Investment → Income•       Why unrestricted funding is a myth – and what to pursue instead