I think as funders we can easily forget that our funding is usually 1 part of a complex puzzle. Whatever requirements we place on organisations are multiplied many times over by all the other requirements. A recent email was a stark reminder of just how difficult we can make it

We are a bit player in a major capital project for this org. To pull it off ambition on this scale takes 66 individual grants & loans. Our 6 pages might not seem much but added to all the other, different requirements, that's 2000 hrs of work to apply for & administer funding

I don't know how to fix this entirely. None of it is created with bad intent. But I know why community organisations are exhausted and frustrated, particularly in light of the lengths they have gone to during this pandemic to support their communities @peoplesbiz