Right. Last week I told you about Emma and Haven House, and how saying no to £200,000 turned out to be the smartest decision they ever made.

Now comes the tricky bit: how do you actually make that call when the money’s sitting there and your budget’s looking thin?

Because it’s easy to read a nice story and think “yes, that makes sense.” It’s much harder when you’re staring at a funding opportunity that could solve your financial problems, even if it doesn’t quite fit what you do.

So let’s build you a toolkit. Not a complicated strategic framework that needs a consultant to interpret—just some honest questions that’ll help you spot mission drift before it derails you.