You are likely operating close to the edge of your capacity, responding to what is in front of you rather than shaping what comes next. You might feel busy, stretched, and slightly stuck, even though you are doing everything you can.
You are likely moving fast, making decisions under pressure, and postponing big picture strategy. Not because you don't value it, but because there never seems to be time.
When organisations end up in Firefighting Mode, it is usually because pressure has been building faster than capacity.
Short term funding, increasing demand, fewer places to turn when something falls through... and then decisions start getting made closer and closer to deadlines. Those decisions get less nuanced, and often less good. Thinking time, and 'being strategic', becomes the thing that is always postponed.
At I.G., we see this a lot right now. Across organisations of different sizes and causes, with good teams, doing heavy work, carrying more risk than is visible from the outside.
We hear from our clients that fundraising has become just about getting through the next quarter, then the next. From the inside, Firefighting Mode can often feel like constant sprinting without much traction.
You are definitely busy. Things are definitely happening. But if the results aren't matching the effort, it is hard to lift your head far enough from your desk to decide what really matters, let alone do the tricky work of changing course.
Strategy starts to feel like something you will come back to when things calm down. But things rarely calm down on their own.
Firefighting Mode has a way of narrowing our field of vision. Everything feels urgent, important, and stressful. It makes it very hard to distinguish between activity that keeps you afloat and activity that actually shifts the underlying situation.

On the surface, your fundraising may feel like it is working! Income might be coming in (perhaps even big flagship grants), key funders may feel committed and supportive, and your donor relationships likely feel like there is a lot of trust in both directions.
From the outside, this looks like a good place to be. But from the inside, it can feel precarious.
In organisations like this, a lot of fundraising success tends to sit with a small number of people. This can look like relationships being held by a handful of (or in some cases, one!) leaders, knowledge living in individual heads, and decisions being made informally. Context is often shared in conversations rather than stored in systems.
This usually happens because an organisation values trust, care, and long-term relationships, and those values have genuinely paid off.
However, over time, reliance on a few key relationships introduces serious risk.
If someone leaves or becomes unwell, or a funder’s priorities shift, or the wider funding environment gets turbulent (!), precarity can tip into existential risk quite quickly.
At I.G., we see this a lot right now. Organisations with strong reputations, good values, and committed supporters, AND more fragility than is immediately visible. Fundraising works because of specific people, which can make it hard to step back and codify (and then replicate) what is actually driving that success.
From the inside, Reliance Mode can feel like holding everything together through goodwill. You know what works, but it isn't always written down. Decisions are often right, but hard to explain or teach to new starters. There is a fear that if something changed, it would all feel much harder, very quickly.
Fundraising strategy can feel awkward here. Too much structure can feel like it might damage the relationships you care about. But too little structure leaves the organisation exposed. Often, this means strategy gets postponed, softened, or kept deliberately light.
In our work, however, we find the opposite is true.
Clear strategy and process, done well, protects relationships rather than undermining them. It makes success less dependent on any one person, and more resilient to change.
The risk is how much weight those few relationships are being asked to carry, and what happens if they buckle.

You are likely trying to keep a lot of plates spinning at once: multiple funding sources, multiple techniques, and multiple priorities.
It might feel like the sensible thing to do in an uncertain environment. We are often told that diversification is safety, that we shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket. But if you don't have the staff to carry five baskets, you risk dropping them all.
You might feel stretched, tired, and stuck. You might not be getting the results you want, despite doing a huge amount.
When organisations end up here, it is usually because the pressure to diversify has outpaced the capacity to resource it. Maybe opportunities come along and it feels risky to say 'no', or different funders want different things so you split yourself to meet every expectation. Over time, even with the best intentions, focus gets diluted.
At I.G., we see this a lot right now. Organisations with strong values, capable teams, and plenty of activity, but not enough space to make clear, strategic choices about where to place their energy. Fundraising becomes busy rather than directional, and progress feels slower than it should, given the effort being put in.
From the inside, Overload Mode can feel like constantly reacting. Switching between priorities, chasing momentum in several places at once. Work is definitely getting done, but it is hard to tell which activities are actually moving the organisation forward, and which are just keeping everything feeling busy but leading to diminishing returns.
Fundraising strategy really starts to feel slippery here. You know focus matters, but narrowing down feels risky. So, typically, people keep going. They keep adding more 'stuff' rather than choosing or removing, crossing their fingers that a breadth of approaches will create stability.
In our work, however, we find that breadth without clarity of strategy often creates more strain on an organisation, and on its people.
A good fundraising strategy is not about doing everything. It is about choosing what to do, and what to stop, in a way that actually supports the organisation and mission you are trying to sustain.

You likely have a clear sense of where you are trying to go, and your mission is well articulated. There may already be a strategy document, or at least a shared fundraising direction that feels coherent. But you might not be seeing the traction you expect or want.
From the inside, this mode feels really frustrating. You know what good fundraising looks like. You have stated the moves you want to make. Yet capacity, timing, or external conditions keep getting in the way.
Progress feels slower than it should, given the quality of leadership and staff, and the clarity you feel you have.
When organisations end up here, it is often because the context has shifted faster than the structures around them. Funding has become more competitive, risk appetite has tightened, and costs have increased. So even strong strategies start to feel harder to execute.
At I.G., we see this a lot right now. Organisations that are doing many things well, but are operating in conditions that limit their room to manoeuvre. The strategy makes sense, but it hasn't quite translated into the momentum or income stability it was meant to.
Constraint Mode can feel like pushing against invisible resistance. It can feel like your organisation is capable of more, if only the conditions allowed it. You might find yourself wondering if your fundraising strategy needs refining or revisiting to add more detail, analysis or ideas.
We find that the solution is actually less about new ideas, and more about pressure-testing, prioritisation, and support.
Organisations in this mode need to understand which parts of the strategy will really move the dial in constrained conditions, and which parts may need to be let go of (at least for now).

Congrats! You are likely operating with clarity about what you are trying to achieve, and how fundraising contributes to that direction. You might still feel stretched at times, but decisions are more often shaped by intention than urgency. There is a sense of direction, even when the environment shifts.
You are likely making conscious trade-offs, choosing where to focus, and saying no when something does not align. Not because you have endless capacity, but because your priorities are clear enough to guide behaviour.
When organisations are in Strategic Resilience Mode, it is usually because they have invested time in alignment and honest reflection. Goals are grounded in capacity. Roles and responsibilities are understood. Income sources are strong enough, and diversified enough, to avoid constant panic.
At I.G., we see this less often than we would like. Across organisations of different sizes and causes, those in Strategic Resilience Mode are not immune to pressure, but they simply respond to it differently.
From the inside, it can feel steady rather than frantic. Busy, but purposeful. There is space to step back and ask whether the current effort matches the longer-term ambition.
Strategy is not a document that gathers dust, instead it shapes conversations, informs trade-offs and helps leadership explain and defend choices.
Strategic Resilience means that when something (internal or external) wobbles, the organisation does not lose its footing.

How resilient is your fundraising?

Firefighter Mode

Reliance Mode

Overload Mode

Constraint Mode

Strategic Resilience