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In my years of working with charities and international development agencies, one truth stands out: problems will arise. Projects fall short. Partnerships collapse. Money gets misspent. Reputations take hits.

It’s not a question of if—it’s when. And how leadership responds makes all the difference.

Many charities fall into one of two traps:
Denial – pretending it isn’t happening
Blame – finding a scapegoat and moving on

Neither response builds resilience. Neither protects the mission.

When things go wrong, the best organisations take a different path. They respond with honesty, accountability, and a clear focus on learning.

In my experience scaling a charity internationally, we faced all kinds of challenges: failed programmes, local partners who did not deliver, funding that dried up mid-cycle. Some of the hardest conversations we had were with our trustees—explaining why things had not worked and what we were doing to fix it.

It taught me that good governance isn’t about avoiding problems—it’s about how we handle them.

Trustees need to be brave enough to ask tough questions without destroying trust. Executives need to be humble enough to admit mistakes early, not bury them. And across the organisation, we need a culture where learning is valued more than blame.

In practice, this means:
- Having clear reporting lines when risks or failures emerge
- Ensuring trustees get full information, not just good news
- Documenting lessons learned—not just ticking the box for the annual report
- Protecting whistleblowers and encouraging internal reporting

The charities that survive and thrive aren’t the ones that never trip up. They are the ones that face reality, act quickly, and rebuild better.

Have you ever been part of a charity that faced a major challenge? How was it handled—and what would you do differently today?

I’d love to hear your stories and reflections.