Why is funding wellbeing important? We surveyed organisations who received a wellbeing award last year to help them prioritise the wellbeing of their staff and volunteers. We're pleased to share the findings. Shemain Wahab, Esmée's Impact Support Manager also shares her reflections on this work.
Compassionate, inclusive, people-centred workplaces - ones where staff feel supported and valued - are more resilient, less susceptible to staff absence and burnout, and have better staff retention and sustainability, according to the findings from our wellbeing survey. This is especially true for organisations most vulnerable to external pressures, such as those that are smaller, where a significant proportion of staff have lived experience relevant to their mission, organisations led by and for, and those focused on migrant, gender, and racial justice.
What is wellbeing, and why does it matter?
It’s important not to confuse wellbeing with “wellness” culture. Our survey demonstrates that wellbeing isn’t just a feel-good concept - it’s essential for organisational resilience.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) 2014 definition describes personal wellbeing as "how satisfied we are with our lives, our sense that what we do in life is worthwhile, our day to day emotional experiences (happiness and anxiety) and wider mental wellbeing". This definition underscores the importance of wellbeing for us as individuals, and as employees.
Why should funders support wellbeing?
Organisations are facing relentless pressures: a hostile socio-political climate, declining funding from government and corporate sources, lasting impacts of COVID-19, increased demand for services, staff shortages, and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. These challenges have led to increasing reports of burnout and declining wellbeing among staff in organisations across our strategy.
While crisis support is essential in dealing with these pressures, many organisations in our sectors operate in a constant state of crisis. Long-term wellbeing funding holistically strengthens organisations and their teams, helping them withstand burnout, trauma, and external challenges while allowing them to flourish in their roles. Ultimately, this benefits not just the organisations themselves, but the communities, causes, and whole sectors we support.
What does wellbeing support look like?
Our survey results highlight the importance of activities that foster connection and care, with each organisation tailoring its approach to suit its unique needs and ways of working. Wellbeing activities ranged from classic away days and time for reflection, to personal wellbeing budgets and clinical supervision. Some organisations set aside funds so staff could access counselling or coaching, while others prioritised opportunities for rest and connection, like holding team lunches or simply making space for colleagues to check in with one another. There’s no single blueprint, just a commitment to building workplaces where people are truly cared for.
At Esmée, spending time together outside of our usual work routines helps promote staff wellbeing. Activities like annual away days and team-building activities help deepen working relationships and strengthen our commitment to the work we support. But we know from staff surveys that there is more that we can do to address the deeper, systemic challenges affecting staff wellbeing. Meaningful progress requires us to go beyond superficial efforts and genuinely listen to what our staff have to say. We have since begun to explore other ways we can support staff wellbeing – reviewing our Employee Assistance Programme, as well as other resources tailored to challenges identified.
While many of us at Esmée have lived experience relevant to our mission, our roles don’t expose us to the same level of risks faced by frontline organisations. Prioritising wellbeing should be a value that underpins all aspects of our work.
How should funders support wellbeing?
In addition to asking organisations about their financial resilience, governance, diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, and safeguarding, we could routinely ask: What do you need to do this work, safely, sustainably, and with care?
The survey highlights six recommendations for funders:
- Provide long-term, ring-fenced funding for wellbeing, not just during crises
- Treat wellbeing as a core cost
- Provide unrestricted multi-year grants with an annual wellbeing component
- Reflect wellbeing in funder behaviour and practice
- Offer guidance on effective and sustainable wellbeing strategies
- Provide access to wellbeing practitioners, mentoring, courses, retreats, or healthcare packages
Read the full report to learn more how the wellbeing award was used, its impact and organisations current wellbeing concerns.
What next?
Since 2024, we’ve proactively offered 38 wellbeing awards totalling £244,470 in response to challenging events like the Supreme Court ruling on biological sex, race riots, and the growing far-right threat. We will continue to offer wellbeing support to organisations we fund, but our survey raises several questions for the future:
- Should wellbeing awards be included in grant funding? Feedback reveals tension between unrestricted and ring-fenced funding - core funding is essential but can be hard to prioritise for wellbeing purposes.
- Who should get wellbeing support, when, and how often? Should support be distributed by sector, work area, or prioritised and offered regularly, or only in response to specific events?
- Currently, wellbeing support is offered reactively or upon request. How can we ensure equitable access to wellbeing support for everyone who needs it?
It’s clear that supporting wellbeing isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s vital for the health, sustainability, and impact of the organisations we work with. By making wellbeing a core part of funding strategies, we can help organisations build resilience, nurture their teams, and create lasting change.
So, how can funders ensure a wellbeing culture is embedded in our practice and in the organisations we support? We would love to hear from you. Send us an email to communications@esmeefairbairn.org.uk.
