There’s a moment every charity comms person knows too well…when you’re switching from drafting a newsletter, to resizing a poster, to replying to a “can we post this today?” email. Somewhere in between, you’re also updating the website, checking analytics and trying to find a nice caption for a photo you forgot to take.

It’s not burnout exactly… but it’s definitely being the marketing department.

For most small charities, there is no “team”. It’s just one person (or maybe a freelancer) wearing every hat at once. Copywriter. Designer. Strategist. Photographer. Occasional IT support. And while it’s rewarding, it can also be tiring at times because creativity often sits side by side with admin, and you rarely get the time or headspace for both.

The balancing act nobody sees

People often imagine charity communications as a steady flow of colourful posts and heartwarming stories, but behind every campaign hides a lot of planning, chasing, resizing, proofreading and scheduling.

When you’re a team of one, you can’t just “focus on strategy.” You’re also the person making the graphics, testing the email, fixing a broken link, writing the report and responding to a DM that came in on a Sunday.

And yes, you love the work, but the mental load can be heavy. Because if you step back, things stop moving. So the real skill becomes keeping everything moving without losing yourself in the process.

What’s helped me stay (mostly) sane

Over time, I’ve found a few things that genuinely help me a lot:

Batching, not juggling. If I try to do everything at once, nothing gets done properly. Setting aside blocks of time, an hour in the morning for content planning, an afternoon for website updates and so on, helps me feel in control instead of constantly catching up.

Prioritising stories over stats. When things get hectic, I always return to the people. Sharing one good story about someone’s experience will do more than three polished posts ever could.

Setting gentle boundaries. It’s not easy, but I’ve learned to say “Let’s add that to next week’s plan” instead of dropping everything for a last-minute post. The world won’t end, and the content will usually be better for it.

Creating systems that help me breathe. Templates, content boards, shared folders… anything that takes the pressure off my brain to remember every detail. It doesn’t make the workload lighter, but it makes it manageable.

Because when you’re the whole marketing department, the goal isn’t perfection, it’s sustainability.

Finding joy in the chaos

Despite the chaos, I genuinely love this work. There’s something special about being close to the stories, hearing someone’s journey, watching a project come to life and seeing a community benefit from something you helped communicate.

That’s the privilege of small-team comms: you see the direct line between your work and its impact. Every post, photo and newsletter has purpose, and that makes it worth it.

So yes, some days it feels like spinning 10 plates while holding a camera in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. But when I look at what clear, heartfelt communication can do, I’m reminded why I do it.

Over to you

If you’ve ever been the whole marketing department, or even felt like it for a week, I’d love to hear how you keep yourself grounded and creative.

What’s your go-to reset when the workload feels like too much?