The Art of Stupidity
Thoughts from the messy middle of life, work and community.
About
I’m Constance Grayson, a third-sector consultant specialising in grant funding, and an active foster carer from Grimethorpe, South Yorkshire. This blog is where I think out loud about community, work, and the gap between how things are supposed to work and how they actually do. Pull up a chair.
📚 Choose your corner of the mess
| Category | What you’ll find |
| No-Nonsense Nonprofits | Third-sector insights, without the fluff. Tips, templates, rants and relief for anyone wrangling bids, governance or doing good on a shoestring. |
| In the Thick of It | Notes from the chaos of real life and work. Productivity hacks that survive three-hour sleeps, half-finished thoughts and perpetual to-do lists. |
| Things People Said That Stuck | Quotes that got under my skin. Wisdom, provocations and one-liners worth sticking to your mental fridge. |
📦 Practical resources, when you need them
These are the conversations I have with clients every week, written down so you can have them before you need me.
Is a CIC right for you? Five questions before you register Free.
If you’re thinking about setting up a CIC, start here. Five straight questions that will tell you whether it’s the right structure for your organisation, before you commit to anything.
Before You Register — What nobody tells you before you set up a CIC £55
The guide I wish every CIC founder had read before they phoned me. What the registration process actually involves, what goes wrong, and how to avoid the mistakes that are very expensive to fix later.
Where the Funders Actually Are Free.
This free download gives you a practical starting point. A list of the places where funding opportunities actually appear, what each one offers, and what to do when you get there. Free resources, paid databases worth knowing about, and the one rule you need to follow before you apply to anything you find.
New resources added every month.
Browse the full shop at ko-fi.com/theartofstupidity
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Latest Posts
Six Sessions, Some Charcoal, and the Collection I Never Planned to Write
I didn’t go to the session planning to write poetry. I went because one of my kiddos was there, and an adult had to be in the building. What came out of that hour – the charcoal, the rabbit, the words I hadn’t…
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The Cousin Contract: How Ignoring Conflict of Interest Kills Trust
I’ve had two CIC directors sit in front of me after funders clawed back grant money because of exactly this scenario. Neither of them had done anything wrong in the way they understood it. The connected party was cheaper. They were reliable. They…
Keep readingStop Being Stupid Week 6:The Donation Dead-End: The Easiest Money You’ll Ever Lose
Your donation link might be broken right now. You probably don’t know. Most organisations don’t. This week’s stupidity is not glamorous, but it costs real money and in the UK, it costs the Gift Aid on top.
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Someone Put a Lit-Up Gaggar on My Head
Four days in London for a Punjabi wedding. Phulkari made by my mother-in-law, a birth son holding the cloth at the maiyaan, a foster son eating four jalebis before asking what they were. This is just our life. New post on the blog.
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Friday at 5
Look at that sky.
That was Friday at five o’clock. Me, at the bottom of the garden, sausage in hand, face tipped up at whatever that was happening above the rooftops. Kiddo toasting marshmallows. Jatinder doing his caveman thing at the barbecue.
That…
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Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
William James