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Fund Raising Realities and Strategies:
Lessons Learnt at the NGO Cafe
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Hari Srinivas |
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Continuing Research Series E-053. June 2015.
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| What is the NGO Cafe?
Realizing the growing importance and voice of NGOs in development, the NGO CafEwas set up on the internet as a meeting place for NGOs to discuss, debate and disseminate information on their work, strategies and results.
The objectives of the NGO Cafe are:
- To assist NGOs in enhancing and improving their programmes and activities
- To effect a better understanding of NGOs in general
- To enable NGOs to network at local, regional and international levels, horizontally and vertically
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The NGO Cafe regularly receives requests for funds and assistance in finding donors, and funding sources. While the Cafe and GDRC itself does not have funds for disbursement for NGO activities, the queries received, and the responses sent, has enabled it to record a number of realities and strategies in NGO Fund Raising. This document shares some of the lessons learnt.
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| The Reality |
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Easier to get money for one event than for a sustained long-term programme
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| The Strategy |
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Develop a comprehensive long-term programme, but break it into smaller chunk sized bits to seek funding for each part, from the same or sometimes different sources
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| The Reality |
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More and more NGOs are seeking more money from traditional funding sources
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| The Strategy |
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Develop a more diversified range of donors who can provide different amounts at different points of a programme/project's implementation. Seek both local as well as overseas donors.
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| The Reality |
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Many donors are providing much less money than required, or simply do not have enough
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| The Strategy |
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A diversified fund-raising programme is very important. An interesting thumb-rule - closer the donor, smaller the amount. A person walking on the street in your town may provide only small change that he currently has in his pocket. But a more 'distant' person or organization may provide more funding.
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| The Reality |
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There are many conditions and terms imposed on funds provided by most donors that may restrict its use
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| The Strategy |
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Understand the need for these conditions/terms by looking at it from the donors' perspective; ensure that you have communicated your needs very clearly - the who, how, why and when; try to find a middle ground in negotiating with the donor - satisfy their needs without sacrificing your own.
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| The Reality |
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Technical knowledge and information (especially through consultants) is very expensive and takes up much of a funding request.
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| The Strategy |
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Try to seek in-kind contributions from experts, especially from a corporation or company. This puts them in a good light, and enables them to be community-friendly. This can be done in the form of advice, work-time, equipment use etc. Note that this is different from a 'donation'. The relationship between the NGO and the expert is longer and stronger.
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| The Reality |
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Misdeeds and fraud by some NGOs taint the sector as a whole, creating mistrust and misunderstanding
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| The Strategy |
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Get out of the 'charity' angle. Develop clear professionalism among the staff members. Always be willing to provide info on the NGO's goals and objectives, as well as programmes. Get third party organizations to write about the programme and projects. Keep good relations with the media, and cultivate spokespersons among the staff members.
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| The Reality |
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Donors based in high-income, OECD countries cannot, and will not, provide funds to smaller NGOs.
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| The Strategy |
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Where possible, bring together a coalition of partners - of other NGOS, universities, research institutions, etc. who contribute different expertise and knowledge, and larger target areas and beneficiary communities.
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| The Reality |
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Sometimes it is so difficult to find a donor who is willing to finance a specific programme or project.
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| The Strategy |
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Look in other places. Sometimes a local businessman or company may be willing to help - only if and when asked! Seek funding from 'non-traditional' sources that may exist in your own backyard.
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| The Reality |
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It takes so much time, effort and money itself to find and secure funding
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| The Strategy |
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All staff members of an NGO should spend part of their time in fund raising - each catering to different aspects of the process - writing proposals, finding and networking with donors, negotiating, writing reports etc.
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| The Reality |
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Fund raising activities need skills and knowledge to be effective and successful - which most NGOs do not have
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| The Strategy |
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Creating NGO Networks, NGO service centers, information kiosks etc. help in pooling and developing the knowledge and skills needed for this purpose.
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| The Reality |
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NGOs, in many cases, are in competition with each other to seek and find funds
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| The Strategy |
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Try to find the differences and uniqueness of your own programme/projects. What new approach have you used? Usually, each NGO services a different aspect or a different community - with rare overlap. Develop a 'bigger picture' with other NGOs that illustrates comprehensive and diverse package of services and projects.
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But in the end, look at yourself. Try to put yourself in the shoes of the donor. Why should he/she give you funds? Do you have a good programme that is unique, different and creative? Have you leveraged local resource to supplement and enhance the funds you seek? Do you have good staff members and volunteer expertise to implement the programme? Is your target community well identified and defined? Why do you need to work with them? What gap are you filling?
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