Despite these challenges, pursuing foundation funding
can be well worth the effort. This guide will help you
understand some of the basic principles of fundraising
and introduce you to a variety of donors and gift types.
It will also provide you with some guidelines on how to
determine if you qualify for funding and how to apply
for grants. This knowledge will equip you to analyze your
own situation and your local context, and figure out the
best options available for your organization.
you may build a relationship with a women’s giving
circle that makes annual contributions to your
organization and also introduces you to Fair Trade
companies that feature your products.
WHAT ARE “PROSPECTS”?
Once you have identified how much money you need
to raise, the next step is to find donors to fulfill those
needs. Prospects are potential donors, organizations, or
people who could give your organization money in the
future. Developing a list of potential donors, known
in fundraising terminology as a “prospect pipeline,” is
crucial to developing a good fundraising plan.
Don’t be intimidated or discouraged by the complex
fundraising environment. Start by developing the most
promising opportunities first. As you gain experience
and build your networks, continue to look for new ones.
Using this approach, you can build a solid funding base
that will sustain your organization over time.
Prospects are only as good as your research and rating of
how much they are likely to give. A simple process can
help you determine whether a person or organization is a
good prospect for you. Here is how to do it:
WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE FUNDING?
Sustainable funding means that you have a variety of
different types of funders so that your organization is not
dependent on one big grant or donor. Making it sustainable
means that you build relationships that continue to fund
you over time, not just for one year or one project.
1. Capacity: Does the person or organization have
the money to give you right now? How much? For
foundations or corporate donors, you can use the
Internet to research the size of other grants that they
have made in the past. This is important to learn
how to do; see Appendix 3A for some resources to
help you get started.
Here is an example breakdown of what a diverse and
sustainable funding base might look like:
2. Passion: Does the person or organization have
passion for your type of work? Make sure there is a
“match” between what you do and what the prospect
is passionate about. For example, if you work with
a women’s farming cooperative in Ghana and the
donor has a history of giving to projects involving
agriculture, women, and Africa, it may be a match.
However, if the donor has only invested in emergency
food programs in Indonesia, the prospect probably
won’t be interested. You can determine their passion
by looking at their past giving online, any annual
reports or other publications they may have issued,
and by directly communicating with them.
One or two family foundations that fund specific
projects, such as a well, training program, or
irrigation project for a cooperative.
larger foundation grant that may fund a program
A
plus some capacity support for your organization.
One or more local businesses that “sponsor” some of
your work or provide supplies in return for visibility
or marketing for their business. Perhaps you serve
children and a local business donates t-shirts with
the company logo on them for the children to wear.
One or more contracts or sub-contracts with a
large development organization to provide services
that match your mission. Perhaps you are a rural
cooperative for women farmers and have a contract
or subcontract with a funder to provide specific
training geared toward your members and nearby
communities.
3. Managing prospects: Your prospect list is like a
treasure. Keep track of your prospects on paper,
a spreadsheet, or a chart on a computer. Your
objective is to keep all your prospect information
handy and easily usable – this is what makes it
valuable. It is worth your time to set this up in
whatever system works best for you so that you will
be able to track information and stay in touch with
people. Here is a sample of the information you
should track:
Small amounts of funding from giving circles or
affinity groups that “adopt” your organization’s
work. These giving circles or affinity groups can also
raise awareness for your group and make suitable
connections for your organization. For example,
4