Top Ten Successful Fundraising & Proposal Writing Tips

2011 Successful fundraising tips for NGOs and CSOs
Top ten tips on successful fundraising and proposal writing for non-profit organisations
1.      Specifications
  • Tailor proposal writing to specifications found in the guidelines e.g. Include only the number of pages allowed. Be concise. Elaborations should add depth and scope. Be prepared to write more than one draft.
  • Adhere to timing or proposal calls.
  • Make your goals, objective, and result areas specific and clear: Constantly keep these goals & objectives in focus. Distinguish between your overall interests and objectives and those you wish to achieve during the tenure of the proposed grant.
  • Proposing much more work than can possibly be achieved during the requested grant period is one of the most common mistakes made by first-time applicants.
  • Be sure to give credit to all your sources. For example, if you use several paragraphs taken directly from a review article in your introduction, put it in quotes and cite the source (a reviewer of your proposal may have written the article!).
  • If you are applying to several granting agencies, avoid overlapping proposals.
2.      Questions that your proposal should answer
·        What do we want to achieve?
·        What concern will be addressed and why it is important?
·        Who will benefit and how?
·        What specific objectives can be accomplished and how?
·        How will results be measured?
·        How does the funding request relate to the funder’s purpose, objectives, and priorities?
·        Who are we? (ngo, cbo) and how do we qualify to meet this need?

3.      Understanding Funding Criteria
While it is important to carefully formulate and design your proposal, it is equally important to write a proposal which will attract the required funding. You must clearly understand the program requirements and ensure they are addressed in the proposal. Too often, proposals are submitted to funding agencies without taking time to consider how the proposal will be received.
Funding programs differ with respect to
·        The funding cap (percentage of funding provided)
·        Eligible costs
·        Eligible applicants (profit / not-for-profit)
·        Eligible sectors (tourism, agriculture, forestry)
·        Project location
·        Information Required
You must understand the funding program criteria and ensure they are addressed in the proposal. It is good to a have person who has not been involved in the drafting of the proposal to review the program guidelines, read the proposal, and provide feedback. If you are unable to satisfy the criteria of the program you are applying for, you will have to rethink your proposal or seek other funding sources
Authorized Signatures
Check if authorized signatures are required. Without these, proposals may be rejected. Be sure to allow yourself time to acquire a needed signature.
4.      Supporting materials
·        Supporting materials are often arranged in an appendix. These materials may endorse the project and the applicant, provide certifications, add information about project personnel, exhibit tables and charts, etc. For projects that include collaborations or partnerships, include endorsements from the partnering agencies.
·        Policies about the inclusion of supporting materials differ widely among funders. Whether to allow them usually depends upon how materials contribute to a proposal's evaluation.
·        Find out if supporting materials are desired or even allowed.
5.      Budgeting Questions
·        Can the project/task be accomplished with this budget?
·        Are costs reasonable - or too high or low?
·        Is the budget consistent with proposed activities?
·        Is there sufficient budget details and explanation? E.g personnel cost notes, administration, evaluation , trainings etc. is the budget quarterly , annual etc

6.     Proposal Formats and layouts

·        Make sure your proposal is laid out well in an attractive way. You can use Visual Aids. The appropriate use of visuals (charts, tables etc)  makes the proposal look professional and well thought out
·        Easy to read and captivating.
·        Where necessary use footnotes instead of writing a lot of details in the proposal about the sources of information

·        Common formatting errors- 
o   Insensitive language: Sometimes proposals contain language which others would consider racist, sexist, or inappropriate. Try not to over use male pronouns such as he or him. Provide some balance. Also ensure gender neutral wording. This would require you to use words like chairperson or foreperson instead of chairman or foreman.
o   Using slang: Slang can diminish the professionalism of your proposal.
o   Improper use of Acronyms: Be sure all acronyms are spelled out prior to use. The first time you use an acronym, you should first spell it out in full then write the Acronym in brackets e.g. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). After which you can now use the acronym. Ensure you have a list of acronyms as part of the proposal.
o   Spelling mistakes/incomplete/incomprehensible sentences- Proof read and/or spell check all proposals chapter by chapter including the budget.

7.      Submission checklist
·        The complete proposal must be submitted on time in the requested format with the requested number of copies and original authorized signatures.
·        Address the proposal as directed in the guidelines.
·        Be sure to include required documentation.

8.      Follow-up
·        Once the proposal is sent to the donor, it’s important to follow-up on the progress especially when the timeline proposed by the donor for review is due and yet no feedback has been received. In the eventuality that the proposal is rejected you can check with the contact person at the donors’ office to know gaps in your proposal.
·        Canvassing is a major setback to possible funding.
9.      Rejected proposals
·        If possible, find out why!
·         If your proposal was not approved because funding was exhausted you have several  options; Submit the proposal to other funding agencies ,Defer the proposal until the next fiscal year,  periodically revisit the funding agency to determine if there is any new funds available probably due to savings.
·        If your project was rejected because it did not did not fit program criteria you can: Seek out other funding programs which are more compatible with your objectives Rework your proposal so it fits program criteria. This will require you to sit down with the funding agencies involved to determine what is possible.
·        If your proposal was rejected because it did not contain the all the required information, you should determine specifically where your proposal was deficient and resubmit to others

10.   Successful Fundraising tips
·        Originality of proposals or concept notes
·        Concept of KYD-(Know Your Donor)-Mapping out your donors thematic areas of interest, proposal calls & timings etc through internet, thematic meetings, referrals etc
·        Ensuring compliance with donor requirements e,g proposal format, size and mode of application i.e email or post etc
·        Networking for Fundraising
·        Ensuring visibility of your work websites, media including print.
·        Joint fundraising with like-minded partners

Link referral

free web site traffic and promotion

Infolinks In Text Ads

Followers

About Me

10 years experience enhancing donor-funded partner organizations’ capacities in strategic planning, financial, administrative, organizational and programming management. Skilled in donor partner organizational assessments and partner capacity building. A 10 years experience in managing development donor-funded projects in the thematic areas of poverty-reduction, governance and democracy, conflict transformation and integration of Gender, Justice and Peace issues into mainstream programs (HIV/AIDS, Agriculture, Water and Sanitation, Emergency)

Total Pageviews

Add