This Guide aims to provide basic tips and ideas to help your organisation in the process of developing successful fundraising strategies. This guide targets organisations that are relatively new. As such, you will find general information about how to build a strong identity for your NGO in relation to its main goals. According to your chosen field of action, you will find information on where to look for potential donors and how to approach them in relation to their own profiles and modus operandi.
Despite being conceived to support new organisations, this Guide will also appeal to those working in more mature NGOs who will find a memorandum of main strategies to implement when looking for sponsors for new projects and activities.
Raising Funds in Your Area of Interest or Work
First of all, it is necessary for your organisation to build a strong identity. This will help you navigating the often-complex networks of funding bodies, private organisations, and governmental schemes, and to identify potential candidates to whom you will address your proposals and ideas. To be sure, the fact that you decided to establish an NGO means that you felt it necessary for a new organisation to be born in your community that seeks to target and solve existing problems.
It is useful to write down a sort of manifesto, which explains in maximum 1 page why your organisation was born, who are the founding members, and what it aims to achieve by specifying the problems you want to address and their relevance in your community. Keep in mind that the information about the reasons why your NGO is needed will become of utter importance any time you will apply for money.
In fact, donors will assess not only the validity of a project proposal, but also the extent to which starting collaborating with your organisation could lead to long-term partnerships able to concretely impact the social, economic, or political situation of your community. In order to build a strong profile for your NGO, it is important to research your field, communicate with the target group, and also to learn how to structure and write the manifesto of your organisation.
