Training Manual on

Resource Mobilization
Training Manual on
Resource Mobilization
and Grant

2015
Table of Contents
Section1. Introduction---------------------------------------------------------------------6

1.1. About the Resource Mobilization Manual ------------------------------------6

1.2. Structure of the RM Manual------------------------------------------------------7
1.3. Training Objectives----------------------------------------------------------------7
1.4. Training Delivery Methods-------------------------------------------------------8

Section2. Resource Mobilization----------------------------------------------------------9

2.1. What is Resource Mobilization---------------------------------------------------9

2.2. Conceptual framework for Resource Mobilization-------------------------12
2.3. The Present Pattern of CSO Resources and The Influence of the Aid
Trade--------------------------------------------------------------------------------13
2.4. Ways/Mechanisms of Resource Mobilization: Foreign VS Domestic
Resource Mobilizations-----------------------------------------------------------15
2.4.1. Foreign Resource Mobilization----------------------------------------------16
2.4.2. Domestic Resource Mobilization-------------------------------------------17
2.4.3. Other RM Alternatives(Accessing existing wealth (from private &
public sources, Generating new wealth (through market-based
approaches and Capitalizing on non-financial resources-------------- 20
2.5. Why do local stakeholders contribute to community projects-----------24
2.6. What approaches can we use to mobilize local resources----------------24
2.7. Practical Suggestions for Mobilizing Resources------------------------------25

Section3. Grant Proposal Writing for RM------------------------------------------------28

3.1. Why do we write a grant proposal------------------------------------28

3.2. The project Cycle Management for writing grant proposal-------29
3.3. Components of a grant proposal---------------------------------------31
3.4. Step 1: Before you Write-----------------------------------------------32
3.4.1. Getting started-------------------------------------------------32
3.4.2. Gathering Background Information------------------------32
3.4.3. Thinking about the target audience------------------------33
3.4.4. Building Coalitions---------------------------------------------33
3.4.5. Other considerations-----------------------------------------33

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 3.5.Step2: Writing the proposal--------------------------------------------33
3.5.1. Budget Information--------------------------------------------34
3.5.2. Writing the credentials of the relevant staff--------------34
3.5.3. Monitoring, Evaluation & Dissemination Information---35
3.5.4. Letter of Endorsement---------------------------------------35
3.5.5. Project Summary----------------------------------------------35
3.6. Before Sending your proposal to funding agencies-----------------36
3.6.1. Learning more about the review process----------------36
3.6.2. Getting Advice-------------------------------------------------36
3.6.3. Before Finishing the proposal-------------------------------36
Section 4. Methods of Resource Mobilization------------------------------37
4.1. Positioning your organization for Resource Mobilization---------37
4.2. Developing a donor map and Resource Mobilization Plan-------40
4.2.1. Resource Mobilization Plan----------------------------------41
4.3. Donors Grid and Criteria for Donors Assessments----------------43
4.3.1. Donors Grid----------------------------------------------------43
4.3.2. Criteria for Donors Assessments--------------------------44
4.4. Donors Screen shots and donors expectations---------------------45
4.5. SWOT Analysis for Resource Mobilization---------------------------46
4.5.1. SWOT Analysis Matrix---------------------------------------48

Annexes------------------------------------------------------------------------------------49

Annex 1. Proposal Components Checklist (for US-AID funded projects--49

Annex 2. Resource Mobilization Checklist----------------------------------------50

Annex 3. Resource Mobilization Plan------------------------------------------------51

References------------------------------------------------------------------------------------52

4
Acronyms
AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency syndrome
CBO Community Based Organizations
CSO Civil Society Organization
CCRDA Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Association
HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
NGO Non Governmental Organization
NCL Local Community Initiative
OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
PCM Project Cycle Management
RFA Request for Application
RM Resource Mobilization
SWOT Stregthen,Weakness, Opportunity and Threat

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 Section1. Introduction
1.1. About the Resource Mobilization Manual
 Who is this manual for?
This manual is designed to build the skills of project officers and coordinators
working with a range of organizations to gain practical resource mobilization
knowledge and strategies. Organizations may include international non-
governmental organizations (INGOs); national NGOS; national and international
faith-based organizations (FBOs); and, smaller, grassroots community-based
organizations (CBOs) that provide different services to its intended beneficiaries.
The manual can be used as a package or as separate sessions depending on the
needs of the organization; however, the goal is for all participants to leave the
sessions with a basic knowledge and understanding on the various topics,
strategies and approaches to resource mobilization. The manual is also intended
to guide the officials and staff of the CSO to strategize and also plan and develop
resources strategy and raise funds by taking into account the exiting environment
to support the cause of the organization.

 The Resource Mobilization Learning Approach

The facilitator and co-facilitator will exert it’s at most effort to guide the training
sessions through small group interactive exercises, large group discussions, role
plays, and examples from organizations (learning from the expert). Facilitator and
co-facilitator will draw upon participants’ own experience, knowledge, and ideas
to help them identify the people, networks, tools, strategies, and systems they
need for Resource Mobilization. The manual is designed to reinforce each other,
and are participatory and purposefully interactive to enable participants to grapple
with the inherent challenges of organizing priorities, assigning responsibilities, and
uniting the organization and its board for the common goals and objectives of
Resource Mobilization.

6
  Who should attend the training on Resource Mobilization?
The training participants should include but not limited to : a)Project Officer and
coordinators, Program Managers, Fundraising officers, resource mobilization
leadership teams; b) all organizational staff involved in resource mobilization,
including finance staff; and c) board members involved in resource mobilization

1.2. Structure of the Manual

The Manual is structured in four major sections. Section one touches about brief
background about the manual, the objectives of the manual and its methodology.
Section two deals with basic concepts and terminology related to resource
mobilization and related concepts. It also classifies and provides explanations on
the mechanisms and ways of resource mobilization both from domestic and
foreign sources. Section three deals with grant proposal writing techniques for
resource mobilization. This section provides basic concepts for writing effective
grant proposal for resource mobilization. The final section manual provides focus
and emphases on methods of resource mobilization. This section also provides
basic understanding and approaches to develop a resource mobilization strategy
and action plan.

1.3. Training Objectives

This training manual has the following six major objectives:

 To enhance participants’ understanding of resource mobilization for

organizational sustainability.
 To help participants develop strategies for mobilizing resources to meet
the mission of their resource demands of the organizations.
 To enhance the skills of participants to prepare effective and/or wining
proposals as a tool for resource mobilization.
 To provide tools that civil society organizations can use to mobilize
resources
 To change the ways that civil society organizations think about resource
mobilization and grant proposal writing
 To show the ways about the variety of foreign and domestic resources that
are potentially available to the sector, but have not been adequately
researched, attempted, or mainstreamed by them.

7
 1.4. Training Delivery Methods

The methods used for the conduct of the training are:

Lecture: the facilitators will be lecturing the main highlights of the training
contents/concepts using power point presentations.
Participatory: participants of the training will be encouraged to engage
themselves in the conduct of the training through question and answer sessions,
or interactive sessions as well as raising issues from their work experience
(experience sharing).
Group discussions: participants will be divided into groups and discuss issues as
related to the training. It is also expected of them to present the outcome of the
group discussions to the wider group.
Brainstorming: the facilitators will encourage and motivate participants to
memorize an issue and talk freely about it; the way they see and perceive it to get
as many as possible solutions to a problem and to see wider range of attitudinal
differences on an issue.
Pretest and post test: there will be pretest and post test questions to be
administered to the trainees to measure their level of understanding over the
subject matters.
Case review: participants will be given hypothetical cases or scenarios to let
them understand concepts and gain practical skills in the session.

8
 Section2. Resource Mobilization
2.1. What is Resource Mobilization?

Resource mobilization is about an organization getting the resources that are

needed to be able to do the work it has planned. Resource mobilization is more
than just fundraising - it is about getting a range of resources, from a wide range
of resource providers (or donors), through a number of different mechanisms.

Despite differences of emphasis based on interests and capacities of organizations,

most definitions of resource mobilization share similar characteristics. This
similarity is demonstrated in the following three definitions:
1. Resource Mobilization is the process of undertaking planned action for
the identification, collection, and utilization of local resources for the
achievement of organizational mission and goal/s. The process includes
ensuring accountability to stakeholders and/or providers, maintaining
relationships, and sustaining means of resources.
2. Resource mobilization is also defined as a process that involves
identifying the resources essential for the development, implementation
and continuation of works for achieving the organization’s mission. It
means expansion of relations with the resource providers, the skills,
knowledge and capacity for proper use of resources. It does not only
mean about the use of money or other kind of resources but it
extensiveness denotes the process that achieves the mission of the
organization through the mobilization of knowledge in human, use of
skills, equipment, services etc. Furthermore, it means seeking new
resources or resource mobilization and right and maximum use of
available resources.

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 3. Taking the importance of building constituency as a central idea for a
civil society organization to mobilize resources, resource mobilization is
broadly defined as: “a management process that involves identifying
people who share the same values as your organization, and taking steps
to manage that relationship (Venture for Fund Raising, 2009, p.8)”.

Unlike fundraising that assumes someone has funds and Civil Society
Organizations devise a system and approach to access the fund, resource
mobilization has broader concepts that include non-financial resources, and
income generated by the CSO itself. Resource mobilization is giving people the
opportunity to give and not an end by itself. It does not only satisfy the needs of
those who receive but also satisfies the givers. Hence, resource mobilization
demands exploring the motive of givers and considering the satisfaction of their
interests.

Looking closely at the definitions, resource mobilization denotes a process that

involves three integrated concepts: organizational management and development,
communicating and prospecting, and relationship building.
What is local resource?

The term "local resources" refers to financial and non-financial contributions to

community improvement projects from local sources, including individual citizens,
local government, businesses, institutions or other actors. Local resources not
only allow for the implementation of successful community projects, but also
contribute to the long-term sustainability of initiatives conducted by NGOs and
CBOs by building lasting relationships.

Local Resource Mobilization describes the activity of finding new ways of

engaging resources in the local environment (i.e. funds, people, goods and

10
services) to support an organization and make it self-sustaining. It encompasses a
wide range of strategies going from income generation schemes to locally based
fundraising or building volunteer constituencies for example. It finds expression in
a variety of fresh approaches which integrate cultural, social and economic
contexts. Resource mobilization is about getting a range of resources, from a
wide range of resource providers (or donors), through a number of different
mechanisms.
Local Resource Mobilization is also about any contribution from and within the
local community that assists the implementation of an activity, project or
program. They include a wide range of financial and non-financial contributions
from local community members, including individual citizens, institutions,
organizations, businesses, or government authorities. The following are examples
of the types of resources that may be available locally to contribute to the
successful implementation of NGO/Local community initiative activities.
Resource mobilization can therefore be conceptualized as a combination of
(Training User’s Guide, 2010).

 Resources: Resources are general defined as cash and non-cash inputs that
help to fulfil human and organizational needs. Resources could mean
materials, finance, human (men and women), means and time that are
mobilized to meet the objectives of groups, organizations and individuals. In
the context of CSOs, resources are essential inputs that organizations use
to achieve their mission and goals.
 Resource providers are individuals, families, community groups,
foundations, governments, business companies…etc who provide resources
for civil society organizations to achieve desired goals. The type and
diversity of providers is context specific: the program goal of the CSO,
location of program, type of issue to be addressed, etc.
 Resource Mobilization Mechanisms are the processes of getting or
mobilizing resources from providers. The type of resource mobilization
mechanisms that a civil society organization designs depends upon the
environment and the capacity of the organization. The mechanisms are

11
 context specific and highly dependent on the creative thinking and skills of
personnel involved in resource mobilization activities. Some of the
mechanisms are marketing to business communities, collection of
membership fee, generating income, etc

2.2. Conceptual framework for Resource Mobilization

Legal
provisions
Resources

RM

Mechanisms
Providers

Adopted from Training User’s Guide (2010)

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2.3. The Present Pattern of CSO Resources and the Influence of the
Aid Trade

At present it is likely that the sub-set of CSOs oriented towards development

work are dependent on a limited range of resources. The greatest dependence is
very likely to be on foreign grants, and it is likely that the funds which make up
these grants come from Northern CSOs or from Northern bilateral donors. The
grants most likely come in the form of projects – time-limited, fixed budget
funding for carefully defined activities (Richard Holloway, 2012)

 A CSO with only two sources of funding – foreign project funding, and
much smaller local fundraising.
 A CSO whose dependence on foreign funding increases over time, and the
proportion of whose local funding, while it remains steady in absolute
terms, decreases relative to foreign funding. It may even decrease in
absolute terms.
 A CSO dependent on and vulnerable to time limited project funding, which
brings it back to zero after each project grant is expended.
As stipulated in Richard Holloway (2012), such dependence is not new for CSOs,
but because the amount of grant money that is being offered by Northern donors
has increased greatly during the 1990s, the dependence is getting greater and
more widespread. At the same time some types of foreign funding, particularly
funding by Northern CSOs, has been decreasing - and CSOs are vividly aware of
their vulnerability due to their reliance on a few funding sources. From time to
time the total amounts of foreign funding that is available to CSOs in a particular
country may increase for a while, due to a disaster or a move towards policies
cherished by foreign donors, but the trend, on average, is down.

In addition, the influence of foreign aid is also increasing from time to time. Many
CSOs have been shaken into awareness of how precarious their situation is. For a
long time CSOs assumed that they would continue to be funded from Northern
sources ad infinitum; indeed, some new CSOs defined themselves as ‘NGOs’
specifically to attract foreign funding. While it is true that many CSOs have
frequently complained about the limitations and frustrations of relying on

13
northern donors, not many have decided to do without them or find alternatives
to them.

Many local NGOs/CBOs have been nurtured from birth by funds from foreign
sources, often to the exclusion of funds from any other source. They are very
dependant such sources, and if the funds from such sources dry up, they are left
vulnerable to closure. Very few of these if the funds from foreign donors have
been in the form of financial investments that build long-term financial strength -
they have nearly always been time-limited funding for specific projects which
ceases once the project is over. In addition this, the foreign funds have often been
made available with a number of conditions. Some of these conditions have been
unhelpful and distracting from the main task of the local NGOs/CBOs(Richard
Holloway,2012).

Among other things, foreign fundings have the following implications for its
recipients (Latifa Sekajingo, 2011).

 Foreign funding does not build local support for your work, nor does it
build local supporters. As long as you are seen as being supported by
foreign funds, local people will not feel the need to help you with funds
or other kinds of support. They will assume that you have money from
overseas, and that you can buy whatever you need. Moving people from
that pre-conception to one in which they feel that your worthwhile work is
worth their support, is very difficult.
 Foreign funding makes you politically vulnerable to accusations that you
are only doing the work because you are paid to do so, or because you
are obeying the instructions of some foreign power that may have some
concealed motives to the detriment of your country. Development is a
political process, and foreign funding provides ammunition to detractors—
especially those in government - that you are being used politically by
foreigners.
 Foreign funding throws into sharp contrast the very basic contradiction that
development CSOs promote and urge self-reliance amongst the groups that
they work with, but do not themselves practice what they preach. If self-
reliance is an important aspect of development, then the development
CSOs should pay as much attention to it as the people with whom they
work.
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According to Latifa Sekajingo , in contrast to foreign funding there are several
arguments that support domestic/local resource mobilization. Some of the
benefits for local organizations and local contributors include: reasons include:

Sense of ownership: By contributing their time and resources, citizens,

institutions, businesses, and others can assume greater ownership of activities
that directly contribute to the positive development of their communities. The
sense of "ownership" comes from the pride and accomplishment of knowing that
they have done their share to make their community a better place to live.
Building social capital: Social capital refers to the value of social networks and
the increased willingness of individuals and organizations to help one another as a
result of these relationships. By seeking local support, NGOs and CBOs are more
likely to build long-term relationships with other institutions and organizations.
These relationships contribute to the social capital within the community.

Sustainability: mobilizing local resources increases the sustainability of

community initiatives. As relationships and communication between NGO/CBOs
and supporters develop, future support is more likely. As members of the
community with long-term interests in community projects, local supporters are
more likely to continue supporting initiatives than external donors.

Independence: raising resources locally also gives NGO/CBOs more

independence and flexibility to implement activities targeting needs that a
community finds important. Additionally, local support means that NGO/CBOs
do not have to adjust their programs to meet the needs and interests of external
donors

2.4. Ways/Mechanisms of Resource Mobilization: Foreign VS Domestic

Resource Mobilizations

Resource mobilization mechanisms are the ways that resources can be mobilized
from resource providers. Mechanisms are the actual processes of requesting or
getting resources - for example, writing proposals, holding a fundraising event).
Identifying different resource mobilization mechanisms is one way for

15
NGOs/CBOs to broaden their understanding of resource mobilization and
diversify their approaches beyond writing proposals.

Broadly speaking Resource mobilization can be categorized as Foreign Resource

Mobilization and Domestic Resource Mobilization schemes.

2.4.1. Foreign Resource Mobilization

As stipulated in Training user’s Guide developed by Nuri Kedir and Associate

development consultant(2010), like domestic resources external resources also
take the forms both financial and non-financial resources. CSOs in Ethiopia largely
rely on external funding from foreign donors such as bilateral, multilateral, and
international CSOs. External funding has increased the vulnerability of indigenous
CSOs during the time of changes in policies, resources shortages and other
challenges. It has also separated the organizations from domestic resources.
While still there is space for foreign resources, the balance is precariously skewed
towards the outside world. With external funding there is also a tendency not to
support long-term sustainability both organizationally and programmatically.
These external sources might include but not limited to Government of western
countries, foundations, trustees, UN agencies, Bi-lateral and Multi-lateral
organizations, Corporate Division such as Banks etc. At present the methods of
resource support from foreign sources for Ethiopian CSOs are:

 Emergency and relief;

 Welfare grants;
 Specific small project grants (with little or no flexibility);
 Program grants (recipient CSOs making decisions and also adapting plans
as necessary on initially agreed programs);
 Revolving fund grants (mainly for micro-credit) and
 Un-earmarked grants (grants to all the work and overheads of the CSO)
The contribution of external resources support to the development of Ethiopia
and also the growth of indigenous CSOs has been valuable. While this should be
recognized and appreciated it is time that they way resources are channelled and
their purpose needs to be reviewed. There must be a shift towards accessing

16
external resources in a manner that can contribute to the self-reliance and
financial autonomy of indigenous CSOs.

The methods of external financing should be expanded to include ways that are
particularly designed to enhance institutional sustainability such as building
unrestricted/reserve funds, financing fund raising strategies, providing investment
capital, endowments etc. Local CSOs needed to take the initiative to influencing
changes in approaches to external funding in favour of enabling them to achieve
organizational self-reliance.

It is important to note that Resource mobilization both from domestic and

foreign resources by itself requires resources. Experiences on project and other
forms of funding from external sources to Ethiopian CSOs did not satisfactory
enable the recipient organizations to continue on their own and endure difficulties
during times of resources shortages. Therefore, CSOs have to seek external
funding to develop strategies and implement for resources mobilization from
external and local sources.

There also exists foreign funding that are specifically designed for organizational
sustainability, like building reserve funds (sometimes called corpus funds),
providing venture capital funding, financing fundraising strategies, and
endowments. A smart CSO manager would research the way that each foreign
funder worked and be prepared to submit proposals that fitted the requirements
of each donor. These change over time, and CSO managers are often adept at
packaging their proposals to fit the language attractive that is to donors.
2.4.2. Domestic/Local Resource Mobilization

Many people consider that raising funds from different individuals or organization
locally means begging them to give to something that you are committed to, while
they may not be. Most people consider that asking funds or other resources to
support your organization involves some form of persuasion of otherwise
uncommitted or even reluctant people.

Actually local resource mobilization is offering individuals/organizations a chance

to be involved in something worthwhile. It is an opportunity for local
people/supporters to involve in their organization’s mission - and the tactic is to
offer that chance to those who are likely to be interested in it. Many people in

17
our communities do not know the importance of supporting development
organizations. Therefore the approach which the development organization is
using to raise resources is very important. They should not beg but give chance to
individuals to participate in their own development.
As indicated in a Guide for Non-governmental Organizations and Citizens
Initiatives(2004),some of possible mechanisms in resource mobilization are:

Submitting grant proposals or wring letters to local NGOs, local individual

supporter requesting for resources.
Running a small business: the NGO can run small business such as: Selling
products like food supplement medicines, condoms and HIV/AIDS counseling
books, and selling services like counseling services
Events and actions like fundraising events, demonstrations, music concerts.
These events and actions can both raise financial resources and increase public
interest in your work.
Face to face: meeting a person face to face and asking for resources
Financial resources: These are probably the key resources that all
NGOs/CBOs need to be able to function and carry out their work. Depending
on the source, financial resources may be targeted to specific expenses or be
used at the NGO discretion. Financial resources can be raised from local citizens,
business, local authorities, or other in a variety of forms and through many
means, including:

 Sports and recreational equipment for playgrounds or youth programs

 Donations of cash
 Grants from local authorities or other community organization
 User fees for participation in various activities
 Membership dues paid by members
 Fundraising events
 Sponsorship of NGOs and/or their activities by local business.
In-kind material donations: can help reduce the costs of implementing an
activity significantly. Examples of in kind material donations include:
 Office supplies needed for the operation of an NGO
 Building materials for the reconstruction of community buildings,

18
  Use of a car or other vehicle to transport or visit beneficiaries ,
 Food and drinks to offer to volunteers or beneficiaries
In-kind intellectual services: can be an extremely valuable contribution for
projects that require expensive expert and professional services such as legal,
accounting, medical, psychological or counseling.
Local government: Local governments can be a valuable source of financial and
non-financial support for your activities. In addition to direct funding, countless
NGOs/LCIs work with their local governments to receive free office and activity
space, coverage of their utility bills, technical and expert advice, support in
obtaining permits for reconstruction projects, and use of vehicles and equipment.
Private sector: Businesses are a great, yet underused, source of NGO/LCI
support. Generally speaking, businesses want to support projects that are visible
in the communities where they operate, that are supported by the community or
by “important” individuals, or that are linked to local economic development.
Smaller business owners often give to projects in which they have a personal
interest, for example, a sports fan might support a youth soccer club. Some
businesses require that an activity that they sponsor use their name, logo or
products.
Businesses can offer many valuable resources: sponsorships and cash gifts,
material support and services, technical expertise, equipment and facilities. They
may also offer their products or services to you at a reduced rate, or allow or
encourage their employees to volunteer with you. (For additional information
about corporate social responsibility, please see AED’s "An Overview of
Corporate Social Responsibility in Croatia", available at www.aed.hr.)
Key individuals: The support of well-known and respected individuals is
extremely valuable to mobilizing support within your community. When
identifying individuals with influence in your local community, be sure to think not
only about those with direct access to needed resources, but also individuals
connected to them.
Local citizens: Local citizens should be a key part of any strategy to mobilize
local resources. You should already be monitoring community needs to ensure
that your activities respond to local priorities. If citizens believe that you are
providing a worthwhile service in the community, they will be more willing to
support your activities and help you fulfill your mission.

19
Determining which resource mobilization mechanisms are realistic is highly
context specific and therefore to identify mechanisms that are appropriate to
certain communities depend on their culture and attitudes of that community.

2.4.3. Other RM Alternatives

Other than the usually dichotomy of foreign versus local resource mobilization,
there are three other alternatives that falls between the two dichotomy.

According to a handbook of resource mobilization for civil society in the south by

Richard Holloway (2012, there are three ways of resource mobilization. Which
are:

1. Accessing existing wealth (from private and public sources)

There is wealth out there - with individuals, institutions, governments, businesses
and the name of the game is persuading them to give it to your organization. In
this category, The present situation there is a decreasing pool of Northern
resources, increasing competition for such resources (both between CSOs and,
where such funds originate with bilateral donors, between Southern CSOs and
Northern CSOs) and more importantly, the present practice has given us a legacy
of dependency in which CSOs make their applications and wait for Northern
donors to agree or disagree. The decisions are not made locally, and are not
under local control. Such scenario requires the need by CSOs to re-invent the
wheel in a way that supports future approaches and engagement.
Consequently, in the future, there will be strategic joint ventures between CSOs
and sources of existing wealth (whatever they be) in which both sides plan
together for mutual benefit and both sides win, rather than the South being
dependent on the North, there will be increasing attempts to build institutional
sustainability so that CSOs, after capturing some of the existing wealth, build up
their own wealth, rather than have to keep trying to capture wealth time after
time. In addition, philosophies and practice of partnership will become common in
which all contributors think through what needs to be done and what their
various comparative advantages are. Various parties’ needs for resources, and
access to the existing wealth will be more transparent, involve more local
decision-making, and will give mutual benefit for all parties, rather than CSOs

20
trying to find the right code which will unlock the safes of wealthy organizations
or individuals.
There are six ways of accessing wealth: Theses include:
 Indigenous foundations
 Individual philanthropy
 Grass-roots CSOs
 Government
 Foreign Development Agencies
 Business

2. Generating new wealth (through market-based approaches)

It is possible for your organization to generate wealth by using the market in one
way or another. As far as this option is concerned, with the acceptance that
CSOs will always operate through acquiring wealth from others has been the
reluctance on the part of CSOs to generate wealth themselves. CSOs have often
been involved in helping others to generate wealth for themselves - as in
vocational training, small-scale credit, entrepreneurship training etc - but they
have not often seen that they also have the opportunity to generate wealth for
their own organization. In some cases they have not known how to do it, in other
cases they worry that such endeavors and enterprises will take them away from
their own mission, and in some cases they have felt a distaste for the world of
business, and have not wanted to enter that world.

Interestingly, however, there are plenty of examples where CSOs have been able
to generate money, both through enterprises that are linked to their mission, and
enterprises that are entered into purely as a source of revenue. Provided they
have been clear why they are doing it, what human resources are needed and
how it should be managed, many CSOs have found income through enterprises.
The following are suggestions for mobilizing resources can be mobilized through
generating new wealth:

 Production and trade

 Conversion of debt
 Establishing and operating micro-credit programmes
 Tapping social investment

21
  Building reserve funds
 Using the Internet
3. Capitalizing on non-financial resources
In this category, with local support, good will and a good reputation, many people
will be prepared to give time and goods to your organization. Whichever way of
mobilizing resources that you decide to use, always remember that there are
some relevant non-financial resources that can be tapped. These are cross-cutting
approaches that can be used with the other two approaches.

 Volunteer Time: We are talking about supporters of the work of your

organization offering to give their time and expertise freely for the good of
your organization. Depending on their abilities, this can involve a great variety
of ways in which they can help your organization.
 Volunteer Skilled Labor: Here we are probably looking at people who are
willing to make a small contribution of their time and skills to help your
organization.

 Goods and Materials: This involves both second hand materials and
quipment (like computers, printers, furniture when a business office is
replacing existing stock with new) and also gifts in kind.
 Experience: Lawyers, probation officers, auditors, salesmen, public relations
officers, media people and many others might be able to give you extremely
valuable advice at certain times that you need it if they are motivated to help
your organization, and are aware that you would be interested in receiving
their help.
 Seconded Professional Personnel: Such people would work for your
organization, but be paid by their original employer, and keep their position
in the original firm.

 Training: Here the possibilities are of outsiders coming to train your staff,
or your staff being able to undergo some training outside your organization -
both being provided by some organization or person free of cost.

22
  Access to Public Policy Fora: Strategically placed people who are well-
disposed towards your organization can allow you to present your case in
the place where important decisions get made.
 Access to Services provided for Non-profit organizations: In some
countries, particular services are provided free for non-profit organizations,
and your CSO may be able to access them.

 Champions: Someone who can champion your organization, speak for it,
endorse it when necessary, and perhaps most of all, defend it when it is in
trouble.

2.5. Why do local stakeholders contribute to community

projects?

As outlined in a Guide for Non-governmental Organizations and Citizens

Initiatives (2004), much research has been done around the world to assess and
evaluate the reasons why people, companies, and others provide assistance to
different kinds of activities and projects. While similar research has not yet been
done in Croatia, our experience indicates that the motivations to donate are the
same as elsewhere in the world. Some of the reasons generally cited for donating
are listed below:

 Simply being asked to donate

 Interest in the issue or type of work
 Trust in the organization or the person requesting the donation; trusting
that the money will end up in the “right hands”
 Personally knowing one of the members of the NGO/LCI
 Friends, neighbors, or other companies provided a donation as well,
providing a stamp of approval
 Receiving a direct or indirect benefit from the donation; for example, by
making a donation to the school, the donor’s children will get a better
education
 Having an economic interest in the community
 Receiving tax benefits for donations or sponsorships provided2
 Public recognition
 As part of promote corporate social/citizen Responsibility

23
2.6. What approaches can we you use to mobilize local
resources?
Effectively mobilizing resources Mobilization requires creativity, persistence and
flexibility. Among the many techniques you may want to employ in your efforts
are (A Guide for Non-governmental Organizations and Citizens Initiatives (2004)

 Regular communication: By holding regular meetings with representatives

of local government, businesses, institutions, other NGOs, media and other
social leaders or by attending their meetings, you can inform them about your
activities and objectives. It is important to send regular project updates to
these stakeholders and invite them to visit your office, project site, events,
website, etc. to see the impact of your work. The more familiar they are with
your work, the more likely they are to support your efforts when asked.

 NGO/LCI committees: One way to involve respected individuals in your

work is to establish a committee to supervise or provide advice on the
implementation of a particular project or aspect of your work. In addition to
tapping into the knowledge and expertise of various community members,
committees can help inform the community about the impact of your work.
Committee members may also be prominent individuals from the community
who can contribute their own resources or who have connections to other
sources of resources.
 Media coverage: Media coverage is one of the most effective ways to raise
public awareness of your organization and its goals. It is therefore critical to
get media coverage to effectively raise local /foreign resources. There are, of
course, a variety of ways to accomplish this.
 Events and actions: By using your creativity, you can organize various events
and actions that both raise financial resources and increase public interest in
your work. For example, you can use a popular local singer’s interest in your
organization’s work to organize a fundraising concert. Ticket sales can raise
funds for your work, and the event can also be used to educate concert-goers
about our cause.

24
 Awards: Local annual awards have proven to be an effective method to
Mobilize local resources. Well-publicized awards for the best volunteer,
Individual donor or socially responsible business3 not only provide public
Recognition to your key partners, but inspire others to become involved.

2.7. Practical Suggestions for Mobilizing Resources

“No matter how poor, almost every community has services, goods, or expertise
that can contribute to local projects and actions. The key is to mobilize them!”
(Branko Panic, Oasis 98 Selnica)

The Academy for Educational Development (2004), suggested practical tips for
mobilizing resources.

If your organization or group is trying to mobilize resources, you will have to

coordinate contributions from different sources. Before you begin, you should be
sure that you have plans to implement, monitor, and evaluate this effort. To do
this, you may need to train current staff and members, hire or recruit additional
staff, or find partner organizations whose areas of expertise complement your
own. Regardless of local circumstances, if your local community values the work
you are doing, it will find ways to support you. The most important thing is to
recognize that there are many ways to sustain and improve your work without
large financial contributions. Your organization’s future ultimately lies in your local
community, and depends on your ability to develop creative ways for the
community to support the services you provide.

With that in mind, the following are some practical tips for mobilizing resources:

 Don’t be afraid to ask for support! In many countries, surveys have

been done to find out why people do not donate. The most common
answer is that they are never asked.

 Think beyond money. Find ways to utilize every available resource

required for planned activities. Don’t assume that only financial resources
are needed. Also, get your potential supporters past the response “we
don’t have the money to do that”, which is often used as a substitute for
creative thinking and mobilizing other kinds of available resources.

25
 Get people to connect with the work being done: Conduct site visits
with potential stakeholders to encourage them to invest their resources.
Share the goals, objectives, and status of the program with stakeholders and
the community.
 Keep the local community and/or donors updated: Provide updates
about the implementation and development of your activity or program,
whether they provided support or not. Give them the opportunity to
reflect on the impact of your work.

 Be visible: It is important to develop simple and attractive promotional

materials about your activities with information on how others can support
your efforts. Involve media as a partner in the promotion of community
successes.

 Be cost-effective/Value for Money: Look for ways to keep costs low

and limit administrative costs to make resources go farther. Seek resources
that complement what is already being done. Only accept resources that
add more value then they cost to obtain.

 Build local skills: Implement cost-effective training programs. For

example, previously trained volunteers and/or staff can provide training to
other volunteers (cascading), who can then train still more volunteers.
 Keep records and be Transparent: Maintain documents to help others
access information about the contributions you have obtained, which will
also encourage additional contributions. Quantify both financial and in-kind
contributions from different sources to document your increased
sustainability.
 Stay in line with your mission: Seek resources that further your
NGO/LCI’s mission and goals, support long-term activities, and extend the
reach of your activities.

 Diversify your sources of support: You will be less vulnerable if you

have many sources of support, so that if one is discontinued, you have
other resources to continue your activities.

26
 Express your gratitude to all supporters at the end of an activity
or project: If you are mobilizing resources for a longer-term program, it is
important to update and acknowledge local contributors and partners on a
regular basis, not only at the end of a multi-year program.

27
 Section 3. Grant Proposal Writing for
Resource Mobilization
3.1. Why do we write a grant proposal?

A project is a series of activities aimed at bringing about clearly specified

objectives within a defined time-period and with a defined budget. A project
should also have:
 Clearly identified stakeholders, including the primary target groups
 Clearly defined coordination, management and financing arrangements;
 A monitoring and evaluation system (to support performance
management); and
 An appropriate level of financial and economic analysis, which indicates
that the project’s benefits will exceed its costs.

A proposal is a way of selling an idea through writing. One of the reasons for
writing a proposal is to get support, recognition and encouragement from
different groups of people. A successful grant proposal is one that is well-
prepared, thoughtfully planned, and concisely packaged.

The potential applicant should become familiar with the entire pertinent program
criteria related to the Catalog program from which assistance is sought. Refer to
the information contact person listed in the Catalog program description before
developing a proposal to obtain information such as whether funding is available,
when applicable deadlines occur, and the process used by the grantor agency for
accepting applications. Applicants should remember that the basic requirements,
application forms, information and procedures vary with the Federal agency
making the grant award.

When developing an idea for a proposal it is important to determine if the idea

has been considered in the applicant's locality or State. A careful check should be
made with legislators and area government agencies and related public and private
agencies which may currently have grant awards or contracts to do similar work.
If a similar program already exists, the applicant may need to reconsider
submitting the proposed project, particularly if duplication of effort is perceived. If

28
significant differences or improvements in the proposed project's goals can be
clearly established, it may be worthwhile to pursue Federal assistance.

Community support for most proposals is essential. Once proposal summary is

developed, look for individuals or groups representing academic, political,
professional, and lay organizations which may be willing to support the proposal in
writing. The type and caliber of community support is critical in the initial and
subsequent review phases. Numerous letters of support can be persuasive to a
grantor agency. Do not overlook support from local government agencies and
public officials. Letters of endorsement detailing exact areas of project sanction
and commitment are often requested as part of a proposal to a Federal agency.
Several months may be required to develop letters of endorsement since
something of value (e.g., buildings, staff, and services) is sometimes negotiated
between the parties involved.

It’s also equally important to alien any grant proposal to the vision and mission of
the organizations. Most organizations do not secure funding for the simple reason
that the proposal has nothing to do with the vision and mission of the applying
organizations.

29
3.2. The project Cycle Management for Writing Grant Proposal

The generic project cycle has six phases. In practice, the duration and importance
of each phase may vary from project to project as well as context to context.

Programming

Evaluation Identification/Analysis

Lessons Planning/
Monitoring Learning Formulation

Appraisal
Implementation

Financing

Source: CCRDA Training manual on Project Cycle Management by Tewodros

Wendmneh and Teshome Shibru(20011)

30
3.3. Components of a Grant Proposal

Contact Responsible person’s name, organization, address,

Information email, telephone.

Summary of proposal, including a statement on

Overview the purpose of the project and why funds are
being requested.

Description of critical issues affecting your

community and why project is necessary. Funders
may ask for a needs statement which provides a
Context
scope of the problem, including statistics. Focus
this section on what your intended project is
addressing.

How project will be implemented, including:

Project measurable goals and objectives, activities,
Description beneficiaries’ involvement, anticipated results,
timeframe, collaborating organizations or agencies

How project will be monitored and evaluated to

Monitoring and
ensure that the project is on track and that the
Evaluation
results are being achieved.

Costs for project, amount requested, in-kind

contributions, and other sources of funding. State
Budget
currency and exchange rate on which your budget
is based.

Background, governance structure and

Organization
composition, mission, past accomplishments, staff
Information
qualifications, internal controls, legal status.

Source: www.worldbank.org/smallgrantsprogram

31
3.4. Step 1 - Before You Write

3.4.1. Getting Started

A good proposal begins with a clear idea of the goals and objectives of the
project. Envision what improvements your project will make, and then ask
yourself what activities and course(s) must be developed, what instruments will
be needed, or what coalitions must be formed to make the desired
improvements. Focusing first on the goals and objectives helps ensure that the
activities are designed to reach those goals.

After the goals and associated activities are well defined, consider what resources
(e.g., people, time, equipment, technical support) will be necessary as part of the
request). A better proposal is likely to result if the goals and activities are clear
before resources are considered. Your project should be innovative within its
context. It should not be designed merely to bring your institution up to the level
of other similar institutions, nor should it be used to fill program deficiencies that
have been caused by changing student registration patterns.

Mention what work has been done in preparation for the project, and describe
specific attempts that have been made to try the proposed improvement on a
small scale. Evidence of preliminary work demonstrates planning and commitment
to the project and often indicates the project’s potential for success. When the
proposal requests significant funds for equipment, it is helpful to consider
alternatives and explain why the instruments chosen are particularly suitable for
the project and why others, especially less expensive ones, are less suitable.

3.4.2. Gathering Background Information

When writing a proposal, look for previously awarded projects or work

supported in other ways that are similar. The relationship of the proposed project
to the work of others should be described. In addition, the proposal must give
appropriate attention to the existing relevant knowledge base, including
awareness of current literature. Results of previous projects may have been
presented at professional meetings or published in journals, and other regularly
publishes abstracts of its recently awarded grants.

32
3.4.3. Thinking about the Target Audience

The target audience of the grant should be clearly explained in terms of

demographic characteristics, size, and special characteristics or
problems/challenges faced by the group. The project design should be developed
in a manner that will effectively assist the target group in addressing those special
problems or challenges.

3.4.4. Building Coalitions

When several organizations, institutions, or constituencies and also the academic
community are involved in the project, it is important to have these groups
involved in the planning and to obtain letters of endorsement to the project..
Where appropriate in terms of the project’s size and its potential for national
impact, consider designing the project with an advisory board of outside experts
to provide additional levels of expertise and experience and to help widely
disseminate the project results.

3.4.5. Other Considerations

Organize a good working team. Distribute duties and develop a firm schedule of
activities needed to prepare the proposal in time to meet the proposal deadline.
Schedule proposal writing and information gathering activities over a reasonable
time and carefully manage the schedule. Consider scheduling the writing in small,
regular amounts of time. The effort needed to write a proposal might, at first
sight, seem insurmountable. By preceding a step at a time, you will be able to
accomplish the task.

3.5. Step 2 - Writing the Proposal

A good proposal is always readable, well-organized, grammatically correct, and

understandable. Be explicit in your narrative about how the project will make an
improvement. This narrative must contain specifics including details of activities
and strategies both to show that planning has been done and to help reviewers
understand why the particular project is better than other ideas.
.

33
The narrative should be specific about the proposed activities. Reviewers want
details of the project’s organization, the course content, and other inquiry-based
activities, both to show that groundwork has been laid and to help them
understand why the particular ideas you propose are better than others. Careful
writing should allow you to describe, in the limited space available, enough about
your project to give the reviewers a clear idea of exactly what you plan to do and
why your plan is a good one.

3.5.1. Budget Information

The budget request should be realistic for the project and reflect the goals of the
project. It must also be consistent with the requirements of the particular project.
It should request sufficient resources needed to carry out the project, but it
should not be excessively high. Budget information should be complete and
unambiguous. Carefully review your budget to ensure that ineligible items do not
appear in the budget and that adequate attention has been given to cost sharing.
Consult the Program Solicitation for eligible and ineligible items. Most reviewers
and all Program Directors look carefully at the proposed budgets to find evidence
of careful reflection and realistic project planning.
Make sure that your budget narrative reflects both your official project budget
pages and the needs of the project. Cost of the project must be realistic. Many
budget requests are out-of-line with others. Budgets are often negotiated as a
proposal is being considered; but a clear, realistic budget request strengthens a
proposal.

3.5.2. Writing the Credentials of the relevant Staff

When writing up the credentials of the relevant staff involved in the

implementation of the project make sure that each biographical sketch should be
written with the proposal in mind and should display the unique background of
the community and the context that will be valuable in working on the proposed
project. Be sure that the roles of all personnel, especially the focal person are
described in the proposal itself. Having the roles of the focal person and other
personnel discussed within the narrative is important so that reviewers can
understand their involvement, leadership, and commitment to the project.

34
3.5.3. Monitoring, Evaluation and Dissemination Information
A good monitoring and evaluation plan appropriate to the scale of the project will
provide information as the project is developing and will determine how
effectively the project has achieved its goals. The effects of formative evaluation
should be described. Also include how you intend to monitor a periodically and
to evaluate the final project and how you will determine whether this project met
your scientific expectations.
Discuss how you plan to collect and analyze data on the project’s impact (i.e.,
number of community groups affected.) Describe why the proposed project is a
good way to improve the community problems and how it might be emulated at
other similar organizations. Explain in detail how you will disseminate information
on the success and content of your project to other organizations working in
similar areas.

3.5.4. Letters of Endorsement

Include letters of endorsement from your Board of Director, relevant
stakeholders and other appropriate administrators as the nature and scope of the
project requests. Include letters of endorsement, supporting letters and
recommendation letters with specific contributions from the participants'
supporting organizations. These should make specific commitments and not just
be generic support of good will. Uniquely phrased letters of endorsement from
different organizations and funding agencies are better than nearly identical letters
from the organizations to be served.

3.5.5. Project Summary

The project summary (abstract) is the first thing that reviewers and funding
agencies staff read. It should be written clearly and concisely. In the space
allotted, it should outline the problem, the objectives and the expected
outcomes, project activities, and the audience to be addressed.
The project summary must also clearly address in separate statements the
intellectual merit of the proposed activity and the broader impacts resulting from
the proposed activity. Program Directors use the summary to choose reviewers
for the proposal. It is also the reviewers’ introduction to the project

35
3.6. Before Sending Your Proposal to funding Agencies

3.6.1. Learning More about the Review Process

To gain expertise in project’s proposal review system, volunteer to serve on a

program review panel yourself. Each Division compiles names of appropriate
individuals who can serve as reviewers. Contact the pertinent division to
volunteer for reviewer status. Encourage your professional organization to form a
committee to help members review their proposals before submitting them to
funding agencies.

3.6.2. Getting Advice

Consider asking someone who has served on a similar program review panel to
assess your proposal. If possible, have someone not connected with the proposal
read and comment on a draft of your proposal with sufficient time allowed for
changes prior to the submission of your proposal. This person can help identify
omissions or inconsistent logic before reviewers see the proposal. Some
programs require a preliminary proposal. When working on a proposal or award
for several years, you may be transferred from one Program Director to another.

3.6.3. Before Finishing the Proposal

When a checklist is provided in the Program Solicitation or Announcement, use it

to ensure that all needed information and/or administrative details are included.
Look again at the goals and objectives and at your written plans and procedures
for achieving the goals. Check to see that the goals are well-developed and
realistic and that your plans are innovative and appropriate. Consider using
graphics to make your point stronger and clearer. A time line to show when
different components of your project are to take place can be particularly
effective.

36
 Section 4. Methods of Resource
Mobilization
4.1. Positioning Your Organization for RM

Any funding agencies especially the US-AID is looking for dependable, innovative
NGOs that can manage and track donor funds and understand, are responsive to,
and are capable of meeting the complex needs and expectations of the donor. It
is perfectly acceptable for the president of your organization to call or email (and
generally both) the mission director, deputy mission director, or technical or
program officers and invite them to lunch or coffee to show your organizations
grassroots works and achievement. They are terrific sources of information and
are also interested in building relationships with organizations that can help them
get the kinds of information they need to report to their stakeholders

While preparing for a meeting it is important that you understand the donor(s)
programmatic strategy for the county you are applying for. These documents are
public and can be found on the internet. It is also important to understand the
role of the person you are meeting with and how s/he fits into the decision-
making process at the funding agencies.

During the meeting with funding agencies introduce yourself and set the goals for
the meeting. “Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me. I’ve done some
research about your programmatic goals, and would love to learn more. I’d also
like to tell you a bit about my organization and what we do. I know it can be
difficult for you and other funding agency staff to get into the field and, and
wonder if there’s information I have from our work in the field that may be
helpful to you.” Then ask an open-ended question. Remember, this is an
exchange. You create value by bringing useful information to your donor.

In this way you can create a rapport with your funding agencies, if you share
publications and report that even is much more important to sale your cause and
position your organization for future funding.
Reviewing and assessing a call for proposal, it is a critical first step in the process
of determining whether your organization should submit a proposal and which

37
role (sub or prime) your organization may want to consider. While all sections of
the RFA are critical to review in detail, the following questions specifically relate
to two key areas: the program description and the selection criteria. The
following questions may be useful to your organization during preparation for call
for proposal request. These questions are not exhaustive but will give you a sense
of what you should be looking for. Please add your own ideas.

Program description

 What are the key problems this RFA is trying to address?

 What are the key programmatic priorities in the RFA?
 What are the key objectives and approaches?
 What are the key background issues that your proposal will need to
address?
 What are the current activities on the ground, who is implementing them
and what is their reputation with the donor and other key stakeholders?
 What does the evidence say regarding the best approach?
 What are the specific policy issues associated with problems and what are
the government priorities?
 What are the key challenges laid out in the RFA to addressing the central
issue?
 What is the geographic coverage?

For your organization specifically

 What is your competitive advantage and who else will you be competing
with as a prime?
 As a prime (sub), which pieces of the program will your organization take
on and why?
 Who will you partner with and what do you want them to do? (i.e. how do
they complement your skills; how will they make your bid more
competitive?)
 How will you find the people to fill the key personnel positions?

Selection Criteria

 Which sections are weighted most heavily?

38
  What can you infer about what donor is looking for from the weight of the
rankings?
 Given the weight of the rankings, how can you position the strengths of
your organization in a proposal?
 Based on the rankings, what strengths do your partners need to bring to
make your proposal competitive?

4.2. Developing a donor map and Resource Mobilization Plan

Resource mobilization efforts are most effective when Resource Mobilization

teams have a clear sense of their goals and objectives. Establishing common
understanding of: 1) organizational priorities among staff responsible for Resource
Mobilization; and 2) the purpose and value of linking Resource Mobilization
activities with strategic priorities helps to focus Resource Mobilization teams and
gives organizations a lens through which to determine whether and how to invest
time and resources in Resource Mobilization activities/opportunities. This
exercise is a starting point for helping participants assess which donors to target
based upon their strategic priorities.
Organizations are best equipped to make strategic decisions about investing time
and resources in approaching and cultivating donors or responding to call for
proposal opportunities when they have a clear sense of which donors fund at
what level, level of effort needed to cultivate donors and submit proposals, level
of effort needed to manage grants, and time frame for support. This exercise is
designed to help participates assess the current donor environment with respect
to these key elements.
Hands-on experience and practice finding and using donor research tools on the
internet will enable participants to find critical information that they can use to: 1)
track opportunities from a range of donors; 2) assess the feasibility and level of
effort necessary to secure donor support; and 3) conduct the necessary
background research as part of overall preparation process.

39
Role play scenario: Meeting with Donors (Resource Mobilization
Module Facilitators’ Guide, 2010).
Facilitators divide participants into groups of donors (government, private
foundation, corporate, and other, depending on relevance for each organization)
and NGO representatives. The group may be divided equally or facilitators may
choose to assign fewer donor roles and larger numbers of NGO representative
roles to enhance the competitive environment.

Facilitators describe the following scenario: NGO representatives and donors are
attending either: 1) a social gathering; 2) a launch event for a new program; or 3)
an interactive conference with donors. NGO representatives are charged with
identifying the priority donor(s) they want to meet at the event and are given 5
minutes to think about how they will introduce themselves and their
organizations and what impression they want to leave with the donor. Facilitators
and participants develop a list of key points that NGO representatives should
communicate to donors, including a plan for follow-up. Facilitators ask donor
representatives to be prepared to offer feedback to the NGO representatives
about their impressions. NGO representatives then have 10 minutes to meet and
introduce their organizations to their priority donors.
At the end of the role play, all donors and NGO representatives are asked to
report their experiences in their roles. Donor participants offer their impression
of the NGO representatives and NGOs reflect on the difficulty, ease, or insights
gained from their

4. 2.1. Resource Mobilization Plan

Among other things, a resource Mobilization Plan should include the following
major components.

I. Legacy Statement: What do you want your organization to be remembered

for?

II. Strategic Priorities: What are your organization’s strategic priorities?

Strategic priorities for the resource mobilization refer to the areas of
programmatic growth that are most critical to the vision and mission of the

40
organization. Programmatic strategic priorities could include: 1) deepening an area
of technical expertise; 2) broadening a geographic area; 3) developing expertise in
a new program area; and 4) replicating or expanding a promising model or
approach.

III. Resource Mobilization Goal & Objectives:

 Which donors will you target to reach your objectives and why?
 How will you identify, track, solicit, and cultivate these donors?
 Who will undertake and be accountable for these efforts?
 What are the specific roles and responsibilities of each RM team member?
 What is the time frame for implementation?

IV. Fundraising Documents and Systems (Which documents, templates, and

simple systems will you create to support your resource mobilization efforts?)
 What kinds of resource mobilization resources do you have/need?
 Where will this information be located?
 Who will be responsible for managing and updating this information?

The Resource Mobilization Plan has also the following elements.

What are you raising funds for (linking legacy and strategic priorities to resource
mobilization)?
Who in your organization is responsible for resource mobilization and are they
clear about their roles and expectations?
Who are your priority donors (refer to donor grid exercise, donor
characteristics)?
How will you identify, approach, and cultivate your priority donors (refer to
strategic networking and marketing exercise and donor role plays) and who will
do it?
When will you execute your action steps?
Systems what kinds of practical systems do you need in place to support your
Resource Mobilization efforts?

41
4.3. Donors Grid and Criteria for Donors Assessments

4.3.1. Donors Grid

Donor Category Understan Funding Flexibility LOE LOE Your

ding the Ranges Required Required Org’s
interest (to win) (to Priority
and manage)
priorities

Governments
USAID
DFID
EU
JICA
AUSAID
GTZ
UN Agencies

UNICEF

UNIFEM

UNDP

Private
Foundations
Bill & Melinda
Gates
Foundation
Elton John AIDS
Foundation

Firelight
Foundation

Adopted From New Partners Initiative Technical Assistance (NuPITA) Project

(2010)

42
4.3.2. Criteria for Donors Assessments

The following questions may be useful for your organization in considering

funding from a range of donors:
 What are the donor’s priorities? If I need more information, how will I find
it?

 How will this donor support my organization’s strategic priorities (why

should my organization target this donor)?

 What is the level or range of funding and for how long (e.g. one year; two
years; five years)?

 What is the level of effort required by my organization to submit a

proposal and how will this affect or dilute other critical efforts or
activities?

 What is the process for submitting a proposal (concept paper submission;

letter of interest; full proposal) and which staff person will be responsible
for submission and follow up?

 What does this donor expect in terms of programmatic and financial

reporting requirements and does my organization have the capacity to
fulfill donor requirements?

 How is my organization perceived or known by this donor and/or what is

my organization’s reputation with this donor?

 How do my organization’s strengths fit into the donor’s goals and

objectives; how will my organization ‘add value’ to the donor?

 What is the donor’s reputation in the NGO community (e.g. flexible; very
strict; collaborative vs. top down; etc.)?

 Who is my competition and what unique contributions and innovations

does my organization have to differentiate itself?

43
4.4. Donors Screen shots and Donors Expectations

Donors vary in their expectations and interest, but all donors generally want the
funding and resources they provide to your organization to reflect well on them
and appeal to their constituency. All donors expect organizations to:

Understand donor needs and interests. Investing adequate time to research

the interests of your donor is a critical step in donor research and cultivation.
Donors expect you to know their programmatic priorities and be able to tell
them how your organization will help them meet their objectives.
Do what you say you will do. Use the support provided efficiently and
effectively. Donors look for organizations with a track record that demonstrates
an ability to marshal the technical and operational expertise needed to deliver
high-quality services efficiently.
Address shared programmatic objectives. Adopt approaches and produce
outcomes that are compatible with their values, objectives, and interests and with
those of their constituency. The organization they support is, in effect, their agent
and they want to be confident that their support to your organization will help
them achieve their goals and objectives.

Demonstrate that your approach works. Government donors commonly

prefer to fund programs with proof or evidence that their approach works.
Donors funding new programs also expect organizations to demonstrate why
they want to try the new approach proposed (evidenced from other programs, a
literature search, etc.).

Bring community credibility. Donors may fund your organization, in part,

because of your organization’s unique relationships with the communities that
you support. Local and traditional leaders, local and district government officials,
or other credible voices and leaders in the community you serve can help
increase your visibility and strengthen the credibility necessary to attract donors.

Demonstrate willingness to collaborate and partner with other

institutions or organizations. Donors usually prefer to fund organizations that
are willing to and/or have a history of partnerships with a variety of institutions.

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Demonstrating your history or collaboration and partnership will enhance your
attractiveness to donors.

Be responsive and accessible. Donors expect organizations to be responsive

and accessible from proposal development, start up, contract negotiations,
reporting agreements, to the end of the project.
Acknowledge support. Donors expect to be acknowledged. Use multiple,
creative ways to acknowledge donors’ support such as reports, success stories
community or other public events.

What Do Your Donors Want to Know?

Donors need to be able to report back to their own stakeholders—public
authorities, individual donors, trustees, stockholders, US Congress, parliaments of
donor countries—what they accomplished with the resources they make available
to organizations like yours.

Submit timely, accurate reports. You can enhance your value to donors by
providing additional information that they can give their constituents. It is it
perfectly acceptable to ask donors how else your organization can supply them
with information they want to know. In doing so, you make your organization a
valued and trusted resource to your donor.

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4.5.SWOT Analysis: A Great Strategic Planning Tool
(http://brigemakersconsulting.com)

How to Evaluate Your Organization

One of the most fundamental tools for strategic market planning is the use of
SWOT analysis template to evaluate potential success in any organizations. This
simple tool, developed at Stanford University in the late 1960's, is an extremely
powerful ingredient in the recipe for organizational success. Used by most
Fortune business companies and organizations in strategic planning, the SWOT
matrix involves a frank evaluation of a organizations Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats:

STRENGTHS:

Attributes of the organization that are HELPFUL to achieving the objective. These
are the organization’s core competencies, and include proprietary technology,
skills, resources, market position, patents, and others.

WEAKNESSES:

Attributes of the organization that are HARMFUL to achieving the objective.

Weaknesses are conditions within the organization that can lead to poor
performance, and can include obsolete equipment, no clear strategy, heavy debt
burden, poor product or market image, long product development cycle, weak
management, and others.

OPPORTUNITIES:

External conditions that are HELPFUL to achieving the objective. Opportunities

are outside conditions or circumstances that the organizations could turn to its
advantage, and could include a specialty niche skill or technology that suddenly
realizes a growth in broad market interest.

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THREATS:

External conditions that are HARMFUL to achieving the objective. Threats are
current or future conditions in the outside environment that may harm the
organizations, and might include population shifts, changes in purchasing, serious
competitive barriers, changes in governmental or environmental regulations, and
others.

SWOT analysis provides an efficient way to evaluate the range of factors that
influence your operation, and can give you valuable guidance in making decisions
about what to do next. It also provides a highly productive way to get your key
personnel involved in the management decision-making process.

The exercise of going through the SWOT analysis matrix can be a great
opportunity to do management team building. If you have a large team, break into
4 teams for each of the quadrants and each team can prepare and report its
findings. Make sure to include not only your market planners, but also finance,
operations, product development and others.

As a strategic tool, SWOT is of paramount important in Resource Mobilization

efforts of an NGO. Before starting mobilization resources, it is important to do
internal and external environment assessment within which your organization
operates. SWOT is an ideal tool for such assessment as it addresses the tow side
of the coin. Any Resource mobilization strategy and/or a plan needs a critical
SWOT Analysis.

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 i. SWOT Analysis Matrix (Sample)

Strengths of your Relevant Opportunities in Implications for

Organization the Strategic Choices
External Environment and Activities

Weaknesses of Your Relevant Potential Implications for

Organization Threats in the Strategic Choices
External Environment and Activities

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 Annexes

Annex 1. Proposal Components Checklist (for US-AID funded

projects)

Creating templates or drafts of certain documents in advance of a proposal

will reduce the stress associated with the proposal development process.
Your organization should have the following boilerplate documents in place.

Corporate capabilities statement. Effectively and concisely articulates

your mission, organizational background and history, technical capacity,
range and size of donor support, organizational achievements, and
organizational partnerships.
Budget template with budget notes. All organizations should have a
basic budget template on file that can be adapted to the specific needs of a
range of donors. Budget notes are a critical part of the template. Budget
notes are necessary to: 1) describe in detail line-item costs; and 2) help
remind you how costs are linked to line-item activities.
Updated key staff CVs. USAID has a specific format for CVs that your
organization can use and adapt for other donors.

Statement of context in which you are working. A couple of

paragraphs describing the specific details where you work, the populations
that you serve, prevalence of issues (such as HIV; poverty; and school drop-
out).
Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan. A draft M&E template will
enable you to quickly adapt a plan for a proposal.

Management plan (if you are a prime on a USG-proposal). An

organogram of your organizational management structure is a necessary
part of any proposal submission to USG as a prime.

Past performance recommendations. List of past donors and

organizations that can vouch for your performance.

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Annex 2. Resource Mobilization Checklist

The following guidelines will assist your organization in preparing for effective
resource mobilization.
 How does your organization demonstrate the following?
 Clear sense and commitment to your vision and mission—who you are,
where you are going, and how your mission relates to the communities
served.
 Innovative approach and programs that yield results.
 Evidence of past accomplishments.
 Effective management and leadership by your board members and staff who
will ensure the accountability and transparency of the organization.
 Financial systems that will safeguard the resources, including adequate
financial controls that demonstrate good management and builds trust.
 Solid reputation, credibility, and ability to add value to donors’ or prime
contractor objectives.
 Mutual respect and knowledge sharing between the organization and the
community it benefits, as well as other stakeholders.
 The ability to attract, create, and sustain new resources, especially those
based in the local community.
 Cost effectiveness and cost competitiveness.

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Annex. 3. Resource Mobilization Action Plan: Sample

Legacy Statement

Strategic Priorities (sample)

1.
2.
3.
4.

Goal (sample)
1. Example: To sustain and increase organizational capacity to support our
strategic priorities.

Objectives (sample)
1. Expand support by xx number of non-USG donors
2. Expand support by USG donors acting as either a prime or a sub
3. Develop and/or compile all necessary templates
4. Develop fundraising systems to support resource mobilization
5. Develop at least xx documents for resource mobilization
6. Determine roles and responsibilities of resource mobilization staff

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References

How to Mobilize Local Resource, A Guide for Non-governmental Organizations

and Citizens Initiatives, 2004

Latifa Sekajingo , A Handbook on Local Resource Mobilization for NGOs and

CBOs, 2011

Richard Holloway, Towards Financial Self-Reliance: A Handbook on

Resource Mobilization for Civil Society Organizations in the South, 2012

The East African Community Draft Resource Mobilization Manual, 2013.

Nuri Kedir and Associates Development Consultants, Domestic Resource

Mobilization Strategy, Training User’s Guide, 2010

National Science Foundation, a Guide for Proposal Writing, Directorate for

Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education, 2010

Resource Mobilization Module Facilitators’ Guide, New Partners Initiative

Technical Assistance (NuPITA) Project 2010

David, W. and Scott, A. D. (2000) "Foundation Building Sourcebook: A Practitioners

Guide Based upon Experience from Africa, Asia and Latin America" Synergos
Publications.

Chikati, J. (1999). "The Complete Eastern Africa Fundraising Handbook". An Institute

of Fundraising and Direct Marketing Publication, Nairobi
Dorcas Robinson and Rutha Mutakyahwa (2004), "An introduction to the non-profit
sector in Tanzania", Published by Allavida, 55 Bondway London SW8 ISJ.
st
Norton, M., (1996), "The World Wide Fundraiser's Handbook" 1 Edition, Published
by Directory of Social Change London

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