Is Your NGO Ready to Apply for Grants?

Grants are a major source of funding for NGOs around the world. With an estimated 250,000 institutional donors worldwide providing billions of dollars in grants every year, it is no wonder NGOs are very eager to get a piece of the pie. However, grant fundraising has its own challenges and minimum requirements.

Here are five things an organization should have to truly be ready to apply for grants.

Registration

Is your NGO legally registered in the country you operate in? What about in the country you want to fundraise from? Being a registered non-profit is a basic requirement for many donors. Registration may be needed to meet certain standards, and it can also be seen as a sign of respectability and commitment. For some organizations, it may be difficult or even impossible to become officially registered. It is still possible to win grants in these cases, but it will be much more difficult. Unregistered NGOs need alternative ways of proving their credibility and meeting donor due diligence and/or legal requirements.

Projects

You should have a project plan ready to apply for a grant. This may seem simple, but in fact, many first-time grant applicants do not completely know the difference between a project and a program. It is necessary to show potential donors a well-defined project with a timeline, planned activities, expected results, and an M&E plan for reporting.

For some NGOs, defining projects may be difficult. For example, running an orphanage is an on-going effort with no clear start and end points. Similarly, NGOs working on social change sometimes struggle to prove impact. NGOs in these situations may try to find non-project support, but it is typically still easier to design a project.

Experience

Running an NGO is hard work. Donors want to know if your organization is capable. While this requirement varies significantly, most donors look for an organization to have 3-5 years of activity before considering them for funding. This means having 3-5 years of being registered, experience actively running projects, financial records, evaluations, and NGO management experience. This means many new NGOs may need to work with volunteers, in-kind donations, partners, self-funding, fees, or individual donations until they have the experience donors look for.

Income

Donors want to make sure that you will spend their funding wisely. It may seem unfair that NGOs need money to get money. But it is also unfair to ask donors to have blind faith in the NGOs they fund. Even if an NGO has the best intentions to use the grant money properly, inexperienced staff with no oversight or accounting experience may make costly mistakes.

Time

Researching grant opportunities, writing proposals, and monitoring grants are very time-intensive. If your organization does not have enough staff or time to adequately complete these tasks, then it will be very difficult to successfully apply for and win grants.

 

There are many challenges new NGOs face. Securing grant funding is just one of many. Fortunately, there are many resources on proposalsforngos.com, and other places to help you get going!


About the author

Alta Alonzi

Alta Alonzi is a writer and researcher focusing on international development funding and grassroots NGOs. She works with the fundraising consulting company Philantropia conducting research for clients ranging from small NGOs to UN organizations. She also works closely with FundsforNGOs running training webinars, contributing resource guides, and updating the Premium donor database.

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Isaya ogutu
6 years ago

A very nice piece of advice. How can I get mentored into working with an NGO?

proposalsforngos
proposalsforngos
6 years ago
Reply to  Isaya ogutu

Dear Isaya:
I am glad you found this article helpful! Unfortunately, proposalsforNGOs is an online site and does not organize international training. However, we will be publishing all of our expert advice daily to this site. So subscribe to our newsletter and check back regularly for more free resources!

Isaya ogutu
6 years ago

This is great .how can one be mentored

Joyspencer
Joyspencer
6 years ago

We are a small community based organization in Kenya and always miss out on grants. Kindly guide.

proposalsforngos
proposalsforngos
6 years ago
Reply to  Joyspencer

Dear Joy;
Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, we do not offer referal service. But if you are looking for a grant opportunity specific to Kenya and your service sector, we recommend signing up for fundsforNGOs Premium membership.

Steve muthini
6 years ago

I fully appreciate all this important education about NGO propalsal writing I have worked in Kenya Nairobi slums for 17 years in my NGO I’m a rehabilitation officer on disability all from chv I create awareness about disability do health talk to government health centers about disability to schools churches village elders and to the chiefs volunteer home based therapy transfer of skills please to gate grants and support my NGO there is need on the ground

Edison Elias Mwakyembe
Edison Elias Mwakyembe
5 years ago

Hellow am looking for Grant of my Ngo how can apply it

Proposals forNGOs
Proposals forNGOs
5 years ago

Dear Edison: We are not a funding organization and do not provide grants. We are a social enterprise that provides platform to connect you with expert advice on proposal writing to get your amazing projects funded.

Please check out the many resources available on our site.

Thank you!

Umar Shehzad
4 years ago

please visit me on http://www.waseelahealth.blogspot.com … i need grants for my NGO in pakistan

Ahmad
4 years ago
Proposals forNGOs
Proposals forNGOs
4 years ago
Reply to  Ahmad

Dear Ahmad:
Unfortunately, We are not a funding organization and do not provide grants. We are a social enterprise that provides a platform to connect you with expert advice on proposal writing to get your amazing projects funded.

Please check out the many resources available on our site to will help you on creating a fundraising strategy.

Thank you!

Umair
Umair
3 years ago

Need some money

Proposals forNGOs
Proposals forNGOs
3 years ago
Reply to  Umair

Dear Umair:
Unfortunately, We are not a funding organization and do not provide grants. We are a social enterprise that provides a platform to connect you with expert advice on proposal writing to get your amazing projects funded.

Please check out the many resources available on our site to will help you on creating a fundraising strategy.

Emmanuel Abraham
2 years ago

Hello, how can we apply or get grant for our upcoming charity water project. and office/prayer center.

Emmanuel Abraham
2 years ago

Hello, how can we apply or get grant for our upcoming charity water project. and office/prayer center. https://emirho.org/?page_id=338

obaroh de humph global foundation
obaroh de humph global foundation
9 months ago

Thanks for this eye opening piece, We are Ngo’s and looking for funding to help us run our projects effectively.

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