Reasons for Having No Organizational Profile in a Proposal

Every page of your proposal contains valuable real estate. All information included should be relevant and of use to the evaluators. As important as the organizational profile sounds, there are some very compelling reasons to leave it out of the application entirely. Here are four reasons why including no organizational profile might leave your proposal better off.

It’s not a donor priority

For most donors, the proposal is all about the project and the beneficiaries. Unless you have a personal connection with the donor, your organization is of secondary concern. This does not mean your organization is not important – in fact, many donors will have an extensive vetting process. However, donors typically look at the proposed project first. If the project interests them, only then will they look at your profile. Once your project passes the first round, the donor will likely ask you more specific questions. Including a profile too early can be counter-productive.

It’s boring

The proposal is all about the project and making social change. This can easily be written as a compelling narrative to engage the reader and also prove the necessity of the project. An NGO profile, however, tends to be much less interesting and so difficult to write about in an engaging way. Often it just repeats what a donor already knows. And even if the profile is interesting, it can still detract from the more important story of the problem your beneficiaries face. Even worse, it could be seen as evidence of Adonis Syndrome.

It is better to show instead of tell

One of the main reasons NGOs want to include organizational profiles is to prove they are qualified. But instead of telling a donor how capable you are, it is better to show it. Instead of explaining the past projects you have run, including the lessons learned or M&E findings in the project background or as case studies. Instead of listing all the grants you have won in the past, attach past audited financial records. Instead of bragging about past accomplishments, share pictures from successful events or activities or case studies. Taking the time to improve the quality of the application – researching, planning, and writing – is a much more effective means of proving your capacity.

Your entire organizational profile should be online

While space is limited in a proposal, there is plenty of room to talk about your NGO on the internet. Through a simple web search, donors should be able to uncover not only your organizational profile but also annual reports, newsletters, pictures, videos, past projects and partners, staff bios, contacts, reviews, references, reports, networks, past donors, etc. Even for organizations with no online presence, donors will tap their personal networks for references. All this information could not otherwise fit in a proposal. So instead of wasting space discussing information from the past donors could find for themselves, it is better to include information they could not find. Such as your future project.

Most proposals will include some form of organizational profile, although typically it will be very short or included as an annex. If you do decide to include a full organizational profile, make sure it only includes relevant details and does not detract from the overall proposal. As a rule of thumb, give what the donor requires about your organization – but no more.