1) Purpose and principles
- Goal: to ensure stable funding of programs and expansion of social impact thanks to various sources of funds.
- Principles: choose the type of financing for a specific purpose; combine grants, business partnerships, philanthropic contributions and other tools; act transparently; to confirm the results with measurable indicators.
Development of fundraising strategy:
- Analysis of needs: A clear definition of the financial needs of the organization and for which specific projects or activities funds are needed.
- Defining your target audience: Who are your potential donors? Private individuals, businesses, foundations, international organizations, state institutions?
- Research funding sources: What grants are available? Who finances such initiatives?
- Developing a plan: Create a detailed plan for fundraising activities with clear goals, deadlines and responsible persons.
- Fundraising budget: Determining the resources needed to implement the fundraising strategy (personnel, materials, activities).
2) Funding tools
- Grants: grants of state and international programs, foundations, municipalities; small grants; large individual donations; donor intention funds.
- Long-term stability: target capital (endowment), due to which the organization receives annual investment income; regular contributions from the community.
- Partnerships with business: agreements within the scope of corporate social responsibility, joint projects, free professional assistance.
- Involvement from the community:
- Online fundraising: Creating an attractive website, using social networks, fundraising platforms (eg Patreon, Splinkokosht).
- Direct mail: Letters to potential donors.
- Personal meetings: Attracting major donors through personal contacts.
- Recurring Donations: Monthly or Annual Donation Programs.
- State and international contracts: purchase of social services, vouchers, tenders.
- Payment for results achieved: models where funding is provided after the social result is confirmed.
- Conducting events:
- Charity auctions, concerts, marathons, fairs.
- Master classes, trainings, webinars with paid participation, the income from which goes to support the organization.
How to choose:
- For quick launch of the program – grant or crowd campaign plus partner contribution from business.
- For long-term sustainability — target capital and pay-for-performance contracts.
- For visibility and community involvement — business partnerships and crowdfunding.
3) Step-by-step process (10 steps)
- Determine goals and needs for funds: amount, terms, for what exactly.
- Make a “funding basket”: which instruments to combine and in what proportions.
- Check the legal bases: statute, procurement procedure, avoidance of conflict of interests.
- Prepare a package of documents: statutory papers, financial statements, policies, a plan for monitoring and evaluating results.
- Collect a “set of materials”: a brief description of the idea, a presentation, application templates, letters of support.
- Make a map of donors and partners: profiles, eligibility criteria, calendar of deadlines.
- Conduct several “funnels” of involvement in parallel: donors, business partnerships, tenders, crowdfunding.
- Submit applications and conduct negotiations: specify the scope of work, budget, indicators.
- Conclude agreements and start execution: counterparty checks, budgets, purchases.
- Monitoring and reporting: regular updates for donors, findings and process improvements.
4) Work with “funnels” (stages)
- Donors and grants: opportunity review → pre-selection → short concept → full application → conclusion of agreement.
- Partnerships with business: first contact → joint program business case → pilot → framework agreement.
- Tenders and contracts: confirmation of compliance with requirements → technical and financial proposals → contract.
- Crowdfunding: preparing materials → launching a campaign → working with the community → fulfilling obligations.
A simple system (table) is recommended for accounting:
Name of the opportunity, source, donor organization, deadline, expected amount, co-financing, responsible person, stage, probability of success, next action, key indicators of impact, notes.
5) Package of documents and checks
- Legal documents and policies (anti-corruption, procurement, sanctions review).
- Finances: reporting for 2-3 years, project budget, cash flows, audit reports (if any).
- The program: logical model, indicators, basic level of condition at the start, monitoring plan, risks and ways to reduce them.
- Agreement templates: letter of intent, memorandum of cooperation, standard grant agreement, partnership agreement.
6) Success rates
- For raising funds: the share of successful applications, the average size of the grant or contribution, the time from the first contact to receiving funds, the costs of raising funds as a percentage of the raised amount (preferably no more than 20-25%).
- For social impact: fulfillment of planned results, coverage of target groups, “cost per unit of result” indicators.
- To maintain support: repeated contributions and extension of contracts, satisfaction of donors and partners.
7) Roles in the team
- Head of Fundraising and Impact (often Program Manager or Director).
- Responsible for grants and partnerships: submissions, deadlines, relationships.
- Monitoring and evaluation analyst: indicators, reports, basic measurements.
- Lawyer and financier: contracts, purchases, audits.
8) 90 Day Plan
- Weeks 1–2: goals, “funding basket”, document package (first version).
- Weeks 3–4: submission materials, map of donors and partners, calendar of deadlines.
- Weeks 5–8: 3–4 parallel funnels, 10–20 submissions or active negotiations.
- Weeks 9–12: first agreements, launch of results measurement, final meeting and adjustment of the plan.