How to get donor mapping right
0 likes2,878 views
The document outlines the importance and processes of donor mapping for NGOs, emphasizing the need to align funding opportunities with organizational missions. Key steps include building a live donor map, setting parameters for donor research, and creating a prospect table to prioritize funding opportunities. Successful donor mapping is essential for achieving strategic, sustainable funding rather than relying on traditional donors alone.
How to get donor mapping right
- 1. How to Get Donor Mapping Right What a good donor map looks like Webinar starts at 2pm CET.
- 2. WHO Chris Meyer zu Natrup Director MzN WHAT We build better NGOs We help NGOs to be funded better Carolin Gomulia Senior Consultant
- 3. Talking points & Speakers • The Basics of NGO Funding • Why Donor Map • The Donor Mapping Process • Using The Donor Map
- 4. 1. Diversification of funding and revenue streams. Have a Funding Strategy 2. Set minimum funding level 3. Define minimum management fee to be recovered or gross margin 4. Set the parameters and stick to them! 5. Have a system to find and assess opportunities 10 Practical Steps in Building a Stable Income Stream
- 5. 6. Match the funding streams you choose to your mission, not the other way around 7. Be prepared to participate flexibly - from lead to sub to associate all options can add value 8. Work on partnerships with larger/established partners 9. Add surge capacity to your proposal writing team 10. Understand income development as a key part of business as usual not something to be done ad hoc 10 Practical Steps in Building a Stable Income Stream
- 6. The Donor Landscape With kind permission of 1. The Donor Landscape is at best changeable and at worst disrupted. 2. Over-reliance on traditional institutional donors is no longer viable. 3. Traditional donors change policies rapidly and many are reducing grants. 4. New countries are entering the aid space, providing grants and also changing influences. 5. New foundations, private philanthropists and corporate trusts are playing an increasingly important role. 6. Increased competition from social enterprises, other NGOs and corporates.
- 7. Why Map Donors? For NGOs - Time is Money! - Donor mapping works to align your vision and mission with opportunities and funding bodies that match your organisation's goals. A donor map aggregates donor information from across the industry and gives a targeted understanding of: 1. Which opportunities are suitable to be investigated further for detailed profiling and research 2. Which donors are high, medium or low priority as per parameters set by you 3. Prioritisation of opportunities, which donors or calls for proposal need immediate attention 4. Your organisational strategic plan - What your short-term and long-term prospects should be and how to best achieve them. A good donor map is the difference between constantly trying to fund your NGO and strategic sustainable funding for your NGO
- 8. 1. Build a Template - A donor map needs to be a live accessible and interactive document (ideally cloud-based or on a platform). 2. Understand your Parameters - Donors have a range of criteria and eligibility standards. Your organisation has specific capabilities and a mission to fulfil. Make sure that both of those aspects are accounted for within your donor map. Time wasted on ineligible projects is de-motivational and costly. 3. Research the Donors - This is an exercise of strategic importance, the devil is often in the detail. Time spent conducting proper research builds effective prospect lists as well as avoids disappointment. 4. Build a Prospect Table - This is where you summarise and prioritise the opportunities identified by your research. How to Donor Map? Donor Mapping is a Simple and Logical Process Once you have defined your funding strategy - You should follow these simple steps:
- 9. Build a Template and Set Parameters 1. It is important to understand who and what you are mapping! Your funding strategy should determine your organisational ambitions - The donor map should help identify which donor can help you fulfil those ambitions. 2. Use a simple but accessible tool to build your template - We have found that simple, and shared documentation is what our most effective clients use. 3. Set the parameters clearly - A coherent approach to donors based on their funding envelope, experience and capability requirements, as well as their requirements for certain local registrations is key. 4. Make sure that your mission drives the donor map, funding for fundings sake does not make a strong NGO.
- 10. 1. What is your short-term, medium-term and long-term funding target? 2. What is the target split? (unrestricted/restricted) 3. Which projects/programmes/thematic areas do you need funding for? 4. Which areas are new/innovative/might attract funding? 5. What are the no-go areas of your funding policies? 6. What type of donors are you looking for? 7. Which geographical areas do you seek funding for? A few questions to consider when building a template
- 11. There are 3 main tools for donor research: 1. To research your existing donor agencies, partners and foundations. 2. To research your competitors and peers sources of funds. 3. To explore the NGO-donor organization common portals and databases. Examples: • www.devex.com • www.FundsForNGOs.com • www.triple-funds.com • www.unpartnerportal.com • www.reliefweb.com (more for tenders) A combination of those three tools is often the best approach. Donor Research
- 12. Donor Prospect Table ● The prospect table is a living document - it needs revisiting regularly and actively managing. The table needs to be accessible - Digital is Best! ● Prioritisation should be indicated in terms of active calls for proposals as well as overall potential long-term value. ● Prospects should be allocated to team members responsible for running that relationship. ● The prospect table is as much about long-term strategic networking as it is about the immediate opportunity. ● A stakeholder network mapping exercise is often a good starting point for prospecting. During this exercise, all employees, board members, key individuals and, at times, alumni, past international interns and even beneficiaries related to your organisation complete a questionnaire focusing on potential networks for funding See examples next slides
- 14. Simple prospect sheet Name of donor Website Deadline Status (e.g. applied, contacted, rejected, awai<ng open call) Next steps Descrip<on/focus areas Contact email
- 15. Lessons learnt from our donor mapping experience 1. Invest time and human resources - at least once a week 2. Keep it simple and accessible 3. Use a practical tool that is intuitive and easy to use 4. Share it with the larger team but only give a few people admin access 5. Have a bookmark folder with the regular opportunity websites/databases to consult 6. Create google alerts for the most relevant donors/calls 7. Develop a process across the team to keep the prospect sheet up to date 8. Invest in one or two subscriptions to the most relevant donor databases (but before you do - use their free trials for a while)
- 16. Stay in touch! Carolin Gomulia carolin@mzninternational.com Chris Meyer zu Natrup Chris@mzninternational.com Sarah Fernandes sarah@mzninternational.com Check out our blog and upcoming events on our website: www.mzninternational.com The NGO of the Future Is Agile, Entrepreneurial and Digital August 19th @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm CEST Merging an NGO – Experience and Reality August 25th @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm CEST How to Fund My Organization, Not Projects August 26th @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm CEST Upcoming webinars: