Grants – one thing which all Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) need to acquire if they would like to continually operate. Essentially, grants would be vast amount of money donated to your organization for specific projects. Donations garnered from individuals and organizations will not be enough for NGOs to keep making the progress and initiatives they need. The process of acquiring grants for international development projects is not simple, but some tips can be useful in doing so.
1. Budget Your proposal must be very specific in terms of the amount of money needed for your project. This doesn’t lie on just the project itself but also other costs associated with the said project. Costs such as the provisions and materials needed, travel expenses, administrative incidentals, including staff time. This way, your organization will be more organized. Who would want to begin a new project and fall short on funds in the middle due to costs that weren’t considered?
2. Search engines To increase your chances of receiving a grant, your initiatives for the projects you propose must be in line with that of the organization you are applying for. To search for various grants, the optimization of search engines can be beneficial as it not only saves time, it also filters many organizations’ thematic areas to lead you to the grants which fit you best. Grants for international projects would usually come from the government, foundations, and corporations which have been made available by various search engine. A few of the search engines which your NGO can benefit from are the following:
- Foundation Center
- Grant watch
- Grants.gov
- AsianNGO
It would be best to try a number of search engines as each search engines will have their own focus areas, some of which may be in line with what you’re searching for while not all necessarily will.
3. Outline your grant criteria Applying for several grants is something NGOs do constantly. Often times, the grant in which they apply for are not necessarily the types of project organizations look for. It is essentially important to apply for the right types of grants as applying for too much also leads to wastage. Wastage of time and resources when applying for the right grants can essentially be a possibility. First and foremost, NGOs must determine the various types of grants before applying for a particular grant-funding agency. To give you an idea on the types of grants, here are the following:
- Grants for specific program expenses
- Funds which to sustain daily operational costs
- Research grants
- Matching grants
4. Documentation For organizations such as foundations and corporations to notice your NGO, your documents must be in place. To first be recognized, your organization must be recognized by your local government and be exempted from taxes. That way, you will be seen as a legitimate NGO and investors such as philanthropic organizations will have more confidence in you. To be recognized as a legitimate organization, the following requirements are needed:
- Mission statement
- Year-long plans
- Project proposals
- Tax forms
