Similar to many for-profit organizations, nonprofits such as Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) are in need of funds to continually serve the purpose of their existence. Unlike for-profit organizations, the funds garnered by NGOs would typically go to several projects aimed to help many who are disadvantaged in society. With that, it’s very common for NGOs to seek funding sources for non-profit organizations. For new or startup NGOs, the questions of where to garner funds or what types of funds are available may arise.
First of all, NGOs should know that grants will come from two sources, namely locally and internationally. Local funds usually come from either the government or local businesses. The government will have an annual budget specific for certain causes to which your organization can implement. At the same time, many businesses and corporations would like to get involved in corporate social responsibility. For corporations who do not have their own foundations, they would frequently like to partner with NGOs to push their initiatives. This helps them with regards to their taxes as well as their image given that they will be associated with your NGO.
Likewise, there are also several other NGOs who have similar initiatives as yours and would like to partner with you for certain projects. Make sure to optimize these types of partnerships as not doing so can be an inherent loss in your organization.
Most funding sources for NGOs come from international bases. Examples of the said international bases are the following:
1. Development Assistance Agencies
Many governments of developed countries often offer financial support to economically challenged countries through their development assistance agencies. Most of the time, their funds are offered directly to the respective governments of developing countries. At times, however, these funds can possibly be offered to NGOs for specific projects
2. UN Agencies
The United Nations has 15 specialized agencies and a few of them offer funds for NGOs to partner with. An example of a UN agency who offers funds would be the International Organization of Migration (IOM) who seek to help migrant workers together with their families. NGOs can apply for this particular grant while IOM will be selecting the NGOs to partner with.
3. Development banks
Development banks exists to loan money to countries and from time to time, they also hold grants for NGOs to provide support for developing countries.
4. International foundations
International foundations are usually founded by well-to-do individuals who would like to support specific causes. One characteristic of international foundations is the fact that they are very specific in the funds they offer and provide. If you are seeking for funding opportunities for NGOs, international foundations will be a generous source. That is, of course given that the projects you would like to implement is in line with the initiatives of the said foundation.
5. Bigger NGOs
Many NGOs share the same goals and initiatives. Some have succeeded and are well-known names today. In the same way, these NGOs also support smaller NGO and would like to guide them to succeed. Thus, they often offer partnerships including grant funding to the newer NGOs who’re still starting out.
Listed above are the most common sources of funding NGOs can optimize but shouldn’t limit themselves into. Other than that are less-conventional sources of funding which can also be looked into while balancing the sources mentioned as well.
