Fund Raising

Fund Raising Techniques To organize funds for your organization Projects proposal writing Institutional & Government funding Different Fund Raising Plans Direct Mailing Applications Donation Boxes Schools awareness cum sponsorship programme Corporate Fund Raising Internet fund raising Foreign funding Cause related marketing Awareness Events Fund Raising events Social Campaigns, trainings & seminars

Encouraging organizations for providing scholarships to NGOs as CSR activities

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Fund Raising
Introduction Almost every voluntary or non-profit organization requires money either to support its existing activities or to expand and improve it services. Fund raising has no option other than hard work, but if the voluntary agencies have a cause or programmes that deserve support and it is willing to really work at it, it can raise considerable awareness, goodwill and money. We have been seen that all the traditional methods of fund raising can not produce satisfactory results in the modern era. Though we prefer traditional techniques of fund raising, such as raising funds from government, trusts etc, now we need to more concentrate on various new methods and techniques of fund raising that ensure an efficient and effective process of fund collection and produce the better result that lead to sustainability as well. Following are the diverse methods and techniques of fund raising that explains you about how to do it. Here, we also share some case examples of reputed NGOs who have adapted these techniques in their fund raising activities and achieved a great success. Methods of Fund Raising

(1) Through Funding Agencies There are many funding agencies in India to whom NGO can approach easily. Bilateral agencies in 2009-10 have invested 2.5 billion dollars in India. Before preparing a proposal for any funding agency, it is important for the voluntary agency to have a clear written vision and mission statement (for examples of vision and mission statements see another module of How to construct Vision & Misssion statements) o NGOs need to be fit in to the criterion given by funding agencies. Each funding agency has their own thematic area for which they fund. Voluntary organizations should first understand these areas for which funding can be sought. o Organizations should prepare & submit concept note. If Agency is satisfied with the design of project proposed, then only you can submit detailed project proposal (Refer the Module of Proposal Writing). You need to present your idea very specifically and clearly. Funding agency will ask for objectives and outcome expected. o NGO should also abide to some conditionalities laid by FA about evaluation, documentation and reporting, budget etc. o Funding agencies assess basically the impact of work done by NGO, what kind of expertise does NGO have, what is the objective that you posses to work in community. Also they will look for how innovative your project is. (said by Rati Misra Resource Alliance) (2) Through Individuals o Most of the time this is directly face to face solicitation. This is, by far, the best method of fund raising. o Before meeting the prospective donor, send him / her written letter or appeal giving necessary information about the activity for which you intend to raise the funds. o Try to gather all possible information about him/her. If necessary, take a colleague along with you. Having someone with you may make you feel more comfortable and confidant. o Do not rush into the solicitation interested try to steer the conversation to the need that requires to be addressed. o When requesting a specific sum of money, do not think in terms of what the donor may give. Think in terms of what the donor could be or is, capable of giving. A technique of Direct Appeal: It also includes sending public appeal through post / courier. In such case, you usually require a cause that has a broad appeal. It is also important to select the target group with the utmost care. o Prepare the list of names and addresses of potential individual donors. Since it involves the expenditure of posting, you need to do careful scrutiny of available contacts. o The stationary, including the envelope, should be of good quality. o You should send additional printed return envelop stating name and address and contact number of your executive office attached with the appeal so that it will be easy for donor to send a Cheque / DD directly at you address. o If you get such donations, you must need to acknowledge the donor immediately through proper correspondence. o The appeal should be short and must tell a good success story. o It should not only attract the readers attention and interest, but also stir within him the desire to act. Therefore it is needed to communicate the need in human terms. (3) Government Departments

Receiving Government support may bring a degree of recognition and credibility to the organization. Government funding is substantial in terms of volume and it is a great source of fund. However, dependence on Government could also make the organization vulnerable to government control or political pressure. The Central and the State Governments, however, have several schemes for assistance to voluntary agencies in areas of human resource development, welfare of women, children and marginalized communities; health, family welfare etc As Rati Misra (Resource Alliance) said NGOs should realize that government funding will add value to the profile of their NGO and they should put their focus in communicating their work to concerned government department. In the year 2008-09, Government has spent 2.5 billion dollars in social sector. (4) Corpus or endowments It is a capital receipt and therefore not treated as income. Donor must express the intent in writing that the donation is towards corpus. Corpus donation should preferably be invested in long-term deposit and only the interest used Through Cause Related Marketing: o The process involves allowing a small percentage of the profit on any consumer item to be designated towards a charity. o This system has a three-pronged effect, benefiting the manufacturer, the consumer and the charity. o The consumer feels inclined to buy the product because he has the added advantage of buying a good (cause-related) product and being philanthropic at the same time. This naturally boots the sale of any cause related product and the manufacturer is able to make more profit in spite of being philanthropic. o And last, but not the least, the charity earns the valuable income without much effort. o Search the companies which would like to tie-up with NGOs that are sync with their CSR objectives matching with the objectives of the NGO. (3) E- Fund Raising: o An online Payment System allows you to be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. o Not only is this is an important convenience for your donors and individuals; it also means more revenue for you. o An online system also helps you to reduce your overhead costs. o The most important part of online is accepting donations from your donors ranging from a single transaction to a series of transactions from a donor. o Online payment processing offers a donor the convenience of submitting their credit card or other forms of payment on your Web site, and for you to actually receive the money from this transaction. o You can also go for e- marketing of your products which finally aims at raising funds through selling the products online. (6) Through events Special events include organizing a film premier or a dance/musical programme or a fashion show or a gala dinner or a carnival. o Special brochures or souvenirs can be brought out on such occasions and advertisements solicited for inclusion in the same. o Banners and other forms of display advertisements bring in good revenue as well. o Special events require a lot of hard work, planning, teamwork and organizing.

o Often, organizations spend months in preparing for just an evenings programme. General experience indicates a low return from such events in terms of money. However, in terms of launching the organization, awareness-building about the cause and general goodwill and visibility, the returns are high. o It requires corporate sponsorships to cover the fixed costs. o If your organization decides to organize such events with specific frequency (once in two years), you should have a permanent good planning team. You should acknowledge all you funders at this occasion. o NGO may organize any event where all the beneficiaries are invited and also arrange any celebrity, so that credibility of your project or work will be demonstrated to society. (7) Pay roll giving Pay roll giving is nothing but deduction of certain percentage of amount of total salary of employee. This is the strategy which is decided at board level and directly implemented in organization. Many IT companies and corporates adapt these strategies of donating certain amount especially in the time of certain natural or manmade disasters. Philanthropic organizations with a broad and visible cause should first approach the chairman of Managing Director of a company and get him sufficiently interested in the cause. Payroll giving is not the easiest way to raise money. Personal solicitation is a must. (8) Corporates As an NGO we have to realize that the funds are required for what our programs stand for. They are the product we sell. In the year 2008-09, corporates have contributed approximately 6 billion dollars (nearly 30,000 crores) in social sector. (ref: Pooranchandra Pandey, Times Foundation) o It is important to understand what a company focuses on as part of its CSR, or might have product synergies towards owing to their business. o It is important to research well and make a more focused approach in identifying corporates. o A corporate in most cases is open to funding various aspects as long as your program matches the broad outline with their CSR focus. As long as the need can be justified, the output well defined - funding from corporate will always be easier to click. o Corporates expect reports, tax exemptions and their own visibility in NGO programmes. o Confirm the pattern of documentation, reporting and monitoring and adhere to those formats with less flexibility. (Inputs given by Lalita Sachdeva, UNICEF) (9) In kind donations o An in-kind donation is also very important way of raising funds. o Many people / companies wish to write off their furniture and equipments after some period or they may prefer to donate brand new equipments to NGO instead of donating plain amount. o NGO should respect these donors also as they play very important role in giving something useful to NGOs. o NGO should maintain relationships with these people who always like to donate in kind. o Many people donate brand new laptop, fax machine, telephone instruments, printer, some stationary etc. (10) Fund Raising at local level Direct Mailing Application:

Direct mailing application process (DMA) is a very vital aspect of fund raising techniques available for NGO sector. It is a direct marketing activity by which you take your appeal to the people & individualizing your appeal to your target Population. To make donation easy, a donor should be given following facilities (1) Business Reply Envelope (BRE) (2) Modes of payment i.e Cheque/ DD/ Cash/ Credit Card/ Bank transfer/Swift Code etc. Donation Boxes: NGO can place donation boxes at various profitable locations. A Donation Box not only creates visibility of the NGO but also generate some money. School Awareness cum sponsorship Programme: School fundraising is one of the wide spectrum of fundraising methods by which the funds are raised from the community through the medium of school students by educating them about the cause. Normally an event is organized in the school with the two pronged objective of creating awareness and raising funds. Useful tips for fund raising: 1. Write / speak accurately, factually, convincingly and cheerfully. 2. Avoid jargon it may be viewed a pretentious. 3. Your appeal should be addressed to the right person with proper designation and correct spelling 4. Avoid making your appeal look mass-produced. 5. Write to the individual, keeping his / her special interests and concerns in mind. 6. Try to be realistic in presenting in your case. In your enthusiasm you may end up overstating the need, the projected outcomes or the basic facts about your organization. 7. Avoid very small fonts and very close-spaced types. 8. Focus on inspiring and not just impressing the reader / listener. 9. Use photographs, tables, graphics and animation if possible. 10. Create a good slogan and use it (e.g. Together we will overcome poverty / illiteracy.) 11. A well-produced brochure or a powerful poster can present a positive image of your organization. 12. Tell a story (how someones life changed because.). A good story brings your message to life. 13. Long reports and letters are seldom read. Be brief and to the point. 14. Your stationary need not be very fancy, but it should be of reasonably good quality. 15. Mean what you say and say what you mean.

16. Be assertive (decide what your organization or cause really needs and ask for it clearly and confidently) but never aggressively. 17. Never suggest that money should be given because your organization deserves help. An organization has no needs. It is the community that has needs. Society has problems to solve and your organization has the solution. 18. If media coverage is important to you, then time and resources must be spent planning and executing media strategies. 19. The success of your media strategy will largely depend on your contacts with reporters, assignment desk editors and other media representatives. 20. Press conference should be called only when you have breaking news or you wish to announce a major event. 21. Mass media campaigns are a calculated risk because of the high probability of misquotes and distortions by reporters. 22. Be passionate 23. Do it with Confidence 24. Have a Can do attitude 25. Fund-raising is an art, not a science. Bring your own creativity to it and remain flexible. 26. Recruit staff with commitment first, techniques second Say what you mean; mean what you say. 27. Make the donor feel he is an insider - that he owns the organization. He will defend and support his institution. 28. Write copy as if from one person to another person; not from an organization to a donor. 29. Make sure you see and read mail from donors. It is the way to know what they are thinking about you. 30. In every piece of mail and all publications, including Annual Reports - always provide the opportunity to give. 31. The person answering your phone represents your organization. 32. Please do not fund raise if your organization is unable to cope with opening the mail and answering it properly! 33. Tell the truth and facts always - credibility is important in fund-raising. 34. Tell your donors how their money helped to make a difference.

35. Emotion, rather than reason, leads to charity. 36. Induce action; always use a reply envelope. 37. Be specific; speak of specific cases or individuals - avoid generalities. 38. Long words put donors to sleep and sleepy people cannot write cheques. 39. Use more photographs one picture is worth a thousand words. 40. Do not write about a huge problem, which an individual cannot solve through his donation. 41. Aim for something within the reach of an individual. 42. Talk about sponsoring a child and not 10,000 children. Refer the technical details of various Income tax provisions such as 80 G, 35 AC, Section 12, FCRA in the module of Registration Formalities -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Following are some key inputs given by National and International Funding Agencies, corporates as well as NGOs. Inputs by Gagan Sethi, Managing Trustee, Janvikas, Ehmadabad on Government Funding o Janvikas works for training and organizational development of NGOs and also implementing various projects of Human Resource Ministry, Women and Child Welfare Ministry and many others. o Under HR Ministry, organization has Youth Empowerment Projects, Youth Centers for Vocational Training etc. These projects are being implemented since last several years. o When organization submits the proposal, some gaps prevails between the written proposal of organization and given format by relevant government department. Therefore Organization should always take care of it. o Any NGO can obtain government funding only after showing their last three years record of their work which includes documentation, photographs of various programmes, accounting records for last three years etc. o Time distance between approval of funds and actual allotment of installment is too large. Sometimes funds are made available after completion of financial year in which approval was given. Therefore you should have some advance system which is useful for actual implementation as well as useful for maintaining books of accounts. o Do not depend totally on government funding since the process is very lengthy. Government might be a part funder. It may give some additional value to your existing funding.

o If organization applies for any larger project e.g. watershed project for entire habitation or district, a separate committee of government will first scrutinize the organizations work which has been done in last few years. Some projects have guideline based applications which should be considered carefully by NGO. o There are two types of government funding as follows. 1. Funding to local self government (monitoring is much stronger in these cases) 2. Funding to individual organization (monitoring is not that strong since many times these funds are given on the basis of some unethical practices) o Organization should always remember that somebody is listening to them from very high level. Therefore NGO should fulfill all the formalities in time which has been asked for. o Organization should always remember that when they get funding from government, they will be accessible to only 80% of total amount of funding. They should consider that 20% of funding will not be available in their hands. Inputs by Lalitha Sachdeva, Fund Raising Specialist, UNICEF on Corporate fund raising Establishing Relationships with Corporate: o Relationships have to be managed at various levels. In every company you should have more than 2 contacts. o People you can drop by to have coffee with to know what they are up to and the decision makers. o Remember; if the proposal does not get funded once don't let that affect the relationship. o Keep them posted of nice stories from your programs, keep meeting them. And always be cautious of ensuring you know more and more people from related functions. o You will not only be on top of their mind when they have fresh budgets but will also ensure that the relationship your NGO has with the corporate is not dependant on one person. That is true for the NGO too. o Every large potential or existing partner should be handled by one person but managed by more than one. Inputs given by Mathew Cherian, Chief Executive, Helpage India on fund raising through funding / bilateral agencies o NGOs can overcome by specifically investing time in fundraising and also delegating responsibility to these people. They also need to keep those staff focused on fundraising and not to divert attention on other areas. o Funding agencies expect detailed reports and also case studies. o HelpAge Indias positive practices is in accountability by way of timely receipts, submission of tax receipts and also reports to donors within a fixed time period and full accounts to every donor irrespective of size of donation. o Train your staff for fund raising activities so that next batch of organization can be made ready to handle these functions. Give In-house training also. o The focus shall be on keeping the proposal simple so that the donor understands it fully and also written in simple English. However Institutional donors may require log frames which if needed should be provided.

o NGOs need to write personal diaries and record it with a key person, who may be the Communication person. In NGOs with small staff a monthly report or a coordination meeting to record experiences will help. Sangeeta Banginwar, Trustee, Doorstep on Building good relationship with funders

o Having prospective funding organizations list with the organization o Study their area of interest, which projects they are keen to donate o Make a good proposal which explains the project thoroughly o Make a realistic budget with detailed project heads o Have a good organization overall presentation which is useful in initial discussion o Explain all details about the project while doing presentation and give time for question and answer session during initial discussion o Have regular follow up with concern person after submitting the budget o Once grant is received, make your that one nice thank you letter and project initiated report is shared with funding partner o Have regular feedback mails to concern person so that they are aware of progress o Call volunteers from their agency/organization to visit time to time for the project o Share quarterly activity/physical report along with financial status of the grant. Always reports should brief version along with detailed version. Try and ask formats from funding agency if they have any, so that they get information in the format they wish to be. o In activity reports, share the statistical data along with events, special mentions, impact analysis (very important for funding people) and future plans. Also one can put some comparison with previous statistical data (even with charts and graph) o Funding agencies normally expect the tax benefit for grant given. Most important is visibility for them as its a PR activity for them. They also want to see impact of the program (qualitative and quantitative). Inputs from Mr. Surnedranath Nishanimut, Founder Secretary, Samveda on Local Fund Raising on Local Fund Raising o Your work must be known by general public. o They must know that you are very transparent. o They must also know that you are highly dedicated not through your words but through your deeds. o You must be a focused organization, that means do not change your mission now and then to suit the needs of government funding. o Work for a cause continuously and not only when there are funds. Many NGOs can not work throughout the year as they do not have sufficient funds. If you sustain for long then people will recognize you and support you. In fact, general public seldom give us donations. But, some come forward to donate after they understand our dedication, spirit and seriousness. Major donations come from parents, relatives and friends of children who are getting trained at your organization o We need to talk to people in the local area without expecting any donations from them. But, they must be made to understand that we need a lot of donations for our activities. Once in three or four months we should thank the donors in the local news papers, preferably with their photos. o Along with a printed receipt, organization should send their profile in local language and a thanking letter in local language. Donors should be there on the mailing list of NGO and without fail annual report of organization should be sent to them every year. Annual report

should contain the list of individual donors of that financial year. Yogita Verma, Director, CRY on Cause Related Marketing (CRM) Case example of CRM In the case of the TATA Salt CRM - ' Desh Ko Arpan Campaign' 10 paise from the sale of every pack of TATA Salt during a specific time period was donated to CRY to ensure the right to education of underprivileged children. It increased public awareness on the situation of education of children and also provided CRY with valuable resources to fund its projects. TATA Chemicals benefited from an improvement in brand image and an increase in sales during that period. Strategy to approach corporates for CRM CRM is an effective way for the company to improve both brand image as well as sales while achieving their CSR objectives. Therefore NGO should induce corporate to support for these mutual benefits. It enables the company to reach out to its large consumer base and reward them in a more meaningful manner than a regular product promotion like a price off or a free gift. The NGO also get benefits because the issue gets large public visibility over and above the direct impact the donation has on the cause it supports. How to convince corporates for CRM NGOs should illustrate corporates the dual benefits of improving sales and brand image while meeting their CSR objectives. How CRM is useful for NGO Such Campaigns raise valuable resource of money and also a powerful tool to raise awareness on issues. Useful guidelines for NGOs who want to implement CRM Choose companies that have large consumer bases and that do regular promotions on their products. Always check the background of the company for track record on human rights/ environment etc. since these partnerships get a large amount of media coverage and the NGO can get a negative image rub off if the company has any history of violations It is critical to craft the messaging of the CRM with care so that the issue based awareness meets the NGO's requirements. A case of E- Marketing of CRY products aims at fund raising. Following is an eadvertisement given by CRY at Ebay.com on E-Fund Raising Stand up for what is right! There are millions of voiceless and faceless underprivileged children leading marginalised lives, deprived of basic human rights and unable to realise their potential, and there are many Indians who believe that ALL children are equal and these children deserve more opportunities to enjoy a childhood.. So does CRY - Child Rights and You, India's leading advocate for Child Rights. CRY gives you the opportunity to support the basic rights of underprivileged children through the CRY Shop. It is the perfect medium for you to join the peoples' movement for Child Rights and ensure more children have a brighter future. You can make a purchase from a wide range of products available at the CRY Shop. Who is CRY? At CRY, we do not believe in charity. Nor do we run schools or orphanages. Instead we partner NGOs in the field, working with children, their parents and communities. At CRY, we focus on the 4 basic rights of children - to survival, development, protection and

participation. Over 27 years of working for children, in over 2500 villages and slums across 18 States, we have seen irreversible change take place. And this has been possible only when communities have become aware of their rights and have come together to ensure them, for themselves and for their children. To know more about CRY visit www.cry.org. Our efforts CRY, in its 27 years of existence has worked together with NGOs, communities, donors, volunteers, government and the media to help over 1.4 million children to follow their dreams and live lives of dignity. Even so, we have barely scratched the surface. Today, 1 of every 6 girl children dies before their 15th birthday, 50% of children between 6-14 yrs do not have access to school, Millions of children work to survive. But together, we can change this. Join us in creating a world in which child rights for ALL children are non-negotiable! Raising funds from corporates inputs given by Vianney Katakam, Assist Project that has Corporate funding: Girl Child Project in Avanigadda area in Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh and it is funded by AVON/CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) Amount of Corporate funding: During 2007 2008 is INR.38,59,400/- and 2008 2009 is INR.19,03,844/-. Strategy to approach Corporates: Through friends, well wishers of the organization, websites and some donors who are working with organization. Board Members of organization are from various stratas and they have contacts in corporates therefore it is easy for organization to approach CSR departments. Designing of project matching with CSR of any corporate Assist designs the projects in whatever sector the corporate is interested and submits to them. Proposal is formed as per the needs of corporates. Organization asks corporates about the areas which they want to focus more and accordingly. Corporate Expectations after providing funds: They look at the capacities of the organization, project implementing area / issue or sector, need of the project, organization budget outlay and previous experience. Corporates have their own process to study and verify the work of organization. Corporates look for credible and transparent organizations. They also expect good branding that should be maintained by organization. Branding is reflected through various projects and programmes of organization. And invariably corporate which is funding the project is also held responsible for the image of particular project or programme. How to raise funds from corporates Inputs by Deepti Ameta, Sevamandir Sevamandir do three year planning of their activities and locate the donors for that time period. These donors are institutions or funding agencies who work with them as an official partner in project implementation. Rest of the fund is generated through corporates and individual donors. The percentage of individual donations is only around 4 to 5 % of the

entire amount of donations. Sevamandir has corporate donations from CAF, Yes Bank, Global Partners, and Hindustan Zink etc. NGOs can send two or three different proposals for the focus areas highlighted by any corporate. Any one proposal amongst them can be finalized. NGOs should not put boundaries around them because otherwise corporate funding will not be available for an organization. Corporate always look for the transformation of amount invested in to number of beneficiaries. Give them a programme which is easily reachable to people. Corporates are more interested in some tangible output. Inputs from Sanyukta Narvekar, ICMH on fund raising Sources of funding for ICMH o Trusts and Foundations o Individuals o Corporates Fund Raising through individuals: Fund raising from individuals needs face to face conversation. ICMH has its own volunteers who go for raising funds with the special focus on individual donations. Data base of individual donors is also built up through this activity. Approximately 20% amount of total funds collected comes from the individuals. A donation from individuals is small time money. Therefore if we want to tie up them in to long-term relationship, then we must ensure transparency in informing them all kinds of achievements and activities in an organization. ICMH tries to engage individual donors in day to day activities of organization. ICMH also organizes events through which they try to invite individual donors and volunteers so that they can discuss the issues among themselves also. ICMH ensures that at least four times in a year the information is given to their donors. They take every opportunity to invite people at their place. One should not insist individual to give donation in initial stages. ICMH encourage individuals / prospective donors to get involved somehow in the activities of organization. Once people get passionate about the work, they will start giving money without any request. Keeping the data base ready and updated is most important thing before going to raise funds. Maintain an excel sheet containing the contact information. Have the categorized information so that you will know what the audience you are not looking for and looking for. In order to start fund raising through individuals, organization should start first from maintaining the list of volunteers who come in contact with NGO. Develop this excel sheet of contacts and keep them updated regularly. When you meet people for funding (face to face), out of that your conversion ratio can be even 80% of that.

Try to involve everybody from organization in fund raising activities. Fund Raising through Coporates Fund raising from corporates needs a lot of study on the CSR pattern of corporates. ICMH focus on building a relationship and sustaining it rather than just taking money and leaving it. 40 to 50 % of total amount has been raised through trusts, foundations and corporates. (HDFC, Central Bank of India, Aditya Birla Group, Wochhardt Foundation ICMH also gives dispersement report to whom those who have paid more than Rs. 20, 000. Public Relation department should take this responsibility to update their donors. Dispersement report includes figures related to achievement, case study, success stories etc. Do not give any proposal to any corporate unless and until you have talked to them. First you need to understand their need, pattern of giving funds, find out their expectations. Organization can have certain standard things ready but it is not necessary that same standard will be applicable to other corporate also. So, try to be a flexible and present the things in a format which they want. You should have costing ready with you well in advance before presenting a proposal. The team of people who can do fund raising is evolved throughout the period of time. Because fund raisers are not readily available and nobody likes to go and ask for money therefore we can not have such professionals ready but we have to develop such skills and expertise among the people working in an organization. You should maintain your records correctly and give it to corporates before they ask you. Make your own analysis out of your efforts and state your findings very clearly and give some supportive data for this. Face to face conversation is very much required in the cases of corporates. Have separate person for building up the relationships and another for sustaining this relationship. Inputs from Kunal Verma Oxfam India on fund raising o Oxfam India fund in four thematic areas such as Essential services, Economic justice, Gender justice and the humanitarian work. They support the work which leads finally towards policy change. o Oxfam encourages the organization to submit a concept paper which is then internally discussed during a monthly meeting. o If everything is fine then they ask NGOs to submit a detailed proposal. o Projects are regularly visited by the respective regional managers, program managers, program officers who are directly responsible for that project. o Partners of Oxfam are always there for long term. o The basic criterion of selection of NGO is what they are doing on ground level. o Every NGO should start their own fund raising arm. o When any NGO is putting up a proposal to any funding agency, they should make a small

component to say that in order to make this program sustainable. Funding agency would be very happy to help NGO with the small investment for fund raising. Inputs from Harsha Parekh Bombay Community Public Trust o BCPT funds for NGOs falling in MMRDA region. o Education, health and senior citizens are the priorities for funding. o BCPT would like to encourage new NGOs to come to us. o First, NGOs need to prove themselves. Inputs from Shahela Sajanlal, AcumenFund o AcumenFund is social non profit venture capital fund. They make investments in small and medium enterprises that serve low income market. o Investment focus is on five areas viz. health care, clean energy, clean drinking water and sanitation, low cost housing and agriculture. o The thing which they consider before making the investment is about social impact. They carefully check that, how many people are being served by this product or service of an enterprise. o Secondly, they look whether the product or service is cost effective and affordable for low income markets. AccumenFund look at their balance sheets, what type of prior operations they have undertaken, what are their challenges, what sort of capital requirements do they need. So, this is all the part of their due diligence process o When the initial diligence processes finishes, they undertake SKW which is Shaitan Ka Wakil (Devils Advocate). The basic aim of SKW is to verify whether the organization is using the amount in the right direction and it is completely as per Accumen philosophy. Inputs from P B Sajeev, Aide et Action. o Education is the primary area where Aide et Action do funding. o NGO should be working with marginalized community particularly with SC, ST and other marginal communities, focusing on women & children, persons with disability, children and youth with disability. o Broadly they tries to understand from whatever NGO submits, Aide et Action does study of NGO perspective on the issue and their perspective on what they would intend to do. o Many NGOs are funded through sponsorship mechanism which can range from the period of 5 years of more o Through internal activities Aide et Action is in partnership with around 60 to 65 NGOs till the date. Inputs given by Steve Solnick Ford Foundation on fund raising o The six initiatives identified by Ford Foundation are: ? Promoting transparent, effective and accountable government ? Advancing economic and social rights ? Expanding livelihood opportunities for poor households

? Expanding community rights over natural resources ? Advancing public services media ? Policies and programs for adolescent sexual and reproductive health o Agency attends conferences, visit projects in the field. In order to decide the funding Ford Foundation keep in constant touch with the academicians & experts in the field. o The project should be innovative and significant to the field requirements o As an approximate number Ford Foundation makes about 75 to 100 grants each year Inputs given by Pooranchandra Pandey Times Foundation on fund raising o Its very important for any NGO to approach a corporate with serious note. NGO should do a research through various ways and study the funding pattern of a particular corporate, their mandate their focus areas etc. o Corporate asks for registration of NGO under 12A, 80 G, FCRA before providing funds o NGO needs to submit last three years audited statement of accounts, names of board members along with their PAN number. o If all above things are accurate, then proposal is forwarded to legal and finance personnel for further scrutiny. o Sometimes, corporate may do untrue call to NGO to try and check out the work of organization and their credibility before the sanction of funds. Then, corporate decides the quantum of money to be given to NGOs. o In some cases, high amount of money is given even if the NGO is small but doing a good job. Criteria decided by Times Foundation to select the NGO are as follows. o NGOs need to disclose their experience in the sector and give some evidence for the same. o If NGO asks money for health, the number of and nature of earlier health projects are assessed on the basis of documentation, the geographical area of project implementation is also evaluated. It also checks whether they have done it independently or in collaboration with other NGO. It also sees the pattern of funding that they have got in last few years. o Foundation importantly sees that what kind of impact they have created in society. o It also evaluates their track records in terms of completion of their earlier projects. o Times Foundation also sees the diversity of NGO board in terms of gender, expertise etc. o Foundation asks them for the timeline for the implementation, process which they want to follow such as community participation, policy advocacy etc. o They also checks that whether the NGO is relevant to the community needs or not. o Foundation asks them to put all these things together and write a detailed report or project proposal. o Times Foundation also have a separate group of people who think critically and find some lacunas if it exists in proposal o Then NGO is called for final presentation

o Key focus is on providing funds to small organizations with the motive of empowering them. o Times Foundation focuses on entire country. o Best time to submit the proposal is at the beginning of the financial year. This proposal may get enacted in the next year. o Focus areas of Times Foundation is Education, Health, Environment, women empowerment and Disaster management and rehabilitation. Some important guidelines for NGOs o NGOs should do their homework very well. They should know the functions and thematic areas of funding agency o NGOs should not do copy, paste in their proposal writing. o NGOs should do hard work before applying for funds. Its very easy to find out to identify if they have not done hard work. o NGOs should prepare themselves when they come for the presentation. Many times whatever is rightly said in the proposal is not found in their presentation. Many times NGOs give proposal to write to some professional consultant and person who presents in front of corporate house is different. It should not happen o NGO needs to be very honest about the answering the questions that could be raised. o At presentation, NGO should speak about the impact and processes, monitoring & evaluation, sustainability rather than money required and its spending pattern. o Times Foundation gives the funds for 3 to 4 years and not more than that. We encourage that NGO to stand on their own feet. NGO should plan for their sustainability. They have to explain how they will take this project ahead after the completion of period of funding. Inputs from Mr. Ravi Puranik, ACC Foundation on Fund raising from corporates Criteria for selection of NGOs for funding Major focus is on thematic areas defined by ACC. Organizations who work on these thematic areas are eligible for funding from ACC. This is the prime criteria for funding. These thematic areas are education, livelihood, health, infrastructure and capability building of rural communities. Thematic expertise is linked to the themes which are put-forth by the communities in which ACC operates. Another criteria is to verify the legal issues concerning to NGOs like registration details of organization, 80G Certification, FCRA etc. Thirdly, ACC analyses the financial base of NGO. It includes a study of their annual reports, budget statements, and audited financial statements. ACC also sees the capability and competency of NGO whether they can handle financial volume which ACC can give comparing with their existing financial volume. Another area is to evaluate manpower having with organization. ACC checks whether organization has people who have expertise of working with grassroots and also the kind of leadership which is existing within an organization. ACC also makes sure whether any corporate had funded that organization earlier on the same thematic area. ACC takes overview of their past achievements also.

ACC looks at development perspective with special focus on HDI (Human Development Index) while funding any organization. Geographical Focus Across India wherever there are ACC plants. Currently ACC has fourteen plants across the country. Therefore ACC Foundation funds for the projects which could be implemented in those areas. Certain useful tips for NGOs who aspire to raise funds on their own feet Do not look corporate only for funding. Organizations need to see their own positioning. Organization should build good relationship with the people working in that corporate. They should be able to sustain the relationship with company. NGOs should possess an ability to absorb the systems at their place and they should be accountable. Keep your donor updating about the latest happenings. Do not remain highly process oriented. Results and impact should not be given a back seat. Results are very much important from corporates point of view. Inputs by Mr. Akhil Paul Sense International on Fund raising In last three years, Sense International have obtained funds from 11 corporates within the rage of Rs. 4,00,000 to 12,00,000 Strategy of approaching corporates They undertake continuous research for various companies and public sector undertakings (who are government owned and have a policy of contributing amounts of their profits to social causes). Once identified, they try and locate the head of CSR or HR and initiate dialogue with them for developing funding relationships. Designing the project matching with the requirements of CSR Over the past 3 years, Sense International have been concentrating on raising unrestricted income from corporate houses as it gives them flexibility to utilize the funds in needs-based projects and activities. They also approach some corporate with a certain project and location of the project depending upon their priority. General expectations of corporates when they provide funding - Proven financial transparency and integrity of the organization - Registration under Income Tax Act- (80 G or 35 AC) - Uniqueness of the project or cause being supported - Clear agreement on providing publicity through Annual Report/ Newsletters and at website - Regular and timely submission of progress as well as financial report - Possibility of exposure to the staff members Some useful tips to access corporate fund - Research in the corporate ways of spending towards social causes - Develop a well thought concept note, detailed proposal, budget with realistic objectives and timeframe

- Give Clear and non repetitive information - Correct Information - Simple presentation and even simpler style of writing - Demonstrate success - Match their criteria with your idea/concept - Appropriate Details - Corresponding Budget - Covering letter- Address to the right person - Check spellings and salutations while addressing people Inputs from Veera Rao Alert India on Fund Raising o When NGO does fund raising, it provides independence to NGOs for utilization of it and in right direction matching with their objectives. The more you try to fund raise, the more expertise you will gain. o NGOs can raise PR through raising fund. o NGOs should gain enough patience which is very much required in fund raising. o Whenever a large amount is donated you must give a utilization certificate. Inputs given by Ms. Vandana, Associate Vice President, HSBC - CSR Thematic areas of HSBC to provide funds 1. Financial Inclusion o Education of Underprivileged Children o Youth for their vocational training and livelihood o Women entrepreneurship and financial literacy 2. Environment o Biodiversity conservation o Climate Change Geographical focus Across India where there are branches of HSBC. It has to be at a distance where HSBC staff can go and do volunteering. General conditions for selecting NGOs for funding o There should be separate plan for volunteering in the entire project action plan o NGO should be working in the field from last three years. o NGO should have 80G certificate as well as FCRA approval (it is mandatory) o Annual report and audited statements for last three years o Project should have an element of sustainability. NGOs need to explain the strategies of sustaining themselves even if HSBC stops funding on particular project. HSBC does not fund for the period more than three years. o If self sustainability for the project is not possible, NGOs need to increase the scope of the project beyond their defined geographical area. E.g. They should not work with same 250

children over the period of three years o E.g. To fund the project of Rain Water Harvesting, HSBC gives the money in the form of revolving fund. Amount can be given as a loan to any SHG on the basis of nominal interest rates or no interest rates but for time bound period. There should be some economic participation of villagers also. NGO can do further intervention like livelihood programme on the basis of these returned amounts from villagers. In this case we can provide them money for microfinance and not as grants. o HSBC has decided to work for 20 NGOs who are the members of PAN India Useful tips for NGOs o NGO should give proper strategy and detailed plan of action in the proposal. o NGO should prepare the statement of financial utilization properly stating, spending, income and resource clearly. o NGO should parallely identify government schemes and projects of bilateral agencies o NGO should be able to think differently how they can use commercial loans for social development Inputs given by Vandana, HSBC Part II o NGO need to estimate and foresee the amount which they can put as corpus every year. o Every NGO should do fund raising activities. Not on ad-hoc basis, but these activities should be well planned and implemented. It should be undertaken at least twice in a year o NGOs need to study funding pattern and focus areas of corporates. Do not give proposal with vague subject like Health o NGOs should be well aware for the new reforms. E.g. now government has allowed NGOs to invest their funds in mutual funds against which they can get good tax benefits. o NGOs should always keep contingent provisions of funds. If there is late receipt of funds due to some reason, NGO can use these funds for that period. They should not stop their activities in this situation. o Fund raising is closely related with building and maintaining the relationships o NGOs should submit their reports well in time and without fail. o NGO should invite all their donors to discuss on the social issues and the impact made by organization. Cause Related Marketing o NGOs should approach marketing department and find out what is the scope available for CRM o CRM is useful not for raising money because the cost per product is so less but high level of awareness is created about the issue in society. o HSBC has CRM with four NGOs. CRM is being done through their credit card services and at ATM machines. Pay roll giving HSBC provides pay roll giving from employees salaries on voluntary basis. HSBC gives these amounts to NGOs certified by Give India Foundation. Inputs given by Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF)

Strategy of MSDF to select the NGOs for funding Only those NGOs are selected which attains the criteria defined by MSDF. These NGOs have to involve in the mission of foundation. Mission of Foundation is transforming the lives of urban poor who are living in poverty. NGOs should be able to deliver the measurable benefits in the thematic areas defined by MSDL. Thematic areas of Foundation are as under o Education o Community / Other o Childhood Health o Family Economic Stability MSDF has supported 40 NGOs across the cities of India. MSDF set up the targets for NGOs. MSDF evaluates NGOs in terms of their managerial capability, financial management capability, track records, whether NGOs have done such kind of work earlier, their results, strategies adopted by them etc. MSDF is operating at a large scale and on a sustainable manner; hence MSDF expects same kind of approach from NGOs also. Dos and Donts for New NGOs o NGOs need to look at how new companies set up and attract funds in the market o NGOs should be able to show good documentation of their activities so that funders / funding agencies should feel something to give funds to such type of new NGOs. They have to demonstrate why they are better suited to attract funding o Initially NGOs should undertake fund raising efforts at a small scale. They should be able to produce measurable impact before going for fund raising o NGOs need to operate in professional way and NGOs should posses the required talent to convince any corporate or funding agency. o NGOs should be confidant enough to deliver the activities in order to achieve the goals determined. o NGOs should leave a mindset that they have to work with limited money. o They should possess an ability to write good quality reports. o Its not the only desire that they want to do something good which will drive NGOs sustainable. How you can accomplish your desire is also equally important. To download all the essential forms go on following link of Income Tax department of India http://incometaxindia.gov.in/download_all.asp ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

References: 1. A book- The Art of Successful Fund Raising written by Noshir H Dadrawala, Published by - Centre of Advancement of Philanthropy 2. Writing a proposal - Article written by Satish Bhalla

3. Interviews held with country officers of o UNICEF o Oxfam India o Ford Foundation o Aide et Action o Alert India o AccumenFund o Times Foundation o Bombay Community Public Trust (BCPT) o Doorstep o HelpageIndia o Resource Alliance o Samveda o Janvikas o SAFRG o ACC Foundation o Sir Dorabji Tata Trust o Sense International o ICMH o Sevamandir o Assist o CRY o MSDF o HSBC CSR

Nisha, IFPAsia on Fund Raising How and in what way do you help NGOs to enhance their fund raising capacities? We help organisations build skills in using various methods of fundraising and producing related communication material. Our face to face workshops are run at our office in Bangalore and are customised for networks of organisations and run in their own locations. We have recently launched a three-month online certificate course in 'communication and fundraising' and will soon be launching a post-graduate Diploma in Fundraising. How NGOs should approach you for the trainings and other inputs? For details on our courses, log on to www.ifpasia.org or email info@ifpasia.org So far, how many NGOs have taken inputs from you and what is your experience about their performance after the trainings? More than 2000 individuals from over 1000 organisations have participated in our courses.Here are a few testimonials In 2008-09, I have raised Rs 5.9 Lakh (including in-kind) for different programmes of Association of People with Disability. This includes contributions for mobility aids, mid-day

meals, sponsorships, surgeries, uniforms, etc. by contacting individuals and making presentations to various clubs and companies... The training course in 'Basics of Public Fundraising', taught me some very important fundraising techniques and also gave me the skills to make effective presentations. I learned how to speak with confidence and above all, listen more effectively. Thank you!' - Sha Nigar, Principal, Industrial Training Center Association of People with Disability (APD), BangaloreThe Course on 'Prepare Annual Reports that people will actually read' taught me that an Annual report can be concise yet comprehensive. It can say a lot without saying too much. I was delighted when our donors got back to us for the first time saying it was an interesting Annual report!' - Judith Smith, Senior executive - documentation cell Indo-Global Social Service Society, New Delhi