Fundraising and its importance
Finding grants is vital for a nonprofit organization to adequately carry out its work and be able to continue operating.
Beyond covering their financial needs, NGOs can, through an organised fundraising programme, gain additional benefits, such as communicating their work and objectives to the general public and potential investors, attracting volunteers, expanding their investments, etc.
The challenges for small NGOs
Nevertheless, fundraising is a process that requires specific knowledge and skills. While international (big) organisations have skilled staff, resources and of course experience at their disposal, newer and smaller NGOs face challenges that they often find difficult to overcome. Among these are:
- Familiarity with fundraising platforms
- Write an application and applying for funding
- Establishing a funding plan
- Preparing and submitting a proposal for funding
- The steps of a fundraising campaign that must be followed
- Evaluating and monitoring the campaign, etc.
Responding to the need of (mostly) small NGOs to find funding, the E-patterns project creates a digital training platform to upgrade skills related to fundraising practices and enhance digital financial literacy in NGO management.
Self-assessment tool for diagnosis of fundraising skills
At the same time , p-consulting.gr, in collaboration with the other project partners, created an online self-assessment tool for diagnosis of fundraising skills.
This tool was designed to enable the managers of a small NGO to self-assess their knowledge, skills and competences in fundraising, in order to know their potential in this area.
It will also help them to identify their strengths and weaknesses in terms of fundraising, so that they will be better prepared to launch a fundraising campaign for their NGO. At the same time, they will be guided on issues related to their fundraising training.
The self-assessment tool is available in Greek, Italian, Finnish, Spanish, German and English.
Feel free to follow the link and assess your fundraising skills!
