How to raise funds for a time-sensitive project

Advocates faced several challenges in this situation:

• Funding sustainability: One of the biggest hurdles was ensuring the program’s continuation amid dwindling financial support.
• Limited funding sources: We faced limited access to new funding avenues, donor fatigue, and stiff competition for grants.
• Difficulty communicating long-term impact: Many advocates struggled to convey the long-term impacts of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) projects to potential funders, making it difficult to secure sustainable funding.
• Mismatch between donor priorities and local needs: There were concerns about the alignment of donor priorities with the real needs on the ground, which created gaps in support for our project.

We developed a sustainability plan and began by conducting an assessment of our existing operations and identified areas of improvement, we researched best practices in sustainability practices from stakeholders and partners, we made sustainability a core part of MOYOTE’s strategy, and the below steps were taken:

1. Donor mapping: We conducted a thorough donor mapping process, identifying both local and international donors whose priorities align with our short-term and long-term goals.
2. Strengthened our governance for resource mobilisation: We expanded the resource mobilisation committee by adding 2 more proactive members.
3. Reached out to corporations and individual well-wishers: We actively engaged with corporations and individual well-wishers to garner support for our work.
4. Enhanced resource mobilisation: We boosted resource mobilisation efforts by writing and submitting targeted proposals.

As a result, we secured support from multiple partners for our safe house initiative, while continuing to mobilise resources for the construction of our own safe house, moving away from renting.

From this experience, we learned several important lessons:

• Long-term planning is crucial: It’s essential to have clear long-term sustainability plans in place from the outset.
• Collaboration with stakeholders: Engaging and collaborating with a broad range of stakeholders helps diversify resources and ideas.
• Expand resource mobilisation strategies: Relying solely on one funding source is risky, so we needed to be creative in mobilising resources from multiple avenues.

If you’re facing similar fundraising challenges, consider the following tips:

1. Diversify funding sources: It’s important to seek a combination of institutional, government, and individual funding sources to ensure stability.
2. Document stories of impact: Articulating the real-world impact of your program through personal stories is a powerful way to make a compelling case for support.
3. Build long-term donor relationships: Establishing trust and maintaining consistent communication with donors is key to ensuring ongoing support.
4. Collaborate with other organisations: Pooling resources and sharing best practices with other organisations can reduce costs and increase your appeal to donors.

It’s important to recognise that fundraising for SRHR initiatives is a long-term process. Persistence, strong relationship-building, and adaptability to shifting donor priorities are all key components of a successful fundraising strategy.