Morning Glory is a nonprofit youth center providing critical services to vulnerable children in the community. Its after-school programs give children safe places to play and access tutoring to stay in school. Yet despite its transformative impact, the youth center constantly struggles to find funding to keep its doors open. 

Sadly, Morning Glory’s struggle is a testimonial to the challenges nonprofits in Africa face in obtaining funding. According to a recent report, African NGOs are being underfunded by African and non-African philanthropists alike in comparison to organizations headquartered outside the continent. Securing grant funding is a major hurdle for nonprofits in Africa working to address pressing community needs.

With countless worthy nonprofits competing over limited grant funding, crafting a compelling grant proposal is essential to unlocking the funding required to make an impact. How can African nonprofits benefit from this financial manna? This article provides a strategic guide to writing grant proposals that will catch funders' eyes and position your nonprofit for funding success. 

‍

Here is what you need to do:

‍

1. Follow Application Guidelines Closely

The first critical step is to thoroughly read, comprehend, understand, and digest the request for a proposal or grant opportunity. In essence, before joining the race for the grant, review the grant application guidelines very carefully. What information is of concern here? The funder and the mission statement, values, focus areas, specific priorities, the types of programs they wish to support, and geographic region served. The first step to reaching your destination is being on the right bus. Starting your journey with this step helps to ensure the opportunity is a good fit. This can then be followed by checking all required documents and certifications, deadlines, and submission guidelines. Missing this step is the same as being rejected before actual submission. 

‍

2. Show Need Using Local Data and Stories

With insight into the funder’s priorities, the next step is to articulate the need for the grant funding which is the specific need or problem your proposal aims to address. Winning proposals need compelling data and credible statistics to provide context and demonstrate the severity of the issues using a storytelling format. The reviewers might not have been to Africa, but the proposal can take Africa to them or paint a picture of it. You can personalize the tragic story or use relatable and powerful stories to paint a picture of what the sufferers of the challenges experienced. This connects the funder emotionally with the problems the project intends to solve. Most importantly, connect the problem to the funder's mission and goals. This is to ensure you are not watering a weed instead of a plant. 

‍

3. Describe Your Proposed Activities

Now that they are aware of the problem and its severity, what is the way forward? This is the time to talk about the proposed activities and intervention strategy, the timeline of the project, the key milestones to be reached, and how the activities mentioned will lead to the milestones. Note that there must be logical evidence that the proposed activities will solve the problem identified. For example, access to education for children does not immediately solve the problem of widespread unemployment and poverty. You may want to describe how each of the proposed activities directly or indirectly contributes to solving the problem. Describe how your adult literacy curriculum is tailored for rural women or how your agricultural techniques are appropriate for the local farmers. Wherever possible, cite evidence from past projects demonstrating that your intervention model works.

‍

4. Justify Expenses with a Detailed Budget

Now is the time to discuss what the organization needs to carry out the proposed activities. Expectedly, a budget is needed. This is the most interesting part for the applicant and the pragmatic part for the grantor, which is why grantors notice even the tiniest of faults in budgets prepared by overexcited or careless applicants. A realistic budget is critical for winning funders’ trust and demonstrating the capacity to manage resources wisely. Remember there are many organizations jostling for the same money. Make sure to include costs associated with each program activity previously outlined. For maximum transparency, include a brief narrative explaining and justifying major expenses. Here is a hack: do not shove all the expenses on the funders. Include your contribution even if they are in-kind. Show how you will leverage other resources through volunteers, donated goods, and partner organizations. 

‍

5. Tell funders what to expect

Funders are not doing giveaways, they expect something in return. Profit is not their expected ROI but outcome and impact. They want to see how their money is bringing about change in the target location of the project, and most importantly in the lives of the target beneficiary. This is where you set the boundary for what should be expected at the end of the project using qualitative and quantitative performance metrics and indicators. The proposal must indicate the number of beneficiaries targeted and anticipated change in their lives. For example, you may tell the funders that half a million persons will be lifted out of poverty and the performance indicator to be used is a change in income. This section should be open on the data collection processes and how often the funders will hear from the funded organization. Lastly, aside from numbers, sustainability matters to funders. Demonstrating how the project will continue to deliver beyond the funding period will show the funder their investment will have lasting community change, not just temporary benefits.

‍

6. Answer the question “Why you?” 

So far, the attention of funders has been sought with a reason to part ways with their money, but why should they trust you with the money to execute the project? This is where an organization boasts of its capacity in terms of experience and expertise in serving the immediate community. The reviewers are interested in what stands the activities and organization out from others. Showcasing the individual qualifications of team members and their relevance to the organization’s activities as well as case studies of past successful projects provides evidence of competence. Imagine a health nonprofit with doctors and matrons as core team members. If you are applying for a grant where your organization does not have sufficient experience, you need to partner with an organization that has that experience. Never assume the execution will be smooth. Identify potential risks and mitigation strategies. 

‍

Conclusion

The path to winning grant funding may seem daunting, but it is navigable. Here is the summary of the strategic roadmap to overcome the hurdle of securing grant funding: 

1. Before applying, thoroughly research the funder and craft a proposal aligned with their goals. 
2. Shape your narrative around urgent needs felt deeply in local communities. 
3. Demonstrate how your solution-focused activities will create meaningful change. 
4. Justify expenses in the budget to instill confidence in your resource management. 
5. Set clear outcome targets so funders can track their investment's impact. 
6. Lastly, showcase the organization's credentials and capacity to deliver on promises made. 

‍

With these best practices, nonprofits can craft compelling narratives that inspire funders to fund their projects. The alternative way to get the same result is to hire professional grant writers like Grant Master. Remember, a well-written proposal is the key to unlocking resources to uplift communities and build foundations for prosperity.

‍