Resource Mobilization Guide For Community Based Organizations

IntroductionThe development research community faces interesting times. Thechanging tides of Official Development Assistance leave some regions ofthe developing world with less assistance, others with more. According toCanada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), researchpartners put themselves in a precarious situation if they insist on relyingon one or two funders, since their accustomed sources are, or will nolonger be reliable. Donor scoping studies commissioned by IDRC in 2004and 2008 showed that multilateral and bilateral agencies are now morefocused on large-scale, sector-wide funding, awarding bigger grants tofewer organizations, with less money available for medium to small groups.As IDRC observes, dependence on international funding is proving to beinsufficient, and compromises financial sustainability.The viability, or survival of development research groups depends on theorganization’s ability to adapt to changing donor trends, and thewillingness to explore alternative sources of funding.This situation is not unique to the world of development research. Nonprofits, non-governmental organizations, and foundations from all sectorsthat have long enjoyed the patronage of a few benefactors now findthemselves wondering where next year’s budget is going to come from, orhow a particular program is to be sustained over the long haul, or howstaff development can be funded when grant monies are restricted toprogrammatic work. Increasingly, non-profits and NGOs realize that theyneed to wean themselves away from once-reliable sources, and learn howto cast a wider net to draw in a bigger variety of donors.Why a Guidebook?The advantage, though, for organizations that provide direct services tocommunities is that there is a plethora of material and training onresource mobilization strategies and techniques, and these have beenfurther customized for non-profits in developing countries. But there isvirtually no material for featuring customized methods to access fundingfor development research organizations.Thus the birth of this practical guidebook, with the distinct feature ofaddressing the resource mobilization needs of community-baseddevelopment research organizations, contained within their South andSoutheast Asian contexts.The large range of organizations engaged in development research — frominternational think tanks to universities and community-based groups —makes it impossible to generalize the challenges they face sector-wide.However, there are shared concerns: First, the ‘case’ for supporting development research work is quitedifficult to articulate and scientific research findings or reports, oftenthe immediate outputs of research projects, have a limited directaudience. There needs to be significant repackaging of these toproduce the desired social impact; Second, development research is seen by many as a tool orcomponent in development work. As such, the funding for developmentresearch activities is not that apparent; Third, grants are generally restricted, leaving no room for developmentresearch organizations to establish and maintain their own researchagendas, and as a result undermines efforts towards localempowerment; and Lastly, and true for other non-profits as well, is the over-reliance onrestricted project funding from grant making organizations. While notundesirable in itself, restricted grants usually leave too little room forfunding organizational core costs such as staff development andmarketing expenses.This guidebook shows that sustainable resource mobilization is a strategicprocess that is grounded in effective organizational management, broughtto life by creative communication, and maintained through nurturingstakeholder relationships. This reinforces the assertion that resourcemobilization should be considered a core institutional function, ratherthan just a string of ad-hoc activities. The guidebook provides a collectionof information and activities that can help development research nonprofits to: Plan resource mobilization in a strategic, mission-driven — as opposedto donor-driven — manner; Build skills in proposal writing, handling face-to-face meetings, andcommunicating key messages; Design, implement and monitor resource mobilization activities; and Learn how other development research organizations in the region haveaddressed resource mobilization challenges.Partners in the Developmentof the GuidebookThe people and organizations that worked together on this guidebook arestrong believers in the role development research organizations play insociety.For close to 40 years IDRC, a Canadian organization, has helpeddeveloping countries use science and technology to find practical, longterm solutions to the social, economic, and environmental problems theyface. Support is directed toward developing an indigenous researchcapacity to sustain policies and technologies that developing countriesneed to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous societies.Through its Partnership and Business Development Division (PBDD), IDRCinitiates, builds and maintains long-term relationships with like-mindeddonors and institutions. The PBDD’s regional program, Capacity Building inResource Mobilization (CBRM), provides targeted, timely, and relevantcapacity building strategies to various partners in Asia. CBRM recognizesthe need to re-direct resource mobilization strategies to different, publicand private, local, regional, national and sub-regional sources of fundingand through new and different strategic partnering and resourcemobilization techniques.Venture for Fund Raising, a Philippine-based non-profit organization, isone of the CBRM project implementers, facilitating the resourcemobilization training activities. Venture has for the past nine yearsprovided training, consulting, and research and public informationservices to over 800 non-profits in 15 countries, enabling organizations toraise the resources they need to fulfill their mandates.INTRODUCTION 1

This guidebook documents some of the training and capacity-buildingactivities supported by IDRC and implemented by Venture for FundRaising, with the invaluable input of experts on topics such asnegotiations, financial management, proposal-writing andcommunications. The seeds of this practical guidebook were sown in apilot resource mobilization workshop held in Bangkok in 2003, and werefurther nurtured in succeeding workshops and consultations, up until themost recent follow-up workshop held in Manila in September 2006. Thepractical guidebook itself evolved out of a writeshop process that broughtthe Venture team together in Cebu City, and helped distil from the team’sstorehouse of knowledge the concepts, models, activities and case studiesappropriate to the development research sector.Therefore, the content of this practical guidebook has been inspired by theexperiences and ideas of many: Katherine Hay, IDRC Regional office for South Asia (SARO) and VivienChiam, IDRC Regional office for Southeast Asia (ASRO) — guidingmembers of the project team; The worldwide team of the PBDD, earlier headed by Alain Berranger,and currently by Danièle St.-Pierre; Various IDRC partners who participated in the following resourcemobilization workshops: the 2003 pilot workshop in Bangkok;December 2004 workshop for the Asian Model Forest Network inMadiun, Indonesia; February 2005 workshop for the partners of theMedicinal and Aromatic Plants Program in New Delhi; May 2005workshop for IDRC’s Asia-wide partners; February 2006 workshop forIDRC’s agricultural biodiversity partners in Colombo; May 2006 for themembers of the Global Knowledge Partnership, also in Colombo; andfinally, a follow-up/ monitoring workshop in September 2006 inManila. Resource persons Melanie Billings-Yun of Global Resolutions, Mr.Harsha de Silva of the Govi Gnana Seva Project in Sri Lanka, NalakaGunawardene of TVE Sri Lanka, Liz Fajber, Sarah Earl and Rana Audittoof IDRC, and Jeremy Cherfas of IPGRI. Featured organizations: Chaitanya, International Center for IntegratedMountain Development (ICIMOD), Foundation for Revitalization of LocalHealth Tradition (FRLHT), Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture andBioresources (ANSAB), eHomemakers, Ngao Model Forest, Govi GnanaSeva, GREEN Foundation, User’s Perspectives with AgriculturalResearch and Development (UPWARD), LEAD India and North EastNetwork (NEN). The team from Venture for Fund Raising, headed by Executive DirectorMayan Quebral. Joy Caminade, for re-packaging, editing and desktop publishing muchof the training material into this practical guidebook.How to Use this GuidebookThis practical guidebook supports and promotes new and creative thinkingon resource mobilization for development research, and can be used byorganizations with different levels of skills and experience.Part A discusses the three major concepts that set up the framework forresource mobilization: organizational development and management,communicating and prospecting, and relationship building.Part B is divided into several chapters, each chapter presenting at length astep in the resource mobilization process, with one step building upon theother. Throughout each chapter, the reader may find: Case studies of Asian development research organizations that haveapplied the concept or technique, which validates the practicalapplication of the practical guidebook. Users of this publication will beable to draw on the successes and avoid the pitfalls of the featuredcases; Key findings from various surveys on the giving trends of institutionsand individuals across Asia; Articles or workshop presentations by resource persons that elaborateon particular topics; Tools and templates that can be freely used within an organization inorder to apply the concepts discussedBoth Venture and IDRC firmly believe that although resource mobilizationis a big challenge, various on-the-ground projects in capacity-buildinghave shown that development research organizations can becomeadequately funded. This shared belief has made developing this practicalguidebook such a gratifying learning experience.Organizations are dynamic systems, and must adapt in order to continueon. The days of receiving funding from a single source are numbered. Allnon-profit organizations, including development research institutions, needto arm themselves with the tools, techniques and strategies to shift fromdependence to independence, very much a maturing process. To face upto the challenge, an organization must never underestimate its capacity tochange and transform. This practical guidebook hopes to provideorganizations not only with the information and tools, but also theconfidence to make that transformation happen.2 RESOURCE MOBILIZATION: A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONSVenture for Fund Raising

PART AUnderstanding Resource MobilizationPart A contains two chapters. The first one, Looking Beyond Just RaisingFunds, discusses resource mobilization and fund raising, and the threemajor concepts that set up the framework for resource mobilization:organizational development and management, communicating andprospecting, and relationship building. It also talks about the ParetoPrinciple as applied to non-profits, and the three major characteristicsthat donors look for in organization they wish to support. The secondchapter, a case story entitled Rallying Support, the Chaitanya Way,features the inspiring efforts of the Indian organization Chaitanya as theylearned to engage their various stakeholders to meet their goal of raisingover US 50,000.The Importance of Diversifying Funding SourcesA diversity of funding sources provides protection against fickle donortrends. Other than grants, income sources include gifts and earnedincome. The characteristics of each are found in the table below:Different Funding SourcesSOURCESCHARACTERISTICSEXAMPLESGrantsUsually restricted, projectbased, time-bound, shortto-medium-term fundingGovernments, foundations,associations, multilateraland bilateral agreementsGiftsUnrestricted, can lead toendowments, medium-to-long term fundingIndividuals, groupsEarnedIncomeUnrestricted, short-to-longterm funding, for-profitoperation, needing differentmanagement skillsSale of products,fee for service,interest incomeLooking Beyond Just Raising FundsMost development research organizations have had, up until recently, acomfortable, sheltered life. In order to access funding for an appliedresearch project, a board member, executive director, program officer orsome other staff member would write up a grant application addressed toone, two, or a handful of institutional donors. They would get part or all ofthe funding required; implement the research; then submit midterm andfinal reports to the donor, documenting results, and meeting financialreporting requirements. Projects would have to meet donor requirements,and their successful implementation could mean more money for anotherproject cycle. In some cases, the grant application is just a token gesturebecause funds are assured anyway.A few organizations may have other, smaller sources of income: trainingand consulting services, sale of organic products and traditional medicinesproduced by local communities, a random rummage sale or participationin a bazaar. But the income generated from such activities is rarelysubstantial. The bulk of the organization’s funding would still be from oneor two funders.Now that funding from aid agencies has become less reliable due toshifting donor trends and preferences, many research organizations areleft with unfunded programs, and may even begin to wonder about theirsurvival. More grant making institutions require counterpart funding, andtoken grant proposals just to meet paper trail requirements don’t workanymore. Non-profits actually have to earn their keep! As the non-profitsector comes face-to-face with the reality of declining funds from theinternational donor community, non-profit leaders are left with twooptions: close shop, or aggressively and creatively look for alternativefunding sources to fill the gap.The latter poses as a challenge for non-profits that have been used towriting up grant proposals to secure funding. Board members, executivedirectors and non-profit managers must now learn to diversify fundingsources and come up with creative resource mobilization strategies toensure survival.Rather than focusing all energies towards bagging large grant amountsfrom big funders, there is value to develop a following made up ofindividual donors, corporations and groups with various degrees of affinityfor the organization’s programs. Their support may come in the form oflarge or small gifts, could be unrestricted, could be one-time donations, orcould lead to long-term funding. An organization in search of unrestrictedfunding would do well to expand their base of individual givers. There isalso value in professionalizing existing earned income activities to thepoint where they could significantly impact an organization’s financialviability.This alternative approach encourages a healthy mix of funding sources,thereby spreading the risk in the event that one source dries up.Building ConstituentsThe call now for development research organizations is to make the shiftfrom dependence on grants to building their own constituencies andmobilizing local support through other strategies.Raising resources from a local base has direct implications on therelevance of an organization’s reason for being. A community willing tosupport the organization’s research efforts, financially or otherwise,suggests that it shares the objectives of the program, understands them,and aspires to see them realized. This becomes an endorsement of theorganization’s mission, and serves as an indicator of how wide and deepthe organization’s impact is on its constituents.In addition, more grant giving institutions, foundations and corporations areusing the level of community support as a criterion for funding. Developinga base of support should thus be a part of an organization’s resourcedevelopment plan.PART A: UNDERSTANDING RESOURCE MOBILIZATION 3

The task then falls on the organization to identify who these people are inthe community, find a way of talking to these people, offer themopportunities for support, and have systems in place that assure thesesupporters, or donors, that their donations are directed towards theprojects for which they were intended.To accomplish the above requires more than just the technical skills ofresource mobilization. It involves the complex and delicate task of buildingrelationships with other people who share similar values and goals, andupon whom the organization can rely for support.Defining Resource MobilizationThus resource mobilization may be defined as:a management process that involves identifying people who share thesame values as your organization, and taking steps to manage thatrelationship.Looking closely at this definition, one can see that resource mobilization isactually a process that involves three integrated concepts:Elements of Resource MobilizationRelationshipBuildingCommunicatingand ProspectingOrganizationalManagementand DevelopmentThe key concepts are: organizational management and development,communicating and prospecting, and relationship building. Each conceptis guided by a number of principles which are further elaborated in theforthcoming chapters.Organizational Management and DevelopmentOrganizational management and development involves establishing andstrengthening organizations for the resource mobilization process. Itinvolves identifying the organization’s vision, mission, and goals, andputting in place internal systems and processes that enable the resourcemobilization efforts, such as: identifying the roles of board and staff;effectively and efficiently managing human, material, and financialresources; creating and implementing a strategic plan that addresses theproper stewardship and use of existing funds on the one hand, andidentifies and seeks out diversified sources of future funding on the other.3. The responsibility for the resource mobilization effort is shared by theboard, the president or the executive director, and the resourcemobilization unit4. An organization needs money in order to raise money5. There are no quick fixes in resource mobilizationCommunicating and ProspectingOnce an organization has achieved a certain readiness for resourcemobilization, it must then take on another challenge: ensuring its longterm sustainability by acquiring new donors and maintaining a sizeableconstituency base. The art of resource mobilization entails learning how toconnect with prospective donors in a manner and language theyunderstand, and finding common ground through shared values andinterests. It also entails discerning the right prospect to approach, andmatching the appropriate resource mobilization strategy to the prospect.This concept is governed by two principles:1. Resource mobilization is really FRIEND raising. Financial support comesas a result of a relationship, and not as the goal in and of itself.2. People don’t give money to causes, they give to PEOPLE with causes.People give to organizations to which they have personal affiliation, insome shape or form.Relationship BuildingAnd thus the courtship begins: once you identify your donors, the objectivethen is to get closer to them, get to know them better, very much the sameway as developing a casual acquaintance into a trusted friend andconfidante. As the relationship deepens, this increases the chance ofdonors giving higher levels of support over time, intensifying commitmentand enlarging investment. As cultivation techniques become more targetedand personal, a donor may become more involved in the organization.Initiating new relationships, nurturing existing ones, and building an everexpanding network of committed partners is an ongoing activity, embeddedas a core function of the organization. This requires the dedication ofboard members, staff and v

organizational management and development involves establishing and strengthening organizations for the resource mobilization process.it involves identifying the organization's vision,mission,and goals,and putting in place internal systems and processes that enable the resource mobilization efforts,such as: identifying the roles of board and