Prepare for funding: Explain why you're great
Part 2: Execution and operations
By Tanya Wong
Now that you’ve defined your purpose and intentions, it’s time to dive deep into how you’ll get there.
Lasting social and environmental change often starts with the right funding. When you’re prepared, you can increase your chances of having productive conversations with potential funders – and find a long-term partner that really ‘gets’ you.
In the first article of our four-part series, we looked at defining your intention and purpose, or why your organisation exists. Now it’s time to delve into the how – by examining your operations and capacity to execute. If you can walk a funder through the specifics of how you do what you do, you’re building trust by showing you can deliver the outcomes they want to fund.
It’s common for organisations to focus on what they want to achieve, but often they forget to spell out how they plan to get there, how long it will take, and how much it will cost – and why. For example, hiring additional staff is an expense that’s often glossed over in financial calculations, but the success of your organisation depends on having competent people reliably doing their job. Be clear on why those staff are necessary, for how long, and what they ought to be paid.
Start with your people
Any funder will want to know you have a qualified, well-equipped team behind you.
Make sure you showcase the expertise of all your people, from your management and board to your on-the-ground staff members. You might have some experts and specialists you tap for advice occasionally – mention them too.
A potential funder will be looking for certain characteristics in your people:
- Are they capable of doing their roles well?
- Do they have relevant skills and experience?
- Are they qualified?
- How do their past achievements help them in their current role?
As well as sector-specific skills, it’s worth considering the background and types of personalities in your organisation. Skills like resilience, problem solving, and creative thinking, together with a mix of personal perspectives, are just as important in social enterprises as technical qualifications and professional experience. Often, it’s that diverse toolkit that will allow an organisation to bounce back after a setback or overcome challenges.
While current expertise of your staff is important, it’s equally important to show where you’re committed to training and helping your people improve their skills – this will increase your capacity for growth.
Differentiate yourself
When funders are evaluating your organisation, they will look at other similar organisations to understand what’s already out there. You can make their job easier by clearly explaining how you’re different from your competitors – and what makes you special. If you’re not sure what makes you different, consider:
- Your purpose. Is there a specific segment of people or a particular environmental issue you’re focused on that other organisations aren’t?
- How your services are delivered. Is there a specific way you help that’s unique to you?
- Your expertise. Are your team especially well qualified or do they have skills your competitors don’t?
- Your story. Do you have a particularly compelling story behind your organisation that makes it stand out?
- Your partnerships and collaborations. Do you have the support of established partners or a network that other organisations don’t?
- Your appeal. What makes your organisation attractive to both staff and the public, or people you support?
42 Adelaide, a KIK initiative dedicated to solving youth unemployment, knows their peer-to-peer learning program, where students work on real projects, sets them apart. For students it’s not just about learning how to code. 42 Adelaide believes soft skills are just as important and supports students to develop their ability to problem solve, think critically, learn self-discipline, and build resilience.
It might sound like a lot of work upfront, but if you can clearly articulate your points of difference, it’s easier to determine which funding option will be best for you. And if you need help with any of this, we’re here. We work with impact organisations like yours to help them strengthen their organisation and secure the right funding. Get in touch today.
Now it’s time to look at your organisation from a financial perspective and crunch a few numbers – we’ll cover this in part three.