CONTENTS
I. Introduction 3
II. Overview of Fundraising Activities 3
a. Collecting online donations 4
b. Sending Direct mail appeals 5
c. Requesting Foundation Grants 6
III. Plan 7
a. Objective One – Development of the comprehensive, detailed and informative project proposal 7
b. Objective Two – Selection of the grant providers 8
c. Objective Three – Making Impressive and Persuasive Presentations 8
IV. Summary of the Grant Proposition 9
References 11
Introduction
In spite of the fact that many governments all over the worlds are constitutionally vested with responsibility of taking caring of their citizens, the living standards in many developing countries are dismal. Unfortunately, many studies showed that the public officials notoriously fail to comply with their duty to protect welfare interests and ensure decent living standards of its people . The countries of the Sub-Saharan region are especially vulnerable to social degradation and impoverishment of the local populations, especially nowadays, when the demand for raw materials and agricultural products is dramatically shrinking. The operations of Build Africa are especially remarkable in this regard. Its main mission is to make sure that people in the rural African communities are capable of earning decent living, that they have enough food and water and that the new generations of the young Africans have access to education.
Thus, the work of American NGOs in these countries become critical for the development of rural regions in the countries of East and South Africa, which governments do not have sufficient resources and attention to attend to the necessities of its destitute people. However, the budgets of NGOs operating in the African regions are limited, and fundraising is often the only way of gathering money and other assets required for accomplishment of their mission.
The purpose of this project is to provide the analysis of fundraising activities, which can be used by Build Africa to collect money for their causes and to provide a justification for each of this method. Furthermore, provides a fundraising plan and a summary of the grant proposal.
Overview of Fundraising Activities
Fundraising is the process of collecting financial or other contributions by means of making donation requests to the members of the community, the private segment, charitable organizations, governmental institutions and other organizations (Aras & Crowther, 2010). Because Build Africa is not supported by any government or any private patronage, the only way to continue its operations, which are vital for many people in the rural regions of East and South Africa, is to keep its fundraising operations productive and launching new methods of raising funding for its initiatives.
Specifically, online giving, foundation grants, special events and direct mail are considered particularly effective.
Collecting online donations
The research shows that the amount of online donations is dynamically increasing. Thus, the number of donations made online grew on 52% from 2012. At the same time, it is important emphasizing that online donations account for less than 10% if all donations made to the majorities (Davies, 2014). Yet, the importance and potential of online giving should not be ignored. In addition, the studies demonstrate that by 2025 the amount of charitable contributions made online will increase to 30-40% (Steffek & Hahn, 2010).
Despite the fact that it is headquartered in the United States and has branches in several African countries, this organization has a truly global appeal. Not only the people from all over the world are compassionate to the Africans, but also the chances are high that in the future many people will be dependent on Africa. In particular, many academics agreed on the idea that during the next several decades the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa will become the major global suppliers of organic genetically modified products. Moreover, many works suggest that driven by the global environmental changes, many people from Europe, the Americas and Asian countries will soon migrate to Africa, where the climate will remain relatively stable and favorable during the next several hundred years.
Materialistic considerations aside, making online appeal to the international audiences is justified by the purely humanistic rationale (Pudelek, 2012). In particular, the people from the United States of America and the developed countries of Western Europe are prone to helping those, who are in need. Specifically, the practice shows that once all personal and family physical, materialistic and spiritual necessities are satisfied, the irresistible need to help those, who are in need, emerges (Lorenzen, 2009). In other words, the people feel that they are morally obliged to help those, whose economic environments are not as a conducive as the European or the American ones are.
Because the overwhelming majorities of such ‘moral benefactors’ reside either in the United States or in the developed countries of Western Europe, making physical appeals to them by opening branches or otherwise is neither financially affordable, nor it is physically possible. Thus, launching a web-based platform, which will be delivering the message of Build Africa to the global audiences and providing the opportunity to donate, is a justified and recommendable method of fundraising.
Sending Direct mail appeals
There is an ongoing debate among the marketing professionals regarding the effectiveness of using direct mail approach to fundraising (O’Neal-McElrath, 2013). While some of them say that using ‘snail mail’ is no longer effective, others argue that printed or even hand-written letter are much more powerful and effective than the machine-made emails. Specifically, the research shows that the people tend to be more responsive and willing to act when they open an envelope, because it shows that a sender of the message spent time and efforts writing this letter. It is, therefore, one of the best confirmations that the action asked is indeed important for the one, who sent it.
In addition, some market analysts believe that the people no longer treat traditional mail as they used to treat them in the past (Johnson & Benton, 2011). The biggest portion of all personal and of all business and personal communication is done through various internet and mobile-based solutions, and, therefore, it is natural that the people often expect to receive all kinds of messages through one of their habitual channels. Thus, some authors believe that direct approach to sending donation appeals will bring the results expected of it. However, because the targeted recipients do not expect to get such messages via traditional mail, such messages may have surprisingly positive effects. In particular, the studies show that from 1% to 3% of all marketing messages sent by traditional post result in new deals (Fernsler, 2013). Assuming that this strategy is effective in business, the chances are high that this approach will work for Build Africa as well.
Requesting Foundation Grants
Getting foundation grants is one of the shortest, and often the most effective method of finishing a fundraising campaign (Levinson et al, 2010). However, it is important remembering that meeting the requirements of a grant maker is exceptionally difficult. The number of grant seekers had been dramatically increasing, and the leading grant giving institutions are overwhelmed by the applications. As a result, getting the grant proposal approved and receiving funding is marked by draconian competition.
At the same time, while it may take years to finalize a fundraiser by means of making digital appeals, writing direct mails, organizing project exhibitions or other initiatives, and promoting special fundraising events, a foundation grant can provide sufficient funding to the project within less than a month. It is, therefore, one of the best alternatives, which may be used to complete the fundraising project of the organization.
Despite the fact that getting this type of funding requires arduous preparation, and the proposal should have solid social causes, obviously the mission of Build Africa meets these requirements. Generally, assuming that the grant-writing proposal is persuasive, comprehensive and informative, the chances of getting the grant proposal are high.
Plan
The purpose of this part of the paper is to provide a comprehensive description of the goals and objectives posited before the organization in a SMART format. Additionally, this part of the project provides a timeline of project execution. The main goal of this project is to secure funding for improving welfare in the rural communities of Kenya, Rwanda, Central African Republic, Liberia and Ethiopia.
Objective One – Development of the comprehensive, detailed and informative project proposal
This objective focuses on preparing the platform for soliciting a grant from one of the leading grant organizations in the United States. At this stage, the team should develop a specific, result-oriented project, which the organization will carry out with help of the grant money. The mission of Build Africa is more or less obvious to the targeted audience. However, the funding should be requested for the implementation of specific projects. In this particular case, the following objects appear to be justified for seeking grant funding:
Building schools in the rural communities of Rwanda;
Providing start-up money for developing small businesses in the rural regions of Kenya, Central African Republic and Ethiopia;
Building hospitals in Rwanda, Central African Republic and Ethiopia.
Inviting teachers and doctors to work in the existing schools and hospitals of the Sub-Saharan African countries.
Organizing food and drinkable water deliveries to the most destitute communities;
Digging wells, helping with irrigation and launching other agricultural projects in the region.
The first stage is expected to be finalized within two weeks. In addition, because the project proposal should be harmonious with the mission and vision of the organization. Therefore, the most experienced and proficient staff of the organization should participate in this stage. The project proposal itself may be written by one of the field managers, who is regularly working in Africa, because these people can provide practical insights. However, the director Build Africa should review and examine the project to conclude on its consistency with the mission of the organization.
Objective Two – Selection of the grant providers
The second step involves research and identification of the organization, which provide funding to the projects similar to the one considered by the Build Africa. Because the projects developed by Build Africa are of particularly important social importance, it is justified to approach The Rockefeller Foundation or Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Rockefeller Foundation specifically emphasizes that ‘it works to create help the poor and vulnerable communities by means of smart globalization in a measurable and meaningful way’. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation highlights that their mission is to reduce global inequality. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the mission of Build Africa entirely fit the grant conditions.
Preliminary research into the nature and the conditions of grant providers can be completed by the junior managers of the organization. The timespan for this project may take from one week to two months.
Objective Three – Making Impressive and Persuasive Presentations
The practice demonstrates that not a single grant has been ever awarded without a presentation, where the organization managers present the project, its objectives, milestones and descriptions to the investors (Johnson & Benton, 2011). This state is especially important, because the practice demonstrates that it is often more important how we speak, than what we speak. In addition, many commentators acknowledged that while deciding whether to allocate funding or not, the investors often need to be persuaded that the project founders and project executors sincerely and genuinely believe in what they are doing (Steffek & Hahn, 2010). In other words, it important to show that Build Africa is much more than just a socially oriented initiative – it is their vocation, mission and lifestyle.
Summary of the Grant Proposition
The purpose of this section of this report is to demonstrate that the project Build Africa meets the requirements posited by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His organization is one of the most lavish in the United States of America. It regularly disperses funding to the various projects both in the United States of America and internationally, becoming the largest non-governmental sponsor of the various social projects and initiatives both in the United States and worldwide.
One of the most peculiar features of this grant foundation is that Bill & Melinda Foundation does not set the requirements to which a grant should correspond. Instead, this organization established the list of criteria, which automatically disqualify the project from grant assignment. At the same time, the Foundation precisely says that the grant proposal should correspond to the mission of the Foundation. Thus, in order to qualify for grant assignment, the project should satisfy the following conditions:
It should be compliant with the mission of the Foundation, which is ‘to reduce global inequity’.
As discussed before, the project ‘Build Africa’ aims at reducing poverty, increasing living standards and improving business prospects for the people, who live in the undeveloped regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. The research demonstrates that these areas are one of the most impoverished and plagued with hunger, infectious diseases and inadequate social and healthcare infrastructures in the world. Therefore, building schools and providing business opportunities to the people of Central African Republic, Chad, Uganda, Burundi, Kenya and Tanzania are entirely compliant with the mission of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Foundation does not provide direct donations or grants to individuals.
Build Africa is a fully registered and licensed non-governmental organization both in the United States and in a variety of the African countries. If a grant is assigned, it will be given to the entire organization, and it will in no way be dependent on a specific employee of the organization. In addition, legitimate use of the grant funds will be insured by the Barclays Bank.
The Foundation does not fund projects, which address healthcare projects in developed countries.
As discussed before, Build Africa project focuses on providing healthcare, educational and business aid in the developing regions of Sub-Saharan Africa only.
The Foundation does not provide grants to the political or lobbying campaigns
The project in question is in no way connected to politics, electoral activism or local governance. The only purpose of all activities of Build Africa is providing help to the local communities. Thus, it is reasonable to believe that the project in no way contradicts the conditions of grant assignment.
Finally, one of the conditions of Grant assignment in Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is that the project should not serve a religious purpose only.
As discussed before, this project aims at creating favorable business and educational environments in the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, which societies are highly multicultural, and where religious pluralism is one of the most fundamental tenets. In no way it focuses on developing and implementing a purely religious initiative.
References
Aras, G. & Crowther, D. (2010). NGOs and social responsibility. Bingley: Emerald.
Davies, T. (2014). NGOs: a new history of transnational civil society. New York: Oxford University Press.
Fernsler, T. (2013). When do you need a fundraising consultant? Nonprofit World, 31(4), 26.
Johnson, J. T., & Benton, A. K. (2011). Factor two: Win with consultants. 10 critical factors in fundraising: The little green book for chief executive officers. Ashland, OH: Bookmasters
Levinson, J. C., Forbes, C., & Adkins, F. (2010). Chapter 10: Guerrilla publicity. Guerrilla marketing for nonprofits: 250 tactics to promote, recruit, motivate, and raise more money. Irvine: Entrepreneur Press.
Lorenzen, M. (2009). Academic library development officers in fund raising : how they perceive their work. Saarbrücken, Germany: VDM Verlag Dr. Muller.
O'Neal-McElrath, T. (2013). "Winning Grants Step by Step: The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals, 4th Edition".
Pudelek, J. (2012). Learning the ethical balancing act. Third Sector, (732), 18
Steffek, J. & Hahn, K. (2010): Evaluating transnational NGOs: Legitimacy, accountability, representation. New York: Palgrave, Macmillan.
