What do I need funding for? Make sure you clearly develop the program that requires funding. In order to identify a good donor and submit a successful application you need to be very clear on what it is you are going to implement and what results (impact) the program is going to achieve.
How much do we need? Also budget out the program and identify the total resources needed. Can one small grant cover the entire program, or do we need several donors to do this? Before we can ask a donor for funding we need to know for what and how much we are asking.
Research
Though we do not have data for global funding for disability programs, the data from the United States is instructive and may provide some guidance. From 2003 till the present day, US Foundations provided over 57,000 grants to disability related issues, of which a proportion (nearly 1,000) went to NGOs outside of the US. In 2010 alone the top 100 grants totaled over US$500 million.
With 57,000 grants going to disability related issues we know that donors are interested, but which donors are they and how do we find them?
- Sign up for fundsforngos.org and other newsletters that provide funding information on disability grants
- Check websites and annual reports of NGOs that are of a similar size and scope to your NGO to check who funds them
- Check databases of funders (e.g. the Foundation Center’s Foundation Directory Online in the US)
- Check donor websites for guidelines and funding criteria
- Ask peers and colleagues for suggestions
