(based on Synergy Academy materials as of 12.06.2019)
There is already no secret for Synergy Academy participants that developing an organization and fundraising strategy is a complex process. In order to overcome all the difficulties, there is a need of powerful incentive. In particular, a successful grant may play such a role.
Thereby, Dina Volynets joined the Synergy Academy experts team to share her own experience on preparing grant applications with the Synergy Academy participants.
1. Assess the relevance of your project goals to the goals of the donor.
1.1. Your project mission should not conflict with the overall mission of the organization
1.2. The mission of your project should match the program mission to find additional resources.
1.3. Your project mission should not conflict with the overall mission of the donor.
1.4. The mission of your project must be appropriate for the donor country.
2. Expand your project mission
2.1. Mission answers the question: what would you like to achieve?
2.2. Vision is the "image" of future achievement.
2.3. Goal is a measurable indicator within the mission.
2.4. A task is a specific activity that must be accomplished to achieve a goal.
2.5. Activity is the process to accomplish a task.
2.6. Outcomes are short-term goal achievement indicators.
2.7. Impacts are long-term indicators of goal achievement.
3. Project relevance (project issues)
3.1. What is the problem you need to address?
3.2. Causality in the process of identifying a problem: What is the cause of the problem and at what stage is it being resolved?
3.3. How can you confirm your assumptions: analytics, statistics?
4. The application process order
4.1. Everything should be systematic.
4.2. Everything should be logical.
5. Everything should be SMART
It is necessary to define as clearly as possible:
5.1. The area of project implementation
5.2. The timeframe of project implementation
5.3. The target audience of the project.
You should also remember that donors favor sustainable organizations.
Therefore, stay steady and do not leave your goals half way.