A concept note is a shortest and quickest way to reach out to donor agencies with your fundraising requests and find out if your project can get funded. It saves tons of time and work for both NGOs and donor agencies to know about the project idea and whether or not it can get funded or not.
It is always better for NGOs to write down a summary of their project idea within 1-2 pages and present it to donor agencies. If any of the donor agency expresses interest in knowing about it, you can then involve yourself in preparing an extensive, full-fledged proposal. So how to prepare a concept note? This article will help you understand what a concept note is, and how you can master its art to develop quick ideas on paper and help you raise funds quickly.
What is a Concept Note?
A concept note is an outline or framework of the development program that you are seeking funds for. To put it, it is a basic summary of the proposal containing similar ideas as in a proposal, albeit less detailed. It is worth noting that your concept note is the first opportunity to get your NGO and its work noticed and to introduce your project concepts or ideas to a donor.
A concept note gives your NGO the flexibility for detailing out your project at later stages of proposal submission. On the other hand, it also helps the donors or funding organizations to eliminate the proposals which are not likely to be funded- on account of not being in line with their priorities or due to other reasons, based on the concept notes submitted to them.
What to research before writing a good Concept Note?
- Context setting and needs assessment: It would mean using primary and secondary research to build the context, to define the problem and to establish the need for the solution that your program is proposing.
- Knowing your target organization: Detailed research about your prospects is crucial. It enables you to understand the priorities of the donors and sets you up for the concept note application process.
- Best practices: You can take your concept note a notch higher if you learn from the best practices in similar context and domains from across the world.
To know more regarding various techniques of writing effective Concept Notes you can visit, https://www2.fundsforngos.org/featured/how-to-master-the-art-of-writing-powerful-concept-notes-for-raising-funds-quickly/.
