Donor Management System (DMS) is not-for-profit’s customer relationship management (CRM) system and is a means to compile, organise, analyse and strategically implement communication strategy so as to maintain and grow the relationship with the donor. In other words, it’s a tool to maintain all the donor-related information so that the same could be used for… [Read More]
Is our NGO’s mission the same thing that we tell donors when fundraising?
Yes the mission and aims and objectives of your NGO is why you want people to support you. However, for the purposes of fundraising from individuals, you may want to explain or interpret your mission, aims and objectives, so that ordinary people who live in your local community understand in simple terms what you are… [Read More]
How important is it for our NGO to have proper fundraising software? We only have limited funds and would prefer not to have to spend this on IT.
Large charities and NGOs use specialist fundraising software to keep information on large numbers of individual donors. However, if you are a small or medium-size NGO with limited numbers of supporters and contacts, you can still manage these using basic Excel spreadsheets. In the UK, there is now a legal requirement to ask donors if… [Read More]
What is the best way to raise unrestricted income for staff and overheads?
The issue of raising money to support operating costs and staffing has always been challenging for NGOs. If you are applying for funding to a grant-maker, it is important to not under-estimate the hidden costs which should also be included in the budget. For example, rent, rates, IT, utilities, support staff etc. For staff whose… [Read More]
I am a new Executive Director in an established NGO but changes are needed internally to improve upon old, out-dated practices and staff who are reluctant to change their behaviour and attitudes. What is the best way to handle this situation?
Change management is a difficult aspect of a Director’s job and needs to be handled with sensitivity, especially if you are to take your staff with you rather than create upset and discord. Overall, most people do not like change. They feel threatened by it and often can feel unsettled and insecure because they are… [Read More]
What are the best practices when applying for a USAID funding opportunity?
Here are some of the considerations and tips for preparing your application for USAID funding, or in USAID terms, preparing for a solicitation: First of all, go through the solicitation in-depth and detail: Make sure you go read the solicitation in-depth and detail and make notes of the important points. Some points to be understood… [Read More]
How to apply for USAID funding? Or in USAID terms- ‘What process does responding to a solicitation involve?’
USAID encourages a large number of applications and competition to ensure high-quality proposals and solutions. To this end, USAID issues solicitations and asks the organizations to respond to them. After this, the organizations whose response best meets the evaluation criteria outlined in the particular solicitation, get selected. However, this is not the end of the… [Read More]
What is a Co-operative and what are its Salient Features? What are the types of Co-operative?
What is a Co-operative? According to the International Co-operative Alliance, cooperative has been defined as an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. Salient Features are as follows: The membership to any co-operative is voluntary and a person is… [Read More]
Can you explain the Indian Companies Act 2013 in relation to CSR?
Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR is a mandate that has been introduced in the rules of the Government of India’s Companies Act,differently-abled 2013 under Section 135 in the year 2014. It mandates the companies that have an annual turnover of 1000 crores or more or a net worth of 500 crores or more or a… [Read More]
How NGOs can write a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for their projects?
A Standing Operating Procedure (SOP) can be defined as a document providing an approach describing all the required activities that are essential to complete a task in accordance with the regulatory aspects, in a standard way or according to the operations of the organization that all the employees shall comply and work. SOPs are effective… [Read More]
