How can new NGOs build donor trust when most proposals require past project experience?
Question submitted by: Mohamed Abdi Barre, Humanitarian Action for Modern Development Initiatives, Somalia
I have worked in the humanitarian field in Somalia for half a decade, and this question is personal to me. Donor trust is built through one process: programmatic integrity.
This entails planning and delivering projects according to donor timelines, design specifications, value for money, and generating scalable evidence. Donors often lose trust when they cannot see the project impact. In such cases, the “Value for Money” component is lost. And no donor would put money into a system that loses it.
Now, before any donor gives you money, they want to see evidence of impact and organisational credibility. After they give out the money, they want programmatic integrity. The two go together.
For emphasis, when implementing a project, do not forget to use result-based reporting. Send reports on time and ALWAYS include lessons learned and the need to scale up or down different project components.
(This answer was provided by Wycliffe Nyafuanga, a Kenyan resource mobilisation expert and grant funding strategist)
