INTRODUCTION
When we travel to developing countries to meet with
women’s groups, they often ask us, “Do you give grants?”
While Women Thrive Worldwide is not a grantmaker,
we do partner with community-based women’s groups
around the world on our advocacy.
in professional fundraising in the United States (U.S.)
about the best places to look for money to support your
work, how to develop your message, how to secure funds,
and how to build and maintain successful relationships
with your supporters. It also provides tips and detailed
instructi ons on how to write grant proposals, budgets,
and reports. The guide includes a bibliography of other
resources available on the Internet to help you research
funding opportunities and build your support networks.
Finally, the guide contains a list of funders who give
small grants to community-based groups in developing
countries; most are in the U.S. and Europe, but the list
also includes a few funds based in developing countries.
This guide originated from our desire to help grassroots
organizations struggling to raise enough money to be able
to meet their needs. Our team of professional fundraisers
developed this guide to help women’s groups better
understand the world of grantseeking and build their
skills to raise money for their desired causes and projects.
We know how hard it can be to find the resources you
need to build your organization; we started Women
Thrive Worldwide in 1998 with a small budget and have
worked very hard over many years to build a solid base of
funding to grow and sustain our organization.
While the information in this guide is based on our
experiences in the U.S., the principles and methods we
introduce are applicable globally and can be tailored to
your local environment.
The guide introduces some of the basic concepts of
professional fundraising and shows a variety of ways
that organizations can raise money beyond grants. It
contains practical advice based on years of experience
You CAN raise enough money to secure your organization’s
future; it just requires research, preparation, and
determination. We hope this guide will help you succeed.
Share Your Stories with Us
We created this guide to help women’s community-based organizations raise the money they need, not just to
survive, but also to thrive. We would love to hear from you about your experiences.
How have you used the guide?
Has the guide helped your organization create its own fundraising plan?
Have you found new sources of funding?
Has the guide helped you build strong relationships with your financial supporters?
Has the guide helped you write better proposals or reports?
We want to hear your stories of how you’ve used the guide and your feedback on how we can make it better! We
would also love to include your success stories in future editions of the guide.
Write to [email protected]
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