There a large number of foundations, trusts, government initiatives with money to give.
When looking for potential donors look at:

• Their priorities (sectoral, geographical, costs accepted) and why would your project be of interest to them?
• What type of project do they fund?
• What size grant do they normally give?
• Do they have ‘calls for proposals’ with specific guidelines and application deadlines?
• Look at projects and programmes that they have funded recently.
• What sort of proposal do they require? Do they want a 2-page concept note first? Do they have a set format, application deadlines, decision making timeframes, reporting requirements and payment schedules?

If the grants available from a donor are small, and the application or reporting requirements are onerous, ask yourself whether is it really worth applying? A rule of thumb is that 80% of funding comes from just 20% of donors.

The chief purpose of a funding proposal is persuasion. So, while you will need to describe the proposed project, you need to do so in a way that will convince a donor to give you money.

There are as many proposal formats as there are donors – almost each donor has a different format. However the basic information requested is generally the same. The proposal must tell the story in a compelling manner, while persuading the donor that the project is meaningful. It must also convince donors that the organisation is fiscally sound, transparent and capable of achieving the project’s goals and objectives.