NGO Resource Mobilisation for Fundraising Managers Training Course

Course overview

Fundraising managers in NGOs are expected to secure reliable income while donor priorities, compliance demands and competition for grants continue to change. Many teams have strong programme ideas but lack a structured resource mobilisation strategy, a qualified prospect pipeline, persuasive cases for support, or clear ownership of donor relationships. This course addresses the practical work of turning organisational priorities into fundable propositions and managing a balanced portfolio across institutional donors, foundations, corporate partners, individual supporters and local funding sources.

Participants learn how to assess an NGO’s funding position, set income targets, map donor interests, qualify opportunities and select realistic fundraising channels. The course covers resource mobilisation strategy design, donor intelligence, stakeholder mapping, case-for-support development, grant concept notes, proposal planning, relationship management and funding-risk analysis. Participants practise using a donor pipeline, gift or grant probability ratings, budgeting assumptions, logframe evidence and stewardship plans to make fundraising decisions that can be explained to senior management and boards.

Teaching combines instructor-led briefings with worked examples from development and humanitarian organisations, proposal critiques, donor-meeting simulations and spreadsheet-based planning exercises. Each participant develops a practical Resource Mobilisation Action Pack for their organisation or a supplied case NGO: a funding landscape assessment, donor segmentation map, prioritised prospect pipeline, case-for-support outline, 12-month mobilisation plan and dashboard measures. The deliverable can be used immediately to structure team activity, management reporting and donor engagement.

The course is designed for fundraising managers and officers working in local, national or international NGOs, including staff moving from programme delivery, grants administration or communications into income-generation responsibilities. It is suitable for organisations seeking more disciplined fundraising systems rather than isolated proposal-writing techniques.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Conduct a funding landscape assessment using income-source, donor-concentration and funding-gap analysis
• Build a resource mobilisation strategy with income targets, funding channels, responsibilities and review cycles
• Segment and prioritise donor prospects using alignment, access, value, probability and compliance criteria
• Create a donor pipeline in Microsoft Excel with stages, next actions, weighted values and conversion assumptions
• Develop a case for support that connects community needs, programme evidence, outcomes and donor motivations
• Draft a grant concept note using problem analysis, logframe results, budget logic and value-for-money evidence
• Plan donor stewardship activities using account plans, contact records, reporting commitments and renewal triggers
• Produce a 12-month resource mobilisation action plan with indicators, risks, milestones and management reporting arrangements

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Fundraising Managers — who need to build predictable income pipelines and coordinate donor engagement
• Resource Mobilisation Officers — who research prospects, prepare applications and track funding opportunities
• Grants Managers — who want to connect grant compliance, reporting evidence and renewal strategy
• NGO Programme Managers — who must convert programme priorities and results into fundable propositions
• Partnerships Managers — who develop relationships with institutional donors, foundations and corporate partners
• Executive Directors — who need to oversee funding diversification, donor risk and fundraising accountability

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have a basic understanding of how an NGO is funded, including familiarity with grants, donor reporting or programme budgets. Experience preparing donor correspondence, supporting proposals, managing grants or coordinating programmes is helpful, but not essential. Participants should be comfortable reading simple budgets and using Microsoft Excel for tables, filters and basic calculations. This is a foundation-to-intermediate course: complete beginners in fundraising can attend, but should expect to work with practical concepts such as donor segmentation, funding pipelines, logframes and cost assumptions from the first day. No prior use of a customer relationship management system or formal fundraising qualification is required.

Training methodology

The instructor uses short, targeted teaching sessions to introduce resource mobilisation frameworks, followed by hands-on application to NGO funding scenarios. Participants analyse donor calls, score prospects against a qualification matrix, build a pipeline in Microsoft Excel, critique concept notes and rehearse donor-conversation approaches. Small-group work compares funding choices for a development or humanitarian case organisation, including ethical and compliance considerations. Daily exercises feed into an individual Resource Mobilisation Action Pack, and the final session includes peer review and a structured 90-day implementation plan for the participant’s workplace.

Course outline

Day 1: Resource mobilisation strategy and funding diagnosis

• Resource mobilisation versus isolated fundraising activity
• NGO income models and restricted versus unrestricted funding
• Funding landscape assessment and donor-concentration analysis
• Organisational readiness review for programmes, finance and leadership
• Resource mobilisation strategy components and governance roles
• Income targets, funding gaps and diversification priorities
• Ethical fundraising, donor due diligence and mission alignment

Workshop: Participants complete a funding diagnostic for a case NGO and produce a one-page statement of its priority income gaps, risks and mobilisation objectives.

Day 2: Donor intelligence, segmentation and pipeline design

• Institutional donor, foundation, corporate and individual giving profiles
• Donor intelligence sources and funding-opportunity research
• Donor interest mapping against thematic, geographic and delivery priorities
• Prospect qualification using fit, access, value, timing and probability criteria
• Stakeholder mapping and relationship-access analysis
• Pipeline stages from research through award, stewardship and renewal
• Microsoft Excel pipeline fields, filters, weighted values and next-action tracking

Workshop: Participants research and score a shortlist of donor prospects, then build a prioritised pipeline with weighted income values and named next actions.

Day 3: Fundable propositions and proposal planning

• Case-for-support structure and donor-centred messaging
• Problem analysis using evidence, needs data and affected-community perspectives
• Theory of change and logframe result chains
• Concept note architecture for institutional and foundation donors
• Budget narratives, cost assumptions and value-for-money arguments
• Proposal compliance matrices and bid/no-bid decision criteria
• Internal proposal calendars, roles and quality-assurance gates

Workshop: Participants convert a programme idea into a donor-aligned concept note outline with a results chain, budget assumptions and a proposal workplan.

Day 4: Donor relationships, stewardship and partnership management

• Donor account planning and relationship objectives
• Contact mapping across programme, finance, leadership and donor teams
• Discovery conversations and donor-meeting preparation
• Value propositions for corporate and foundation partnerships
• Stewardship plans, reporting calendars and donor recognition choices
• Managing donor expectations, amendments and difficult funding conversations
• CRM data discipline and Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack contact records

Workshop: Participants prepare and role-play a donor engagement meeting, producing an account plan, meeting brief and post-meeting follow-up schedule.

Day 5: Portfolio control, performance reporting and implementation

• Probability-weighted forecasting and pipeline conversion rates
• Fundraising key performance indicators and dashboard design
• Donor retention, renewal and lapse-risk measures
• Portfolio risk analysis for concentration, restrictions and delivery capacity
• Resource mobilisation reporting for executives and boards
• IATI Standard considerations for donor transparency and funding information
• Ninety-day implementation planning and review cadence

Workshop: Participants assemble and peer-review their Resource Mobilisation Action Pack, including a 12-month plan, dashboard measures and a 90-day implementation schedule.

Tools & standards covered

Microsoft Excel, Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack, IATI Standard, Core Humanitarian Standard

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions