Inclusive fundraising, ie. when it’s done in partnership with the communities you’re targeting, and with other NGOs working in your space, can be an important way to help structure projects that benefit your ecosystem and contribute to shared goals.

Working in partnership can also strengthen relationships, promote a long-term vision of sustainability, and build shared ownership over the outcomes you’re seeking.

This approach shifts the focus from external donations towards locally-driven, community-centred fundraising strategies.

From Transactional to Collaborative Fundraising

In many traditional fundraising models, the process can feel transactional. NGOs identify donors, apply for funding, and report back on progress. While this approach can secure immediate funds, by responding to a donor-led call and building a project to fit their needs, the only voices valued are those of power-holders. This transactional approach sidelines the voices of those who understand their context best, and limits the relationship to a bilateral one. Instead, focussing on collaboration between grant-seeking organisations can provide us an interesting alternative.

Shared Goals

The first step in inclusive fundraising is bringing your partners and communities into the conversation early. This involves more than just asking for feedback—it means co-developing a shared understanding of what affects your lives, develop a shared vision of the problem, and work to address it together. Are you seeking funding to support a long-term community development project? Is the goal to address a short-term crisis? These are discussions that are best done with others experiencing the same realities.

In doing so, you move away from the assumption that one NGO alone should set priorities. Instead, your partners and community members help define the funding objectives based on their local expertise, needs, and the work you and others have done in the past. This ensures that the funds you’re seeking will directly align with the top priorities.

Local Fundraising

Inclusive fundraising doesn’t have to rely solely on international donors or external grant applications. Many communities and local actors already have ways of mobilising resources, whether through grassroots fundraising, local businesses, or community-led initiatives. You may want to think about developing for-profit services or offerings that can supplement your grant applications, working with others in your area to build a community.

From my own experience, partnering with other consultants has enriched my services to clients immensely, and we all benefit and learn together. It’s also of course helped me build strong connections with other PMEL consultants, and enriched my professional life no end!

I recommend tapping into your networks to think together about ways you can support each other to grow and build funds. Sometimes that can look like building a consortium for a specific project or grant opportunity as well, with each partner contributing their expertise to benefit the whole.

You can then cast a wider net to look at local businesses or council resources to support these projects. By involving these local actors from the beginning, you’re also working to build a stronger network of support – which can support future grant applications and even your projects. Making connections with local business owners may inspire a future public awareness workshop or ‘town hall’ style convening, and you’ll build connections with new actors in the process.

Social enterprises are also a good place to look for fundraising support – they may already be running income-generating activities that you can tap into. For example, if you’re working on education-related initiatives, you can work with artists to sell products online or in person, with a percentage of the sales going toward funding school supplies or local teacher training. Demonstrating the efforts you’ve taken to support building community-level and community-based responses to education is a great feather in your cap during the grant process.