Objective 1: To increase access to diverse sources of donor funds through the upgrade of key competencies in proposal writing and fundraising among key personnel in NGOs, INGOs, FBOs, State & National Governments, Universities, Colleges & Research Institutions and other professionals in the development sector.

Objective 2: To build/enhance the confidence and skills of those responsible for managing donor grants to effectively implement development programs within donors’ contractual terms and conditions.

Objective 3: Produce persuasive, convincing, actionable reports that support decision making

Course Objectives

• Understand the structure for a complete project proposal
• Gain skills on how to draft a highly competitive grant proposal
• Clearly understand how to read and accurately interpret guidelines in calls for proposals
• Understand donor assessment criteria in calls for proposals
• To equip staff responsible for fundraising with requisite tools, skills and approaches to create conditions for successful fundraising, to expand access to diverse sources of donor funds and overall improvement of long-term organization financial sustainability.
• Demonstrate competences to evaluate and audit fundraising outcomes
• Provide you with a forum to obtain answers to the questions/issues have always had in proposal writing and fund-raising

Course Outline

• Proposal Development: Executive Summary, Organization Background, Problem Statement, Goal, Designing SMART objectives, Activities, Work Plan, Outputs, Outcomes, Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Risks Assumptions, Budgeting & Budget
• Designing Effective Fund-Raising Strategies & Online Fund-Raising
• Donor/Stakeholder Meetings – Pitching for your Proposal Skillfully
• Skills for Evaluating Proposal Submissions
• Proposal Writing Training for country teams-How “cascade project proposal development training” works
• Overview of Grants Management Cycle
• Types of costs: Allowable & disallowed costs, Direct & Indirect costs, Cost Share/Matching costs
• Grant Award Contract: Types and contents
• Award Review, Implementation, Donor Compliance
• Internal Controls & Grant Tracking Tools
• Office Administration
• Procurement Procedures
• Programme/Activity-Based Budgeting: Formulating Activities, Determining cost drivers
• Financial Documentation in Grant Management
• Personnel &Staff Issues (ethics): Timesheets, Travel & per diem, Itinerary, Assets & Inventory
• Management
• Staff Motivation
• Contingencies, Partnerships & Consortia management, Co-Financing, Multi- Donor Funding, the Final Tranche, Grant Audit-Common pitfalls to avoid, Grant Close Out Procedures
• Understanding Reports/Reporting- Principles of Professional Writing
• Data gathering and analysis for reports
• The Process of Writing and delivering a professional report
• Developing Organization Reporting Strategies for Donor Relationships and Retention

Sample comments from some past participants

“The course was well designed and excellently delivered. This is a very informative program and I highly encourage departments where grant writing is a key function to enroll staffs in the program. ” Prof. Daprim Ogaji, Centre Leader, Africa Centre of Excellence in Public Health and Toxicological Research (ACE-PUTOR), University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

“The content was exclusively and well covered. The training objectives were excellently covered and what I’ve learnt will absolutely be useful to my work. I agree the trainer taught in a way that is understandable…” Brenda Odinga – Development and Grants Manager – Blue Ventures KENYA

“I have learnt lots of new strategies that I will teach my colleagues back in Nepal. The trainers has been very helpful during the program and thanks to all my colleagues here as well. It was a great time to be here.”Ghanshyam Pandey – Chairperson and Co-Founder Green Foundation- NEPAL

“The training was well designed, the content detailed and well covered. The trainers are exceptional. Again, participants are drawn from diverge countries and backgrounds which enhances the quality of experience sharing thus improving training outcomes.” Prof. Charles Ruranga, Director, African Centre of Excellence in Data Science, University of Rwanda,

Training Methodology

The training comprises of 4-hour weekly live zoom sessions plus materials for self-paced stuffy.

About the Organization

Asset Africa Institute (www.assetafrica.co.ke) -AAI- specializes in the research, design, and delivery of high-quality and affordable training programs for development workers worldwide.
Over the years, AAI has provided consultancies and training to such reputable organizations as: World Resources Institute, Catholic University of Mozambique, National Open University of Nigeria(NOUN), African Centre for Agroecology and Livelihood Systems ( ACALISE)-Uganda, WIOMSA, International University of East Africa (IUEA), Help-ev. de-Zimbabwe, FCA-Kenya, Ministry of Mining-South Sudan, Addis Ababa University-Ethiopia, FHI360-Burundi, Gain-Pakistan, MOI University-Kenya, The Development Fund-Ethiopia/Somalia, eHealth-Nigeria, SolidarMed Zimbabwe, JRS-Thailand, SEND Sierra Leone, CABTAL Cameroon, FH Association Rwanda, Abilis Foundation, Manuel Ungo Foundation-El Salvador, IHRD-Guinea, WWF-Tanzania, NCA-Zambia, Islamic Relief-Somalia, CBM, DON BOSCO-Kenya/Tanzania, Solidaridad Network-Zimbabwe, TOCH-South Sudan, CORDAID-CAR, CHA -Malawi, Long-Term Joint European Union – African Union Research and Innovation Partnership on energy (LEAP-RE), Among tens of others.