VIA - ASIA PROGRAMS

VIA English Resource

Handbook
June 2012

Sarah McCormick
English Resource Volunteer Thailand, 2009 - 2011

Table of Contents
FOREWORD ................................................................................................................................................................... 6
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................................. 7
PART I: BEING AN ENGLISH RESOURCE VOLUNTEER ............................................................................................ 9
CHAPTER 1: WELCOME TO INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERING ................................................................................................. 10
Benefits of Being a Volunteer.............................................................................................................................. 10
Being an Effective Volunteer ............................................................................................................................... 11
Personal Qualities that Every Volunteer Must Have ........................................................................................................ 11
A Few Habits of Highly Effective International Volunteers .............................................................................................. 12
Indirect Communication ................................................................................................................................................... 15
Culture Fatigue ................................................................................................................................................................. 16

CHAPTER 2: GETTING TO KNOW YOUR POST ..................................................................................................................... 19

Volunteers Roles in Their Posts .......................................................................................................................... 19
Getting to Know Your Post How ....................................................................................................................... 22
Getting to Know Your Organization What ....................................................................................................... 24
Cultural Issues that You Can Expect to Face ....................................................................................................... 26
PART II: GRANTS AND FUNDRAISING ................................................................................................................. 29
CHAPTER 3: BEFORE YOU WRITE (OR EDIT) ANYTHING........................................................................................................ 30
Speaking the Language of Grant Writing ........................................................................................................... 30
LogFrame .......................................................................................................................................................................... 32
Goals ........................................................................................................................................................................... 32
Objectives .................................................................................................................................................................... 33
Qualities of an Objective: SMART ........................................................................................................................... 33
What to Include in an Objective ............................................................................................................................. 34
Activities...................................................................................................................................................................... 35
Results ......................................................................................................................................................................... 36
Outputs ................................................................................................................................................................... 36
Outcomes ............................................................................................................................................................... 37
Impacts ................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Indicators .................................................................................................................................................................... 38
Qualities of Effective Indicators .............................................................................................................................. 39
Quantitative and Qualitative .................................................................................................................................. 40
Targets in Indicators ............................................................................................................................................... 40
Means of Verification ............................................................................................................................................. 41
Concepts in Action - Monitoring and Evaluation .............................................................................................................. 44
M & E Defined ............................................................................................................................................................. 45
Where to Find Donors ...................................................................................................................................................... 46
Evaluating Whether to Submit a Proposal ....................................................................................................................... 48

CHAPTER 4: THE GRANT CYCLE ....................................................................................................................................... 51

Step 1: Finding a Grant Opportunity ................................................................................................................... 51
Step 2: Submitting a Letter of Inquiry ................................................................................................................. 52
Step 3: Submitting a Full Proposal ...................................................................................................................... 53
Step 4: Signing the Contract................................................................................................................................ 54
Step 5: Implementing the Project........................................................................................................................ 55
Step 6: Site Visits ................................................................................................................................................. 55

Step 7: Keeping in Communication ..................................................................................................................... 56

Step 8: Reporting ................................................................................................................................................ 57
CHAPTER 5: WRITING A GRANT PROPOSAL ....................................................................................................................... 60
Letter of Inquiry ............................................................................................................................................................... 60
Format of a LOI ........................................................................................................................................................... 61
Writing a LOI ............................................................................................................................................................... 62

Parts of a Grant Proposal .................................................................................................................................... 62

Statement of Need ........................................................................................................................................................... 62
Balancing Acts - Writing an Effective Statement of Need.......................................................................................... 62
What to Say ................................................................................................................................................................. 63
Describe Your Approach ................................................................................................................................................... 66
What to Include .......................................................................................................................................................... 66
How to Write............................................................................................................................................................... 66
Goals, Objectives, Activities, Outcomes, and Indicators .................................................................................................. 67
Why Are We Doing This? Goals ................................................................................................................................. 67
How Will We Get There? Objectives ......................................................................................................................... 68
What Exactly Will We Do? Activities ......................................................................................................................... 69
What Change Will the Project Make? Outcomes ...................................................................................................... 70
How Do We Know Weve Done It? Indicators ........................................................................................................... 72
Organizational Description ............................................................................................................................................... 73
Who Are We? - Introducing the Organization............................................................................................................ 73
Monitoring and Evaluation ............................................................................................................................................... 76
What is M & E?............................................................................................................................................................ 77
What to Write ............................................................................................................................................................. 77
Sustainability .................................................................................................................................................................... 79
What to Write ............................................................................................................................................................. 80
Budget .............................................................................................................................................................................. 82
How to Structure the Budget...................................................................................................................................... 82
What to Include in the Budget ................................................................................................................................... 83
Qualities of an Effective Budget ................................................................................................................................. 84
Budget Narrative......................................................................................................................................................... 85
ER Volunteers and Budgets ........................................................................................................................................ 86
Additional Information ..................................................................................................................................................... 87
Cover Letter ...................................................................................................................................................................... 87
What to Include .......................................................................................................................................................... 88
How to Write a Cover Letter....................................................................................................................................... 88

Qualities of a Good Proposal .............................................................................................................................. 88

Things that Make Funders Happy ............................................................................................................................... 91
Things that are Make Funders Cringe......................................................................................................................... 93

CHAPTER 6: GRANTS AND THE ER VOLUNTEER................................................................................................................... 95

Common Grant-Writing Challenges .................................................................................................................... 96
Tips for Everyone Involved with Grants............................................................................................................... 98
Tips for Writing............................................................................................................................................................... 100
Tips for Editing ............................................................................................................................................................... 103

Ethics and Grant Writing................................................................................................................................... 104

Understanding Donor Expectations ............................................................................................................................... 105
Understanding Your Organizations Expectations .......................................................................................................... 105

CHAPTER 7: FUNDRAISING BEYOND GRANTS ................................................................................................................... 107

Critiques of Over-Reliance on Grant Funds ....................................................................................................... 107
Stability and Sustainability ............................................................................................................................................. 107

Ownership ...................................................................................................................................................................... 108

Other Opportunities for Funding ....................................................................................................................... 109

Engaging Individuals ....................................................................................................................................................... 109
Social Enterprise ............................................................................................................................................................. 110
Local Sources of Funds ................................................................................................................................................... 111
Groups and Communities ............................................................................................................................................... 111

PART III: CAPACITY BUILDING .......................................................................................................................... 113

CHAPTER 8: CAPACITY BUILDING: AN INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 114
Why Should Volunteers Care About Capacity Building? ................................................................................... 114
What on Earth is Capacity Building? ................................................................................................................. 115
Traditional Perspectives on Capacity Building ................................................................................................................ 116
Emergent Perspectives on Capacity Building ................................................................................................................. 117
Which Perspective to Utilize? ......................................................................................................................................... 118
Professionalization and its Discontents .......................................................................................................................... 119

Assessing Organizational Capacity ................................................................................................................... 120

Keys to Success in Capacity Building ................................................................................................................. 121
Some Potential Pitfalls in Capacity Building ................................................................................................................... 122

CHAPTER 9: CAPACITY BUILDING AND THE ER VOLUNTEER ................................................................................................. 124

Qualities of Exemplary Capacity Builders.......................................................................................................... 124
What Needs to Be Done? .................................................................................................................................. 126
What Can Realistically Be Done? ...................................................................................................................... 126
What Kinds of Capacity Building Have Past ER Volunteers Done?.................................................................... 128
Improving the English Skills of Local Colleagues............................................................................................................. 128
One-on-One Capacity Building ....................................................................................................................................... 129
Improving the Flow of Communication .......................................................................................................................... 129
Seeking Technology Upgrades........................................................................................................................................ 130
Providing Training Sessions ............................................................................................................................................ 130
Organizational Restructuring.......................................................................................................................................... 131
Finding External Capacity Building Providers ................................................................................................................. 131

PART IV: MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR EXPERIENCE ........................................................................................ 133

CHAPTER 10: DEALING WITH CHALLENGES ALONG THE WAY .............................................................................................. 134
What Former Volunteers Say ............................................................................................................................ 134
Common Challenges Experienced by Volunteers .............................................................................................. 135
Communication .............................................................................................................................................................. 135
Cultural Styles................................................................................................................................................................. 137
Time and Efficiency ........................................................................................................................................................ 139
Supervision ..................................................................................................................................................................... 145
Technology ..................................................................................................................................................................... 146
Money ............................................................................................................................................................................ 148
Mediating Between Cultures .......................................................................................................................................... 148
Navigating Issues of Privilege and Status ....................................................................................................................... 149
Being Given Power and Status You Dont Deserve .................................................................................................. 149
Embodying Western Prestige ................................................................................................................................... 150
Real and Perceived Privilege .................................................................................................................................... 150
Issues of Gender, Race, Sexuality, Nationality ............................................................................................................... 151
Race ........................................................................................................................................................................... 152
Sexuality .................................................................................................................................................................... 152

Nationality ................................................................................................................................................................ 153

Ethical Dilemmas ............................................................................................................................................................ 153
Financial Mismanagement ....................................................................................................................................... 153
Critiques of International Volunteering.......................................................................................................................... 153
Children and Other Vulnerable Populations ............................................................................................................ 156
Other Situations ........................................................................................................................................................ 157

REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................................... 159
APPENDIX ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ADDITIONAL RESOURCES............................................................ 162
GRANT WRITING ........................................................................................................................................................ 162
CAPACITY BUILDING .................................................................................................................................................... 163
EFFECTIVE INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERING ..................................................................................................................... 164
CULTURE FATIGUE AND INDIRECT COMMUNICATION ......................................................................................................... 164
CRITIQUES OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERING............................................................... 164
AID COMPLICATIONS ................................................................................................................................................ 166

Foreword

By Patrick Arnold, Senior Asia Programs Director

Foreword

VIA volunteers posted to NGOs are often tasked with building capacity at their host NGOs. As youll
learn in this guide, and in your work in Asia, the alphabet soup of acronyms and buzzwords like building
capacity tend to get thrown around without enough thought to the true meaning of the words. In its
simplest form, building capacity means leaving an institution or target beneficiary better off than
when you found it and better poised to achieve its desired goals. As native English speakers, VIA
volunteers are often the most useful to NGOs when working to write, edit, and polish grant proposals
and reports. Connecting NGOs to funding and sustaining it allows resources to flow from those who
have them to those who need them.
It is fitting that this thorough and exceedingly useful NGO handbook was written by a VIA alum. Sarah
McCormick, the author, and inspiration behind this guide, was a two-year VIA volunteer who worked
with an anti-trafficking NGO in northern Thailand. Sarah, like countless other VIA volunteers over the
past 50 years, has generously shared her knowledge and talents with the next generation of the VIA
family. Inside, youll see that Sarah has broken down the grant process and demystified the art of writing
a grant. Most helpful though, is that she contextualized this for the VIA experience.
Our goals are to serve our partners and more specifically, their target communities such as
disadvantaged children, migrant workers, and groups trying to protect natural resources for future
generations. Please use this guide to better understand how you can be most effective in your role and
remember that VIA alums like Sarah are always available to support you.
Learn, grow, thrive, have fun, and remember that youre in for the experience of your life.

Patrick Arnold
Senior Asia Programs Director

Introduction

Introduction

Welcome to VIA! We are excited to have you joining our team as a volunteer in Asia. As an English
Resource and/or English Teaching volunteer, you will have a unique opportunity to get to know amazing
people, become well-versed in another culture, and make a real difference in the community you serve.
How to Use this Handbook
This handbook is designed to provide you with resources that you can use before and during your time
as a volunteer. Some of the information may be helpful for your preparations before you start working,
while other information can be used as a critical reference material while you are at your post.
Its not necessary to read through the handbook in order, though you are welcome to do this. You are
also welcome to browse and seek out only the information you need at a particular time or about a
particular topic.
How the Handbook is Organized
The handbook is organized into four parts. Part I Being an English Resource Volunteer covers issues of
preparing for arrival at your post and getting to know your role when youve first arrived. Part II Grants
and Fundraising provides detailed information about grants including essential terminology, how to
screen potential funders, the grant cycle, writing a proposal, and the ways that volunteers contribute to
grant-writing. It ends with a consideration of fundraising beyond grants.
Part III Capacity Building covers ways to improve your organizations effectiveness, including finding a
definition of capacity building and examples of ways to implement it at your post. Part IV Making the
Most of Your Experience covers common challenges that volunteers face in their posts including tips
on how to avoid them whenever possible.
The handbook concludes with an appendix containing an annotated bibliography with additional
resources on the topics covered in this handbook.
Note from the Author
This handbook draws extensively from my own experiences as an English Resource volunteer in Thailand
from 2009-2011 and from the perspectives of other VIA volunteers, shared through conversations,
reports, and through an online survey. I have tried to write this handbook to include the things I wish I
had known when I arrived at my post. My sincerest hope is that the handbook provides useful
information that allows you to be more effective and have a greater impact at your post in your time as
a volunteer.
I have benefited greatly from the support and perspectives of the staff members of VIA, both during my
volunteer term and in the course of compiling this handbook, and from the community of other
volunteers who shared their experiences, gave advice, and provided every kind of support imaginable to

their fellow volunteer. I have nothing but the most sincere appreciation for all who helped in making
this handbook a reality.
To you, the reader, I wish you happy reading and many, many happy days at your post.

Sarah McCormick

Part I: Being an English Resource Volunteer

Part I:
Being an
English
Resource
Volunteer

Chapter 1: Welcome to International

Volunteering

Chapter 1: Welcome to International

Volunteering

Becoming an international volunteer with VIA is

the start of an immense experience, an
incredible journey, and an unrelenting
adventure. It brings new opportunities and
unforeseen challenges, opens our eyes to new
insights and confounds us with unfamiliar ways
of doing things. Our work as English Teaching
(ET) and English Resource (ER) volunteers can
leave us feeling alternately disappointed and
fulfilled. Volunteering forces us to deepen our
understanding of another culture, and to
deepen our understanding of ourselves. It can
be a mundane, exhilarating, frustrating,
exciting, culture-fatigue-inducing roller-coaster
ride. Welcome to international volunteering.
Were glad to have you aboard.

Despite all the challengeslanguage barriers, red

tape, health problems, culture clashes, financial
coststhe vast majority of the hundreds of
international volunteers we interviewed said that,
if given the opportunity, they would be glad to do
it again. Joseph Collins, Stefano DeZerega, and
Zahara Heckscher, How to Live Your Dream of
Volunteering Overseas

Learning
As an international volunteer, everyone that
you interact with, from the children at school to
the taxi drivers to the grandmother living next
door, is your teacher.
You have the opportunity to learn practical
skills, in building your knowledge of the local
language at your post and gaining professional
skills in teaching, office management, writing,
and editing. You have the opportunity to learn
about the history, religion, and current events
of your host country, as well as gain new
understanding about the issues that your
organization is working to impact.

Benefits of Being a Volunteer

Most people become international volunteers
because they want to give to others, but its no
secret that volunteers are getting benefits from
the experience, too. Volunteering in another
country is an amazing opportunity to learn and
grow, personally and professionally.

Most importantly, volunteers have the

opportunity to learn about other viewpoints
and perspectives, which lead them to challenge
themselves to be open-minded and accepting of
diverse ways of getting things done.

Enter this experience with the attitude of a

student. Frustrations and challenges can
become positive experiences if you approach

Cultural Awareness

them as learning opportunities. - Joseph

The experience of living and working in another

culture can provide an opportunity to deepen
understanding of our own cultures. Being in an
environment where our own unquestioned
assumptions, values, and priorities are not the

Collins, Stefano DeZerega, and Zahara

Heckscher, How to Live Your Dream of
Volunteering Overseas

10

Being an Effective Volunteer

norm makes us aware of our cultures and the

expectations that we carry with us about how
things should be done.
Finding our way in a new culture is almost never
a smooth or simple process. Even though we
will go through cycles of being culture fatigued
and being re-enamored with our host countrys
culture, we will invariably come to find things
that we appreciate from the host countrys
culture. Our values may shift, and we may
gain greater empathy for those who are
newcomers in our own country.

Friendship
Most volunteers leave their experience in VIA
with new relationships that they will carry
forward with them throughout their lives. In
their posts and in their communities,
volunteers get to know neighbors and
colleagues who help them to navigate daily
life, understand the host culture, and share
good times together. These friendships are
often the most meaningful aspects of a
volunteers time of service.
You will have the opportunity to share a
warmth and generosity of friendship with
people that you would scarcely have met
otherwise. Michael Palmer, quoted in

In order to get the most out of the volunteering

experience, there are some best practices and
essential personal qualities that other
volunteers and representatives of the posts
where volunteers are placed highly
recommend.

Personal Qualities that Every

Volunteer Must Have
Patience. Every
single volunteer has
found that patience is
Response to the
one of the most
question, What
frequently-utilized
supplies do you
skills in his or her
recommend that
toolbox. The pace of
incoming volunteers
life, and specifically
the pace of work, is
bring from home?
likely to be very
Bring your sense of
different at your post
humor, all your
than what you are
patience and
accustomed to. The
flexibility. Sarah,
people around you
ER Volunteer,
will have different
Thailand
expectations about
how much is possible,
and even desirable,
to get done in a certain amount of time. Be
willing to slow down a lot.

Sarah Fielding, Study Abroad Guide

It is natural for volunteers to feel a sense of

urgency because they will only be a volunteer
for a short time, but they cannot let themselves
get worked up about it. If you try to force your
timetable and your agenda, it can be off-putting
to the colleagues and the clients of your
organization that you are seeking to form
relationships with. Understand that by waiting
for things to happen, you are observing things
at your post and you are learning.

Relationships with volunteers from the VIA

cohort and others can be a great benefit for
volunteers as well. No one understands the
experience of international volunteering quite
like other volunteers, and bonds form between
volunteer peers that persist across barriers of
time and distance.

11

International volunteers must learn to be patient and go slowly. - Joseph Collins,

Stefano DeZerega, and Zahara Heckscher, How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering
Overseas
an open attitude and avoid
assuming that you already
know what something will be
like, then you will be wellpositioned to learn and
experience all that you can
from your time as an
international volunteer.

Flexibility. The
communities where
You MUST be
volunteers live, and the
flexible! You must
organizations where
realize and expect
volunteers work, are highly
that things will go
wrong, things will
dynamic environments where
change at the last
things can change in a
minute, and you will
moments notice. Immediate
completely
needs are more important
misinterpret
than schedules, and so plans
something and end
up having to start
changeor they may be no
from scratch to do
plans at all. Volunteers need
something. Amy,
to be able to roll with the
ET Volunteer, Vietnam
punches coolly and calmly.
Flexibility is a quality that
Be flexible. Be
open. Frank, ER
volunteers need to cultivate
Volunteer, Cambodia
not only during their initial
period of settling in, but for
the entire length of their
volunteer term. The only constant is change,
and so adaptation to shifting priorities,
schedules, and needs should become a daily
habit for volunteers.

A Few Habits of
Highly Effective
International
Volunteers

You may arrive at a volunteer post with a written job

description, but when it comes time to start doing things,
you may discover that your job description is largely
irrelevant. Your job is to do what is necessary. - Joseph
Collins, Stefano DeZerega, and Zahara Heckscher, How to
Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas
Openness and Humility. Volunteering will
offer many opportunities to do things that you
never imagined you would do: like jumping off
of a waterfall, sleeping in a bamboo hut, singing
Madonna songs in front of complete strangers,
eating foul-smelling fruit, and sitting through an
8-hour meeting in 100-degree heat. If you keep

I have eaten some

pretty strange
things to get in
with the locals.
ER Volunteer

International
volunteers have a
unique opportunity
to realize how little
they know. - Joseph
Collins, Stefano

DeZerega, and
They Learn the
Zahara Heckscher,
Language. Language is the
How to Live Your
key to unlock the doors of
Dream of Volunteering
your personal relationships
Overseas
and work-related goals
during your time as a
volunteer. Your daily life runs smoothly when
you can get and give directions, order food,
purchase bus tickets, and tell your landlord
about the repairs that are needed in your
apartment. Your circle of friends opens up to
include those that have limited abilities or
confidence in speaking
English. Your
No single factor can
productivity at your post
alter your
is increased because you
can double-check
information and
communicate directly
with project staff and
beneficiaries. Having
language skills leaves you
with an entirely different
experience.

international
volunteer experience
more profoundly than
your ease in the local
language. - Joseph
Collins, Stefano
DeZerega, and Zahara
Heckscher, How to Live
Your Dream of
Volunteering Overseas

12

My organization needs a
volunteer who can contribute,
and my most frequent challenge
is the language barrier.
Christine, ER/ET Volunteer,
Indonesia
Im working on improving my
Vietnamese as quickly as
possible. Sarah, ER Volunteer,
Vietnam

as you possibly can.

Communication
is consistently
listed among
the top
challenges that
volunteers face
in their posts, so
it is essential
that you do
whatever you
can to tackle
this challenge
by becoming as
proficient in the
local language

My post or community uses a different

language than the national language should
I worry about learning the local language?
There is no one answer to this question; it will depend on
the primary language used in your organization, how you
intend to use the language in your work and in your daily
life, and how adept you are at language learning. There is
something to be said for focusing on one language at a
time; if you try to study two, you might end up with limited
skills at both. On the other hand, it can open new doors for
you to know even just the basics of the local language; it
might even be necessary if local colleagues or neighbors
dont know the national language very well. The politics
and history of the language in your area will make a
difference as well; learning Tibetan if you are in Tibet is
much more pressing than learning the Northern Thai dialect
in Thailand.

This essential importance of language abilities is

the reason why VIA provides in-country
language training, but this will probably give
you no more than a basic
foundation upon which
to build (especially if you
Learn as much language and
have no prior study or
about the cultural background
exposure with the
of your post before going, and
language before). It will
keep trying to learn as much
be up to you to continue
about both while at your post.
independent study
Every bit of knowledge and
ideally, every day after
language can then be redirected
your arrival at your post.
into your overall understanding
You can locate a tutor in
of the post, the work your school
your community, set up a
or organization does, and into
language exchange with a
your local (and school/work)
local colleague, check out
relationships. - Kailah, ER/ET
podcasts and online
Volunteer, China
resources, or find
Learn the language. Ensure
another way of studying
you have time to study
that will work for you
independently or with a tutor. that will help you to
Nol, ER Volunteer, Thailand
improve your language
proficiency.

13

If youre in a country where the

staffs first language is not the
same as the national language,
its still important to make an
effort to learn the staffs first
language if that is what they are
mostly using. For example, in
my town, this means learning
Tibetan instead of, or in
addition to, Mandarin. Sarah,
ER/ET Volunteer, China

This year Ive started learning

Tibetan. I still dont know very
much, but even being able to
write simple words on the board
in addition to Chinese, to help
students who cant read Chinese,
while teaching them basic
English, has been rewarding and
has been insightful culturally.
Kailah, ER/ET Volunteer, China

My posts language does not use the Roman

alphabet - should I try to read/write in my
host countrys language?
The answer to this question will vary widely based on a
number of factors, such as the language of your host
country, your learning style, and how much time you are
able to put into language study. There are obvious benefits
in being able to read signs and menus in the local language.
Beyond this, many volunteers do find that putting in the
effort to read and write pays dividends in their fluency and
accuracy in speaking. Learning to read/write in Thai or
Burmese will help to clarify the languages tones, while
Khmer literacy will help to clarify the languages many
distinct vowel sounds. For Mandarin, obviously it will not
be possible to become fully literate in a short time, but
learning at least some basic characters may help you to
navigate your daily life better.

dress particularly for teachers and

professionals are more conservative than
what most volunteers are used to. Generally,
sleeveless shirts or shorts are never appropriate
to be worn in public. For other considerations,
such as closed-toed vs. open-toed shoes,
collared-shirts vs. T-shirts, formal vs. causal,
look to your local colleagues dress for cues
about the type of clothing you should be
wearing.

Understand the culture you are living/working

in as best as you can before you arrive. Be
flexible in adapting to a different work culture,
realize they will not adapt to you, you need to
adapt to them. - Nol, ER Volunteer, Thailand

They Learn About Their Host Countrys

Culture(s). Learning as much as you can about
the cultural expectations and understandings in
your host country will help you to avoid
committing major faux pas. Books such as the
Culture Shock series provide basic rules about
day-to-day situations that can help to guide
your initial behavior; but, be aware that no
culture is monolithic and that situations will
vary.

Communication is another important part of

cultural experience that many volunteers
encounter. In most of the countries where VIA
volunteers work, saying no is quite rude;
indirect communication is the name of the
game. This type of communication can be a
challenge for volunteers, but its essential to
learn to read the subtle cues that are being
conveyed.

One important part of culturally sensitive

behavior is being dressed appropriately. In the
countries where VIA volunteers work, norms of

Be aware of polite agreement. In

some cultures, negative feedback

Dive into the host culture by learning a local craft,

is considered to be extremely

song, or dance, using public transportation, offering

impolite, especially if it is

to make a presentation at a local school, asking

directed at someone perceived to

someone to teach you how to cook a local dish, and

have more power or status. -

attending a local religious service, even if youre not

Joseph Collins, Stefano DeZerega,

religious. Zahara Heckscher, quoted in Sarah

and Zahara Heckscher, How to Live

Fielding, Study Abroad Guide

Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas

14

Indirect Communication

- Criticism is seen as personal; people dont

understand how anyone could separate criticism of
ones actions from criticizing one personally.
- Someone may not be able to tell you what you want
to know, and instead make up an answer.

In fact, when things are not stated directly, people from

direct cultures can become confused and frustrated,
and might not understand the message at all. They are
used to communicating with people whose maxims are
say what you mean, and mean what you say. In these
cultures, being direct is how people show respect.

- A person may dislike saying no and will not tell you if

they do not understand.
- If they disagree or do not feel they can do
something, they will make a statement like it will be
difficult. This usually means they do not feel they can
do what you requested.

In cultures that use an indirect communication style, it is

very common to encounter situations where people
communicate in a way that would not cause someone to
lose face. Thus, communication happens indirectly.

- From: Doing Business in Japan

Messages are subtly implied rather than explicitly

stated, and people are accustomed to reading between
the lines for the message. Words such as perhaps and
maybe are often code for no, since saying no could
risk shaming someone. In these cultures, being indirect
is how people show respect.

They Socialize with Their Colleagues.

Getting to know your work colleagues as
people, outside of the office, can often be a
source of personal relationships. But, its also
an important source to use on-the-job as well.
The people who know you will be more open to
working with you.

Those from indirect cultures think of their own style as

polite and face-saving, and sometimes see direct
communication as rude, blunt and overly aggressive.
Those from direct cultures think of their style as open
and honest, and sometimes think of indirect
communication as beating around the bush or even
lying.

Do work hard to socialize with your coworkers outside of work sometimes because it
will open up more pathways of communication
during work. Remember peoples birthdays
and sometimes check in on their Facebook
statuses because it can become a good
conversation starter. Rachel, ET Volunteer,
Indonesia

Each of us intrinsically feels that our style is the right

style, and the other is the wrong style but in the end,
its not a matter of right or wrong, but of getting on the
same wavelength.
- Sue Barrett, Culture and Communication

Indirect Communication in High-Context

Cultures Some General Features

Some cultures generally value a direct style of

communication. They like to get down to business, cut
to the chase, and get to the point. They do not feel
offended or shamed by the kind of direct statements
that might be considered offensive in indirect cultures.

Indirect Communication
15

I always look for good people

Culture
Fatigue
skills in a grant writer. The grantThey Take
writing world depends on a
Initiative.
writers ability to connect with
In most
people both at the institution,
posts, it is
who are going to deliver the
rare for
services the grant will pay for.
specific
tasks or
And that person must be able to
instructions
connect with the foundation to
to be
build trust in themselves as the
assigned to
representative of the
volunteers.
organization. - Fundraising
Generally,
Professional, Quoted in Timothy
volunteers
and Judith Kachinske, 90 Days to
have to be
Success in Grant Writing
very selfreliant in
identifying
things that need to be done (that can be
effectively done by a volunteer), and then just
going ahead and doing it, being mindful, of
course, to avoid any actions that will have a
disparate impact on the organization.
skills, good relationship-building

What is Culture Fatigue?

Culture shock is a well-known expression that

describes the stress and disorientation a person feels
when living in a foreign culture. However, the word
shock suggests a specific occasion. A more accurate
term is culture fatigue. It describes the gradual
accumulation, day by day, of stress from
encountering the many differences in the new
culture.
Your good and bad feelings will normally follow in a
cycle. It is typical and most common to feel happy
and excited when you first arrive. Later, after
several weeks, life at your post may no longer seem
special or interesting. Normally, this feeling passes
and the volunteer returns to a happier lifestyle that
shows a realistic and healthy understanding of
himself/herself.
Here are some situations that trigger culture fatigue:
- Your normal habits of communication (customs of
politeness, idioms, expressions of emotion, etc.)
dont always work the way you expect.

They Recognize that Culture Fatigue Will

Happen to Everyone, and Try to Take It in
Stride. Culture fatigue is culture shocks lesserknown but lingering twin. Culture fatigue is
frustration, stress, anxiety, or distress over the
long-term challenges of trying to effectively
function in another culture. Culture fatigue is
normal and natural, and volunteers should
expect it to impact them several times during
their volunteer term.

- People behave in ways that are not customary in

your country. Sometimes, it is not clear to you what
the rules for appropriate, customary behavior are.
- You find that people have surprisingly different
values in this culture regarding the importance of
time, family, money, or other things.
- No one seems to understand who you really
are: People may not know or care who your family
is, and your previous accomplishments, profession,
or job positions seem unimportant.

Everyone experiences culture shock/fatigue

differently, and how you experience culture

- Despite all these stresses, you are expected to

function with full competence. (cont.)

shock/fatigue has no bearing on whether you are

a strong or weak person. Know that its

something that everyone who goes abroad

experiencesyou are not alone. - Sarah
Fielding, Study Abroad Guide

16

Culture fatigue is usually short-term, and

cyclical. It happens when things that at first you
could accept as a part of a new experience
late starts to meetings, schedules that changed
without notice, people staring at you in the
grocery storesuddenly no longer feel cute or
adventuresome, but start to feel oppressive and
bothersome. The situation hasnt changed, only
your perspective; this is culture fatigue.

Some Symptoms of Culture Fatigue

It is not unusual to experience some of the following
symptoms from culture fatigue: exhaustion, irritability,
homesickness, sleep difficulty, anxiety, desire to
withdraw from the target culture, overeating or
overdrinking. Many people experience one or more of
these symptoms between two months and a year into
their stay in the foreign country. Dont be surprised if
you do too! Normally, these symptoms will come and
go, and eventually pass.

All you need to do is weather the storm until it

passes. Its not possible to avoid culture
fatigue, but it is important to recognize it when
it does come around so that you can take the
necessary steps to minimize its impact.

Managing Culture Fatigue

There are ways to keep your culture shock to a
minimum and to return to a happy and comfortable
state.

As a volunteer, you will start to recognize the

tell-tale signs of culture fatigue in yourself and
others. Youll hear (or think) things like, Things
should just be easy, Why do/dont the people
here _______!?!, and Im tired of people not
understanding me when I try to _____!!
When you find these thoughts popping into
your head, its time to take a step back and do
things that recharge you and bring you joy. Talk
to friends and family back home, watch a
movie, eat some comfort foods, and avoid
(whenever possible) demanding tasks that will
tax your reserves.

- First, take care of your physical health: keep a good

diet, get exercise and plenty of rest.
- Second, maintain good attitudes: Keep your sense of
humor and dont be afraid to make
mistakes. Remember that cultural differences may
make you a bit uncomfortable, but that feeling will
pass.
- Learn as much as you can about the local culture. Be
curious and interested. It will help you understand why
the people around you do what they do.

Soon the culture fatigue will pass, so there is no

need to berate yourself for having this
experience. Cultural experiences are one of the
greatest benefits of being a volunteer, so keep
your culture fatigue in perspective.

- Be non-judgmental, open-minded, and tolerant of

cultural differences. Remember that cultural practices
evolve as part of a whole cultural system; there may be
parts of a culture you dislike or disapprove of, but it is
part of a broader social system, and makes sense inside
that system.

They Manage Their Expectations. It is

normal for volunteers to arrive to their posts
with an unrealistic set of expectations; after all,
most volunteers dont know what the situation
at their post will be until they actually arrive.
Its essential, however, that as soon as
volunteers arrive, they begin to reevaluate and

- Above all, remember that the cross-cultural lessons

you learn now will be with you all your life.
- From Lewis University

17

reassess their expectations, updating them to

conform to the realities of their post. Usually
this involves accepting that you may not be able
to accomplish as much in one year as you had
hoped; so, you can adjust your expectations,
and consider extending your volunteer term for
a second year!

The best advice we can give you about

expectations is to be willing to let them go.
We can tell you in advance that you should
work hard to let go of the expectation that
youll be doing exactly what your job
description says. Also do your best to drop
the expectation that youll be able to fix all

Trust me: the work is not going to be what you

the problems youll encounter. - Joseph

imagined. Every person Ive spoken with about

Collins, Stefano DeZerega, and Zahara

volunteering abroad has said that the work was

Heckscher, How to Live Your Dream of

different than they thought, but those that truly

enjoyed their experience were the ones that stayed

Volunteering Overseas

open-minded and concentrated on the fact that

their experience was about more than working.
Katie Kreuger, quoted in Sarah Fielding, Study
Abroad Guide

It is important as volunteers that we

check our expectations, about what
resources we will have available to
us, the challenges we may face in our
work, as well as about the impact that
we will be able to make in the time
we have available.

They Enjoy Themselves. Being sociable and

friendly are important for forming new
relationships with your neighbors and take time
out to do things that recharge them, like sports,
eating foods from home, listening to music,
photography, cooking, or whatever things you
enjoy. The time that you spend volunteering is
not a checklist, its an experience. You might as
well have fun.

ER Volunteer

18

Chapter 2: Getting to Know Your Post

Chapter 2: Getting to Know Your
Post
Just like in any new job, when you are just
getting started at your post, usually you will
need some time to find your way around your
new surroundings. Its best to take some time
to get to know your colleagues, observe the
way that things work in your organization, and
get your feet on the ground before you dive
into the exact work that youll be doing as a
volunteer.
You may be armed with a job description that
the post has provided to VIA (or you may not!).
You may have researched the post from their
website, talked with former volunteers, and
talked with the Program Director (PD). Even
with this information, its hard to know what to
expect from
your new work
When you take the time to
life.
develop relationships and cultural
understanding, your work will
ultimately be more effective than
if you just rapidly plow through
your to-do list. - Zahara
Heckscher, quoted in Sarah
Fielding, Study Abroad Guide

Volunteers Roles in Their

Posts
VIA Volunteers have a great deal of
variation in their roles at their posts, even
among those placed at similar
organizations or doing similar types of
work. A volunteers duties can be fluid and
change from day to day, or seasonally.
Most volunteers also have the opportunity

to shape their own role at their post based on

the skills and hobbies that they bring to the
organization.
Attending meetings is a near-universal duty of
volunteersand among ER volunteers, it is
universal! Other than this, the work of
volunteers encompasses many different duties
across a wide spectrum.
ER volunteers are more likely to help with
fundraising, go into the field to make site visits,
be involved with public relations, and to work
on grants.
ET volunteers are more likely to teach, be
involved with networking, and socialize with
colleagues outside of work.
Volunteers at hybrid ER/ET posts are more
likely than others to be involved with training
others and translationbut they are also
involved with teaching and networking. These
cross-functional volunteers have the greatest
variety of responsibilities!

post, engaged in
a wide variety of
duties at their
posts.
Average
numbers from
surveys can give
a general overall
picture of the
kinds of work
that volunteers
do, but they also
mask the huge
variation of
volunteer posts.
It is best to have
as few
preconceptions
as possible about
what exactly youll be doing at work, and be
open to discovering the right fit of duties that
will be best for you and your post.

[Chart shows average response on a 1-to-5 scale, with 1 being

not involved at all and 5 being very involved.]

Volunteers duties also vary across the different

countries where they are posted. Volunteers in
Indonesia are the most involved
with site visits and translation.
Volunteers in China are the most
involved with teaching.
Volunteers in Thailand are the
most involved with public
relations and managing shortterm international volunteers at
their posts. Volunteers in
Cambodia are the most involved
with planning and strategy.
Volunteers in Vietnam are the
most involved with networking
for their posts.
However, volunteers in general,
across every country and type of

20

Volunteers
Involvement in
English Resource
Duties
Even among volunteers
who assist with ER
duties in their posts,
there is a great deal of
variety in volunteers
contributions to their
posts.
While ET volunteers
indicated they were not
involved with
fundraising in their
posts, for the majority of
ER volunteers and
volunteers in hybrid
ER/ET posts, this made
up a significant part of their duties; particularly
assisting their posts to apply for and manage
grants from international sources.

and communicating with donors. Volunteers in

hybrid ER/ET posts were the most likely to be
involved with editing proposals written by other
staff members of the organization and editing
budgets.

Volunteers in China were also quite likely to

help their posts apply for grants within the
country, while volunteers in Thailand helped in
seeking donations from individuals and in
helping to operate social enterprises to raise
funds for their posts. For more information
about pursuing different sources of funds for
your organization, please see Fundraising
Beyond Grants (page 109).

By country, volunteers also held somewhat

different grant-writing duties. Volunteers in
Vietnam were the most involved with finding
new grants to apply for, while volunteers in
China were the most involved with editing grant
proposals. Volunteers in Thailand were the
most involved with communicating with donors,
while volunteers in Cambodia were most
involved in writing grant reports. Very few
volunteers were involved with financial
recordkeeping or tracking projects outcomes,
while none were involved with creating
budgets. For more information, see Grants and
the ER Volunteer (page 96).

Within the task of grant writing, there is also a

great deal of variation among volunteers
duties. ET volunteers, not surprisingly,
indicated that they are not involved with this
activity. ER volunteers were the most likely to
be involved with writing letters of inquiry,
writing grant proposals, writing grant reports,
21

While we often want to get started making an

impact right away, the information that we gain
from simply watching the organization work
and chatting socially with colleagues will usually
grant us a larger impact in the long run.

Getting to Know Your Post How

Correspond with the last volunteer. An email (or series of emails!),
Skype or telephone
conversation with the last
Correspond with
volunteer at your post can
the last volunteer
provide crucial information
about the paper
about what you can expect at
trail and any
your post. If your post is new
unfinished
projects left at the
or if the former volunteer isnt
organization.
available, corresponding with
Sarena, ER/ET
other foreign staff/volunteers
Volunteer, China
in the organization, in the city
or town where the organization
is located, or with foreigners
working in the same field as
your organization, can also help
to give you some important perspectives.

Dont Be That Guy or Gal!

Some volunteers are looking for meaningful
contributions, sometimes to the point that a helping
intention becomes an imposition of directions and
personal frameworks. This has to do with overmotivated volunteers; with people wanting to do too
much because they want to feel they are making a
difference. - Carlos M. Palacios, Volunteer Tourism,
Development and Education in a Postcolonial World
Look for appropriate opportunities to use
your skills to benefit the organization.
When volunteers first arrive in their posts, at
first things may move quite slowly as the
organization isnt sure how to use them. As
youre observing the scene, you can seek out
opportunities to use your skills and experiences
to further the organizations activities. Be
creative when you think about thiseven skills
that might not be obviously relevant, like
hobbies, sports, music, arts, juggling, martial
arts, yoga, or even break-dancing, might turn
out to be of use to your post.

You may want to know some practical

information such as what to bring with you,
the names and contact information for
important allies in the office and in the
community, and discussions of the housing and
transportation options available. Its a good
idea to also ask about the challenges that the
volunteer faced, the initiatives they were
working on that should be continued, and the
skills and experience they think would be most
valuable to the post. You will form your own
opinions about these matters in time, but it can
be very helpful to walk into the office the first
day armed with another persons assessment of
the situation.

Identify and suggest ways that you can utilize

your skills, and new opportunities will start
presenting themselves afterwards. Its
important to be flexible when youre proposing
how to use your skills. You might have
envisioned a three-day yoga workshop to help
staff learn skills of self-care, but it morphs into a
one-hour session for your organizations NGO
partners with only one day of notice. Accept

Watch and observe first. Before diving into

work, take some time to observe the way that
your organization operates and who is generally
doing which responsibilities. Its like looking
both ways before crossing the street.

22

The organizations
where we are posted
are varied in size and
staff duties. More than
that, I feel every
position is different
within the
organization. My post
would not ask me to
translate a document
because we have more
skilled translators on
tasks. It would be
easier to identify in
what ways the
volunteer has a skill set
that would be a new
asset to the
organization. Sarena,
ER/ET Volunteer, China

the opportunities that you

do get, and remember
that more opportunities
will follow.

What are the best resources for

gaining institutional knowledge
about your post?

Be patient finding the

right ways to match your
skills and knowledge with
the organizations needs
might take some time,
and the process might not
always be smooth or
clear.

Follow the paper trails.

When you are just settling
in at your post, it can be
very useful to find the
reports, documents,
proposals, websites, and
media information that
will give you clear
information about your
posts work and a
historical perspective about your post.
Depending on your post, there may be a huge
mountain of written documents that you will
need to sort through to find the most relevant
information; or, there could be so little that you
could read every word ever written about your
organization in one day.

Documents: reports, histories, website,

brochures, office files and memos, past
proposals and the outcome, archived
emails, past audits, strategic planning
documents, meeting notes, any
internal/external evaluations conducted,
outcomes/indicators of past projects, media
reports, videos, industry reports that
mention your organization, newsletters,
special events materials, promotional
materials, fundraising materials
People: former/current volunteers,
management, directors, networking
partners, long-time staff, colleagues/peers.

Dont be surprised if its fairly difficult to find

these types of documents, or if there are files
and documents but they are completely
disorganized. Most organizations are very
focused on serving their target group or
responding to present challenges, and dont
always place a high priority on documentation
of their past.
Ask questions. This one might seem
obvious, but its still important enough to be
added to the list! Sometimes volunteers will be
shy about asking too many questions, since the
key staff members will often be busy with work.
Try to find appropriate times and places to ask
the key questions that will give you muchinsights about the projects and operations of
your post.

You can gain understanding and

perspective reading through records that
document an organizations history,
particularly as it relates to successful and
unsuccessful grant proposals. PR records

Be as proactive as possible, since your

colleagues may not realize that youre not
aware of something.

are a goldmine of organizational

information. Timothy and Judith
Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in Grant Writing
23

Be tactful about how you

ask your questions, being sure
not to appear to be challenging
the way the organization
works. Note that in most
countries where VIA
volunteers work, its not polite
to approach someone and say,
I have a question. Instead,
try to phrase your request as
seeking additional information
(I would love to know more
about.) or being very
interested in the topic.

Getting to Know Your

Organization What
Ask lots of questions.
Stephanie, ER Volunteer,
Vietnam

I keep lists of projects

and questions about
them. I check them off as
I find answers. I attend as
many meetings as
possible even if I cant
understand the language.
Christine, ER/ET
Volunteer, Indonesia

but also accept that

you will not have a clue whats going on
most of the time. It will take time, but
eventually you will come to terms with the fact
that you cannot know everything about your
post or about the world around you.
Being perpetually in the dark can be difficult to
accept, particularly when we are used to being
the masters of our universe back at home. But
at some point, asking about every detail of
every activity every day becomes exhausting,
and we will start to discern the difference
between the things that are most crucial for us
to know and those that we can live with only a
vague understanding of. Knowing the
difference is a skill
that you will
develop over time,
Learning was mostly done
and it will prove to
on-site once I started the
be crucial to your
post. Chaos and lack of
mental health
clarity ruled the first six
during your time at
months. I simply had to dive
in. - Frank, ER Volunteer,
your post.
Cambodia

Organizational culture. Details of

daily work life at your post are
important. Expectations about dress
codes, work hours and location,
socializing while at work, meal and
break times, volume of work,
supervision, evening/weekend work,
etc., might be communicated through
formal policies or handbooks, or you
may have to observe your colleagues
for cues about these matters. Every
post has its own specific requirements
about these and other topics, and
usually you will not know until you
arrive what the expectations will be
for you.

ER Volunteers On Their Posts Work Culture

The great thing about my post is they have
welcomed me into the work community with no
questions asked.
The post gives me flexibility with my schedule, and
since most of my work is done over computer, I
often work from cafes in town.
We have plenty of relevant work to do which makes
a real contribution to the functioning of the
organization. It is a small organization and we are
given a great deal of responsibility and self-direction
in our work.
The office culture is workaholic, with everyone
expected to put in long hours and to manage the
workload of several people. Still, the work
environment is relaxed and co-workers are
friendly.
As for my department, its a quiet, focused
atmosphere with only occasional banter among my
colleagues. People seem to be occupied all the time.
Things are pretty relaxed in the office. People
work regular hours and there is a consistent flow of
work, but people dont ever seem stressed out or
overworked. Everyone likes each other and likes to
joke around.

24

In a nutshell, the post

expects the volunteer to
work very hard with
minimal supervision, to
be patient and not to rush
in with a strict work
agenda or any demands,
to be a good team player
and to fit in with the
organizational culture
here, and to lock the
doors and windows and
turn off the lights when
you leave the office at the
end of the day. Sarah,
ER Volunteer, Thailand

History and
background. Who
founded your
organization, and
why? Understanding
the background of
your post will help
you to understand its
priorities and
projects, and to
communicate your
organizations vision to
others.

Stakeholders: People, groups or entities that have a role

and interest in the aims and implementation of a
project. They include the community whose situation
the project seeks to change; field staff who implement
activities; and project managers who oversee
implementation; donors and other decision makers who
influence or decide the course of action related to the
project; and supporters, critics and other persons who
influence the project environment (UNFPA).
Organizational capacity. Its important to
begin trying to determine the level of capacity
of your organization, and identifying the
strengths and weaknesses of the organization.
If you will be submitting grant proposals or
advocating for capacity building within your
post, you must know, as Deborah S. Koch puts
it, how fundable the organization is.

Projects. What is it
that your organization
does? Learn as much as you can about the
various projects that your organization
operates, including the projects history, goals,
target groups, staff, and source of funding.

Is the organization formally registered in the

country where you work? Does the
organization produce an annual financial audit?
Does the organization regularly report on the
outcomes of its projects? (For more
information on assessing your organizations
capacity, please see Capacity Building, p. 120.)

A winning proposal is about more than its

content because the depth of its content depends
on knowing fully what you are writing about,
why it matters, and why the reader should care.
To meet those conditions, you must first take

Needs and priorities. What does your

organization need additional funding for, and
what is its highest-priority item?

several preliminary steps involving research,

analysis, and awareness. - Deborah S. Koch,
How to Say It: Grantwriting
Stakeholders and target groups. Who does
your organization intend to serve or to benefit?
What other constituents or stakeholders are
important to your organization?

It is important not to put the cart

Partners and funders. What other

organizations and community entities (such as
schools, religious congregations, law
enforcement, government agencies, NGOs, etc.)
does your organization partner with in order to
achieve its goals?

must be in place before you begin

before the horse. Your

understanding of your
organizations funding needs
to seek out funding sources.
Timothy and Judith Kachinske, 90
Days to Success in Grant Writing

25

Cultural Issues that You Can

Expect to Face

Understanding the grant-writing and

fundraising process at your organization.
If you will be involved in grant-writing or
fundraising, then its essential that you start
observing how the process works at your
organization and how you will fit in. Who
searches for grant opportunities and what is the
internal communication and approval process
for these? Who write the proposal, and who
coordinates the team who submits information
to be included in proposals and reports? Who is
responsible for coordinating reports and
soliciting information from the project staff to
be included? Where are grant records kept?

Cultural differences at work are a universal

experience of volunteers; indeed, cultural
exchange is one of the primary reasons that
volunteers choose to come abroad! Trying to
function at work in another culture is not
always smooth, so it can be helpful to know
about some of the most common differences
beforehand.

Different Work Cultures

One of the first comments that most volunteers
have after starting at their posts is that things
dont happen very quickly. In the US, generally
people expect work time to be goal-oriented
and to produce results, quickly, then move to
the next task. This is likely to be different at
your post, where work assignments might
languish for days or weeks on end, then quietly
disappear from the to-do list without ever
getting done as a new priority item appears.
Tasks that volunteers find to be urgent might be
sidelined waiting for approval from an absent
supervisor. Deadlines might have a different
meaning and prove to be much more flexible
than volunteers are used to in the US.

Timothy and Judith Kachinskes 90-Day

Checklist for Developing Expertise:
-

Read enough about the subject area you will

be supporting to discuss it intelligently.
Develop your own personal glossary of
vocabulary essential to the subject areas you
will be supporting.
Familiarize yourself with the history and
development of your organization.
Collect several years worth of PR artifacts
such as press kits, news releases, published
articles, and videos.
Develop working relationships with your
organizations finance staff.
Develop professional and personal
relationships with program staff.
Identify one ore more program ideas that a
grant maker would consider new and
innovative
Be able to respond quickly and effectively to
the question, What are your organizations
current funding priorities?

Be aware that much of the rest of the world has

avoided the workaholism that afflicts most
Americans. Because of this, the workplace may seem
inefficient, technology may be outdated, resources
are limited, and tea or lunch breaks can last for
hours. Rather than see this as less, focus on how
this means more time to relax, get to know your

coworkers, and explore the new world around you.

Katie Kreuger, quoted in Sarah Fielding, Study
Abroad Guide
26

You can look to your colleagues for how to set

your expectations, and try to understand the
cultural (or infrastructural, or organizational)
reasons behind much of what you see
happening (or, more likely, not happening)
around you. Volunteers might initially label
their host organizations work cultures as being
overly hierarchical, stifling individual
responsibility, and lacking initiative on the part
of staff members; but with more time they may
come to see the work culture as respecting the
expertise of senior leadership, focusing on
group and team tasks rather than individual
assignments, and supporting coordinated action
taken in consideration with peers.

In my second week at my post, I was informed

that the monthly staff meeting would be held
the next day at 9:00am. I was eager to attend to
introduce myself and meet my colleagues, and
learn about the work of the organization. I
scheduled the event on my Outlook calendar for
9:00-10:30am and then scheduled work on
upcoming proposals for the rest of the day. I
arrived at 8:45 to an empty room. At about
9:05, my colleagues started rolling in, fruit and
snacks in hand. By 9:20, intensive chatting and
snacking had ensued, but nothing approaching
a staff meeting. No one else seemed fazed. At
9:40, the director called to say that he was just
leaving his house to come into the office. He
arrived and the meeting actually started at
about 10:15. After the obligatory introductions
at the start of the meeting, nothing else was said
in English. I tried to follow the rapid Thai as
best I could, but by 11:30 I gave up and went to
my office to work on the proposals as I had
scheduled. As I finished my workday at 4:30pm
and was headed out to the parking lot, I saw all
the staff coming my way. The monthly staff
meeting had just ended. From then on, I learned
my lesson about scheduling other things to do
on monthly meeting day. Sarah, ER Volunteer,
Thailand

Conceptions of Time
Cultural ideas about time will be considerably
different between your post and what you are
used to in workplaces in the US. Nearly every
volunteer surveyed said that issues of time and
efficiency were a challenge for them in their
posts.
Things will happen when they happen, unless
they just dont happen at all. Even if they do
happen, the way that they happen probably
wont be smooth or efficient or simple.
Unexpected obstacles and inexplicable delays
will likely plague every task at your post. Things
can easily start to feel out of control, and
frustration can quickly build when even small
tasks seem impossible
to complete. This is
why patience and
Things will be going
flexibility are so
slooooooooooowly,
essential for
then suddenly a
volunteers!
crisis erupts where
you have to work like
If things happening
crazy to finish
something in 24
slowly is a problem for
hours. ER Volunteer
you, try not to measure

how long things take to complete. If your to-do

list is stuck in a perpetual state of in-progress,
try to find something else to do that can occupy
your time. Dont expect things to take as long
as you think they should; expect that it will take
three or four times as long, and be prepared for
it to take even longer.
Remember that the process is as important as
the outcome, and the journey is really the best
part anyway.
27

often start late, may have no clear purpose or

established agenda, are collaborative and
involve everyone giving his or her opinion, and
take a really, really long time. They are also a
crucial way to get to know your colleagues, gain
information about your posts projects and
partners, and to show your commitment and
solidarity to your organization.

Meetings in particular are a good case-in-point

about the difference of perspectives about time
between work cultures in the US and at your
posts. Brian Tracy writes in his book Time
Power that meetings consume up to 40% of an
American workers time; this percentage is
likely to be much higher in many posts.
Volunteers report that meetings at their posts

Remember
It will take time to get to know your post,
and that is how things should be. Take
your time getting to know your
organization and your colleagues, and
dont rush. Its an investment that will pay
dividends later on in your term of service.

28

Part II: Grants and Fundraising

Part II:
Grants and
Fundraising

29

Chapter 3: Before You Write (or Edit) Anything

Chapter 3: Before You Write (or Edit)
Anything

Speaking the Language of Grant

Writing

Project: A time-bound intervention that consists of

a set of planned, interrelated activities aimed at
achieving defined outputs. (From UNFPA)

Before you can be an effective grant writer, its

useful to understand some of the key
vocabulary used by funders. Grant writing
involves deploying a very specific set of terms
to describe the project for which youre seeking
funding. Many of the terms are words that you
regularly use in your daily life, but in the
context of grant writing these words are very
precisely defined and deployed in a way that is
not intuitive to most of us.

unified goal and a group of staff members who

are dedicated to its implementation. Projects
can be either short-term or ongoing, but for
purposes of planning and for grant writing,
projects are broken into defined time periods
(usually 12 months), called the project period
(or, for grant writing, called the grant period).
A project is the basic unit of a grant proposal.
All of the other terms listed here refer to
projects (i.e., the strategies, tactics, goals,
objectives, etc. are qualities used to describe
projects).

Being able to speak the language of grant

writing is essential to conveying the details of
your project to funders. Mastering this
terminology used in proposals will greatly
increase the fundability of your organization.

Another Easy One: Strategy vs.

Tactic
Strategies and tactics are two terms that are
used to describe in a brief but all-encompassing
the way that your project works.

If you dont keep things clear, you risk

confusion, and you might be passing up a
significant place to connect with your
prospective funder. Martin Teitel, Thank You for
Submitting Your Proposal

Strategy: An approach to deploy human, material

and financial resources and implement activities to
achieve results. (from UNFPA).

Outside of your role in helping your

organization apply for grants, the terms
described in this section can be used in many
ways, such as in planning for project
management, developing evaluation and
assessment tools, and in establishing goals and
targets in any area.

A strategy is the way you mobilize resources to

achieve your goals (Martin Teitel). Strategies
are always about choices; to take action on a
particular problem, there are always many
different strategies available to tackle that
issue. For example, a homeless-advocacy
organization that seeks to fight homelessness in
a big northern city can choose to operate in
many different ways: by advocating in city hall

First Things First: What is a Project?

A project is usually a discreet sub-section of the
activities/services at your organization, with a
30

A program logic model is a way of organizing

information about your project that links the
projects results/outcomes with its activities
and its theoretical assumptions. This model
provides funders with an incredible level of
detail in understanding why your project is
important, what it is intended to achieve, and
how the projects activities will lead to the
desired result.

for homeless-friendly policies; by providing food

to homeless individuals; by litigating against
discriminatory housing laws in order to prevent
homelessness; or by directly intervening with
people on the street in cold weather. The
particular strategy that your organization
chooses to utilize in their project says a lot
about the organization, because strategies are
related to the organizations principles and
values.
Tactics are the things you do with your
mobilized resources (Martin Teitel); or, the
ways that the strategy is implemented. In the
example above, if the organizations strategy
was to intervene directly with homeless people
on the street during cold weather, their tactics
could include sending volunteers in vans to
bring people indoors, passing out blankets, or
establishing emergency indoor shelter on
freezing nights.
A projects strategy and tactics are interrelated,
in that the tactics should flow from the strategy
in a natural way. Taken together, they provide
a succinct overview of how the project works
and the rationale behind it. The terms below
help to provide a more detailed picture of the
projects various aspects.

Demonstrating Total Clarity of

Thinking: The Program Logic Model

A program logic model provides

a roadmap of your program,
highlighting how it is expected to
work, what activities need to come
before others, and how desired
outcomes are achieved. W. K.
Kellogg Foundation, Evaluation
Handbook

A great many
proposals ask
organizations
applying for
grants to
present
information
according to
a program
logic model.

Benefits of the Program Logic Model

1) There is value in the process of developing a logic

model. The process is an iterative one that requires
stakeholders to work together to clarify the underlying
rationale for the program and the conditions under
which success is most likely to be achieved. Gaps in
activities, expected outcomes, and theoretical
assumptions can be identified, resulting in changes being
made. The clarity of thinking that occurs from the
process of building the model becomes an important
part of the overall success of the program. The model
itself provides a focal point for discussion. It can be used
to explain the program to others and to create a sense of
ownership among the stakeholders.
2) Second, the program logic model provides a powerful
base from which to conduct ongoing evaluation of the
program. It spells out how the program produces desired
outcomes. In this way, you can decide more
systematically which pieces of the program to study in
determining whether or not your assumptions were
correct. A program logic model helps focus the
evaluation on measuring each set of events in the model
to see what happens, what works, what doesnt work,
and for whom. You and your evaluation team will be
able to discover where the model breaks down or where
it is failing to perform as originally conceptualized.
- From W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Evaluation Handbook

31

Goals
A goal is the starting place for the LogFrame or
program logic model. A goal is a sentence that
answers the question, Why does this project
exist? The goal of your project states the
ultimate condition or reality that the project is
working towards. It should be a broad, inspiring
statement.

The terms described below are the building

blocks of the program logic model: goals,
objectives, activities, results, and indicators.
Together, the information for each of these
concepts gives funders a complete view of the
projects operations, planning, and evaluation
processesinformation that gives them an
incredible level of confidence in supporting your
organizations proposal.
LogFrame
Many proposals also utilize a presentation
format called LogFrame (this is short for
Logistical Framework). A LogFrame is a large
chart, or matrix, that presents the information
from the program logic goals, objectives,
activities, results, and indicators together in
one place. LogFrames can be excellent ways to
present the large volume of program logic
information concisely, and they also have the
benefit of clearly showing the relationship of
the different program logic building blocks to
one another. Even if a proposal does not
require LogFrame, it is a very useful tool for
planning and evaluating projects. As with the
program logic model, the process of creating a
complete LogFrame demands complete clarity
of thought about the projects aims and how it
will achieve them; engaging in the process of
filling in a LogFrame matrix can significantly
improve the project as existing ideas are
challenged and refined.

Goal: The higher order objective to which a

development intervention is intended to
contribute. (From UNFPA)
To find the goal of a project, you can start with
the projects activities and arrive at the goal by
repeatedly asking Why? or So what? as to
the projects activities. It can be helpful to think
about the overall impact that the project would
like to make in the world.

Sample Goals:
Our afterschool program will help children learn how to
swim.
Children living with HIV/AIDS have the resources and
support needed to live healthy lives.
Migrant workers will be able to work in a safe
environment that respects their human rights and pays a
living wage.

Logical Framework (LogFrame): A dynamic planning

and management tool that summarizes the
program logic and communicates the key features
of a project design in a single matrix. It can provide
the basis for monitoring progress achieved and
evaluating project results. The matrix should be
revisited and refined regularly as new information
becomes available. (From UNFPA)
32

achieving or forwarding the overall goal? This

will be your objective.

Objectives
In everyday conversation, often the words goal
and objective are used interchangeably to refer
to future aims. However, in grant writing, these
terms have very different, fixed and definite
meanings.

Qualities of an Objective: SMART

By definition, an objective must be SMART:
-

Both goals and objectives refer to future aims,

but whereas a goal answers the why of the
project, the objective answers the how (along
with when and where). A goal is broad; an
objective is specific. While a goal can be
grandiose and difficult to achieve, an objective
must be able to be completed in the project
period.
While goals can be vision

An objective
is a
statements, objectives need to be
statement
obtainable actions. Deborah S.
that
Koch, How to Say It: Grantwriting
describes
the tangible
actions that the project will take during the
project period towards the achievement of the
goal. The objective must be linked to the goal;
it should logically support the attainment or
advancement of the goal. The objective is also
linked to well-defined activities and outcomes
of the project. An objective is kind of like a goal
to which you will be held accountable.

Stating a projects objectives can be a

challenging task; this is when you start to see
the clarity of thought that is demanded as part
of developing the LogFrame. Objectives can be
hard to define at first, so it can be helpful to
think of them as the conceptual linkage or
bridge between the projects goals and its
activities. Working backward from the projects
list of activities, what are some clusters of
activities that the project utilizes? What role
does each of those activity clusters play in

33

Specific: the objective is for a definite target

group, operates in a specific location, and
utilizes a well-defined and concrete set of
activities.
o Not specific: The project will assist 400
marginalized young people to secure
high-paying employment.
o Specific: The project will provide 8week basic computer training with 4week internship placements, four
times per year, to a total of 400
marginalized young people, age 15-23,
from Kratie and Kompong Speu
Provinces, in the 12-month project
period.
Measurable: the objective should be
numerically-oriented and/or have a
direction, so that its attainment can be
verified.
o Not measurable: The project will
empower women to know their
reproductive health options.
o Measurable: The project will provide
options counseling to 600 women
patients of the reproductive health
clinic.
Achievable: the objective should be fully
realized within the time frame of the
project period, with a clear end point and
understanding of what the objectives
fulfillment will look like.
o Not achievable: The project will give
street children in Yangon an
opportunity for a better life.
o Achievable: The project will provide
safe shelter and educational
scholarships for 300 street children,
ages 6-17, living in Yangon.
Realistic: the objective must be able to be
completed within the time, funds, number
of staff, and resources available to your
organization.

What to Include in an Objective

- Target group: Describe the number of
beneficiaries/participants in the objective,
including specifications for age, gender,
ethnicity, or any special characteristics.
o Not specific: Young girls from nearby
villages.
o Specific: 150 young girls ages 13-18
with physical disabilities who live in
Sac Son District.
o Not specific: 70 children from poor
families.
o Specific: 70 children, age 7-12, from
poor families in Sac Son District.
- Location: Specify the geographical area(s) in
the objective and any special characteristics
of the locations.

Not realistic: The project will support

the schools students to attain English
fluency.
o Realistic: The project will enable the
schools students to improve their
English reading and writing skills
through daily classes.
Time-bound: the objective should be
completed within the project period
(usually 12 months).
o Not time-bound: The project will
provide irrigation training for residents
of 17 villages in three rural provinces.
o Time-bound: The project will provide
irrigation training for residents of 17
villages in three rural provinces
between January and May 2013.
o

Objective = Action + Target Group + Time Frame + Location

Sample objectives and their

corresponding goals
-

From Goals to Objectives

Each goal will have several objectives that

support it. The objectives must logically fit
together to support the achievement of the
goal. Since the goal should be broad and
ambitious and the corresponding objectives
must be time-bound and realistic, funders will
not have an expectation that the objectives will
result in goal fulfillment in a single project cycle.
However, each objective must contribute
toward advancing the goal in a logical and
meaningful way.

Goal: Improve water quality of the

Ping River.
Objective: 300 rural households in
upper Ping River districts will be
targeted through public awareness
campaign about trash disposal in 24
months.
Objective: 15 villages in upper Ping
River districts receive latrines to
dispose of human waste in 24 months.
Goal: Prevent human trafficking of
young women and children in Dalat.

Objectives also related to the projects results.

Be sure that the objectives are realistic,
appropriate and adequate to achieve the results
(described below).

Objective: Provide educational

scholarships for 20 children age 5-18
to attend elementary/secondary
school, and for 30 women and girls age
15-25 to attend vocational training
programs in 12 months.
Objective: Provide direct services of
rescue, rehabilitation, and
reintegration support for 20
individuals at-risk for, or victimized by,
trafficking and abuse in 12 months.

All of the LogFrame concepts described in this section,

except goals, are discreet in time. The project period
must have a start, middle, and end, corresponding to
the grant cycle which is usually in 12-month
increments.
34

if the activities do not together demonstrate

the fulfillment of the objective, then the
objective was not realistic.

In asking that organizations lay out these program logic

details in a LogFrame matrix, funders are making the
assumption that the project was developed logically in
this fashion. The ideal method for developing the
program logic model is for a team of people to hold a
multi-day conference to outline a goal, set various
objectives to achieve it, then determine the appropriate
activities and their desired outcomes. In real life,
usually the projects developed on an ad hoc basis,
responding to visible needs with the available resources
rather than consciously planning a strategy with a
defined endpoint. As a grant writer, sometimes the
challenge is to fit a square peg into a round hole.

In preparing a LogFrame, if there is a mismatch

between the activities and their corresponding
objective, it can be helpful to focus the
objective more so that it is realistic and
achievable; on the other hand, it may be
necessary to expand the scope of the objective
or create another objective if there are
activities that dont belong there.
Usually each objective will have several
corresponding activities associated with it.

Activities
Activities are also sometimes referred to as
implementation strategies or methodologies.
Activities describe the actual tasks and events
that the project will perform in achieving the
objectives. They provide full step-by-step
details about the what of the project, along
with when.

Sample Activities and Their Corresponding

Objectives and Goals
-

Activities: Actions taken or work performed

through which inputs such as funds and
other types of resources are mobilized to
produce specific outputs. (From UNFPA)

Just as the objectives should logically support

the goal, so should the activities logically fit
together to support the achievement of the
corresponding objective. However, unlike the
objectives which are not expected to
completely fulfill the goal within the project
period, the activities must together be
sufficient realize the corresponding objective
within the project period. The goal is not
meant to be achievable, but the objective is;

35

Goal: Our afterschool program will help children

learn to swim.
Objective: 70 children age 5 to 13 from Na Trang
will participate in twice-weekly swimming classes
during 3 month project period.
Activity: Two beginner swimming courses will be
held each week.
Activity: Swimming classes include floating,
treading water, freestyle and backstroke, and
diving.
Activity: Swimming instructors develop training
manual for new instructors to utilize.
Activity: Swimming students complete swimming
test at the end of the course.

Sample Activities and Their Corresponding

Objectives and Goals
-

Goal: Assist young girls at risk for exploitation to

grow up in a safe, healthy environment.
Objective: Identify, target, and reduce profile of
risk factors for 20 children age 5-18 living with
family members in Chiang Khong area during 12month period.
Activity: Conduct initial investigations, and family
evaluation during screening interview and home
visit to determine service plan.
Activity: Hold orientation workshop at start of
project period to explain project expectations, with
families in attendance.
Activity: According to service plan, provide help
with basic material support (i.e., clothing and
blankets for winter, dried foodstuffs, hygiene
supplies); education support (i.e., scholarships,
costs of transportation to and from school,
uniforms, and school supplies); medical support
(i.e., medicines and hospital care for children and
caregivers, referrals to medical care); counseling
and psychological referrals
Activity: Conduct home and school visits monthly
(or more often, according to individual needs) to
monitor students progress.

Result: The output, outcome or impact

derived from a cause and effect relationship
set in motion by a project. (From UNFPA)
which show the effect that the project has had
on its beneficiaries; and impacts, which show
the progress that the project has made toward
achieving the goal.
Results can also be called deliverables, or the
terms outputs, outcomes, and impacts may be
used to refer to results more generally.
Outputs
Outputs can be thought of as the first level of
showing a projects results; outputs are the
measures that show the project provided the
services and activities that it promised to

Outputs: The products and services which

result from the completion of activities
within a project. (From UNFPA)
provide. Outputs are measured in terms of the
services and activities of the project: numbers
of people served, workshop sessions offered,
publications distributed, campaigns run, or
meals provided. Outputs are often developed
by referring back to the projects activities.

Outputs refer back to Activities

- Activity: Two English language classes for
nurses at the clinic will be held each week.
- Output: 35 nurses at the clinic attend the
English language classes.

Results
Results describe what your organization
anticipates will occur because of the project;
the results are, after all, what a funder wants to
see happen and the reason why the project
exists in the first place.

Outputs are an important measure to show the

immediate operations of the project, but they
are limited. Outputs are a crucial point of
information to demonstrate that the project is
operating as it should. While outputs are

Results are frequently described in three

different ways: outputs, which show that the
project has operated as anticipated; outcomes,
36

Impacts

important to show that the project did its work,

they do not provide information about whether
the projects intervention had the intended
effects on its target group(s) or in the broader
society.

Impact: Positive and negative long term

effects on identifiable population groups
produced by a project. These effects can be
economic, socio-cultural, institutional,
environmental, technological or of other
types. (From UNFPA)

Outcomes
Outcome: The intended or achieved short
and medium-term effects of a projects
outputs. Outcomes represent changes for
beneficiaries which occur between the
completion of outputs and the achievement
of impact. (From UNFPA)

Impacts go a step further than outcomes, in

showing long-term effects that a project
generates for the community served. Impacts
are broad and expand beyond merely those
directly served by the project. Impacts show
whether the initiative resulted in the desired
improvement or result for the community or
society. Impacts are often developed by
referring back to a projects goal.

Outcomes go a step further than outputs,

describing the effect that the project has had on
the target group(s) who participated in the
project. Outcomes are measured in terms of a
change over time in the knowledge, behavior,
and/or opportunities among beneficiaries.
Outcomes are often developed by referring
back to the projects objectives.

Impacts refer back to the Goal

- Goal: Young migrants have opportunities
for higher education and gainful
employment.
- Impacts: Enrollment of migrant youth in
area institutions of higher education
increases. Average wages among migrant
households in the local area increases.

Outcomes refer back to Objectives

- Objective: 650 middle- and high-school
students age 11-18 from eight schools in Can
Tho gain knowledge about HIV/AIDS through
half-day workshops.
- Outcomes: Participants gain knowledge and
debunk myths about HIV/AIDS. Participants
learn ways to prevent HIV transmission.
Participants share knowledge with their
friends and families.

Impacts are often thought of as the Holy Grail

of results measurement. Impacts are the
ultimate result for your project, where they
show that the project has spurred progress
toward achieving the overall goal. However,
they can be very difficult to measure and will
often take many years to happen.

Outcomes are an important measure to show

that the projects are effective in improving the
knowledge or opportunities for the target
group. They provide essential information that
the project is making a difference for the people
that it benefits.

What Kinds of Results to Include

All three kinds of results outputs, outcomes,

and impacts are important to include in your
LogFrame. Each serves a different purpose, and
37

All results should be measurable and realistic

(foreshadowing to the next section!) and should
be clearly stated. The outputs, outcomes, and
impacts together should describe a compelling
solution to identified problems and needs.

each reflects a different level of achievement

for the project.

Side-by-Side Comparison:
Outputs/Outcomes/Impacts
-

Goal: Rice farmers achieve livelihood stability

through effective use of irrigation.
Objective: 120 rice farmers in Takeo Province
participate in three-month irrigation training and
mentorship program.
Activity: Series of three day-long training
workshops is held for rice farmers to learn about
irrigation techniques.
Output: 100 rice farmers attend irrigation training
workshops.
Outcomes: Training participants gain knowledge
of irrigation techniques. Training participants
express interest and confidence in utilizing
irrigation.
Impacts: Rice harvest yields increase. Average
household debt levels decrease.

One of the toughest questions for both

nonprofits and funders to answer is, how do
you know your work really makes a
difference? It is always difficult to measure
the results. Without timely, accurate outcome
information about our work, we are all
laboring toward what may really be a
mirage. - Melinda T. Tuan, Funding
Effectiveness

Indicators

Indicator: A quantitative or qualitative measure

of a projects performance that is used to
demonstrate change and which details the extent
to which project results are being or have been
achieved. In order for indicators to be useful for
monitoring and evaluating project results, it is
important to identify indicators that are direct,
objective, practical and adequate and to regularly
update them. (From UNFPA)

Outputs and outcomes should be included in

every LogFrame, as they show the successful
operation of the project and the effectiveness
of the projects intervention in making a
difference for the target groups. Outputs and
outcomes are relatively easy to document and
measure. Whenever it is possible to include
them, impacts can add a great deal of weight to
your LogFrame proposal; however, they can be
difficult and time-consuming to measure.

Indicators are measures that demonstrate the

achievement of results. Although they are
closely related to results (outputs, outcomes,
and impacts), they are a different part of the
LogFrame. Indicators answer the question of
how we will know that the project has achieved
its desired effects. Indicators may also be
known as milestones or metrics.

Be realistic about your organizations capacity

to do the work, how much time it will take to
do it, whether or not you have sufficient
resources to do it, and if your expected
outcomes are feasible. Deborah S. Koch, How
to Say It: Grantwriting
38

Qualities of Effective Indicators

Good indicators have several qualities, but
above all else they must be realistic. Indicators
set the standard against which the projects
success is measured. If the indicators are
unrealistically optimistic (i.e., they are set too
high), then the project looks unsuccessful. If
the indicators prove to be impossible to
measure, then the project will not know
whether it

has been
Good indicators
successful or
not.
need to be:
Indicators
relevant to the project
must be
practical, in
feasible to collect
order for
easy to interpret
them to
accurately
should enable tracking of
represent the
change over time.
projects
fulfillment of
- From UNFPA
its desired
results.

Outcomes and indicators are often confused as

one and the same, when they are actually distinct
concepts. Indicators are measurable
approximations of the outcomes you are
attempting to achieve. W. K. Kellogg
Foundation, Evaluation Handbook

Sample Indicators
- Desired result: Pregnant women and children
under 5 in three districts of Mondolkiri Province
have access to materials to prevent malaria.
-

Indicators:
For outputs: 5,200 insecticide-treated
bednets distributed to households with
pregnant women and/or children under 5, as
measured by distribution logs.
For outcomes: 90% of households receiving
bednets used them in 3 months following
distribution, as measured by 3-month
follow-up household interviews. 80% of
children under 5 slept underneath bednet
the previous night, as measured by 3-month
follow-up household interviews. 75% of
pregnant women slept underneath bednet
the previous night, as measured by 3-month
follow-up household interviews.

Indicators also need to be relevant; that is,

logically related to the outputs, outcomes,
and/or impacts that they are intended to
measure. If the outcome states that graduating
students are admitted to college, an indicator
stating that 80% of graduating students
surveyed know the schools fight song by heart
does little to prove that the outcome was
achieved.

For impacts: Incidence of new cases of

malaria in three districts Mondolkiri Province
is reduced, as measured by annual hospital
report.

One standard used to assess indicators is called

the DOPA Criteria. The DOPA Criteria note that
indicators should be:

Indicators show how your organization will measure

- Direct: Closely measure the intended change.

the impact of its work. They help us to be able to

- Objective: Unambiguous about what is being

measured and which data to be collected.

recognize success when we saw it. - Martin Teitel,

Thank You for Submitting Your Proposal
39

- Practical: Reasonable in terms of data

collection cost, frequency, and timeliness for
decision-making purposes.

More and more funders are concerned about

metrics: specific measurements of outcomes. Many
dedicated people bridle at this requirement, fearing

- Adequate: The minimum number of indicators

necessary to ensure that progress towards the
output is sufficiently captured (from UNFPA).

that quantifying their work omits the high quality

they achieve. They want donors to see that they not
only pass out an average of 190 blankets each cold

Quantitative and Qualitative

Indicators can reflect both quantitative and
qualitative results of your projects, but for
many reasons your LogFrame should be heavily
tilted toward the quantitative side of things.
Quantitative indicators will be more objective
and measurable than qualitative ones. They
also provide funders with a piece of information
that can be shared and promoted 85% of
teens in the program learned how to protect
themselves from HIV/AIDS! without extensive
contextual description.

night to homeless people, but they also make those

people feel less isolated, less hopeless, and more
connected to other human beings. In reporting on
what you did with the grant there is a place for
talking about those less material features of your
work. But you really must comply with the request
to measure your work. - Martin Teitel, Thank You
for Submitting Your Proposal
On the other hand, some of the most important
results of the project are likely to be impossible
to quantify: such as feelings of self-esteem and
camaraderie among participants. Finding ways
to include these results, even if its done
outside of the LogFrame by including a case
study or personal testimony, can provide
meaningful information about the impact the
project has for its beneficiaries.

Common Ways of Expressing Quantitative

and Qualitative Indicators
-

Quantitative indicators/targets are

statistical measures:
o
Number
o
Percent
o
Rate (ex. birth rate Births per 1,000 population)
o
Ratio (ex. sex ratio
Number of males per number of
females).
Qualitative indicators/targets imply
qualitative assessments
o
Compliance with
o
Quality of
o
Extent of
o
Level of.

Targets in Indicators
Most donors prefer indicators with targets,
because they provide a guide as to the extent of
the result among the target group. Targets
make the indicator more specific and provide
funders with a detailed picture of what the
results will look like.
However, it may be difficult to establish
appropriate targets when a project is new or
little past data has been collected.
It is essential that the targets established in the
indicators are achievable for the project,
because they set the standard against which
your project will be measured. The targets will

- From UNFPA.

40

be referred back to in reports made to funders,

and if they have not been achieved then your
organization will need to explain the reason for
this. We haphazardly established these
numbers for our targets is not a good reason.
Usually, targets will be established using data
on past performance, or when this is not
available, with the use of a baseline or
benchmark.

UNFPA: Sample Indicators With and

Without a Target
Indicator without a Target
Number of service delivery points (SDPs) per
population of reproductive age in each priority
district where a package of minimum three types of
clinical services and related counseling activities are
offered.

Benchmark: Reference point or standard against

which progress or achievements can be assessed.
A benchmark refers to the performance that has
been achieved in the recent past by other
comparable organizations, or what can be
reasonably inferred to have been achieved in
similar circumstances.

Indicator incorporating a Target

500 SDPs per 1.5 million population of reproductive
age in three districts offer family planning, maternal
health and STI preventive and curative services as
well as related interpersonal counseling, group
communication activities and information materials
by 2006.

Baseline: Facts about the condition or

performance of subjects prior to treatment or
intervention. (From UNFPA)

In setting targets it is important to be

realistic about the outputs that are feasible
to achieve given contextual constraints and

Performance targets as benchmarks or progress

indicators that specify the level of outcome attainment
you expect or hope for (e.g., the percentage of
participants enrolled in postsecondary education; how
many grade-level increases in reading ability). Setting
meaningful performance targets provides staff and
stakeholders with benchmarks to document progress
toward achieving program outcomes. These benchmarks
help clarify and provide specificity about where you are
headed and whether you are succeeding. It is often best
to set performance targets based on past performance.
Therefore, you may want to wait until you have some
baseline outcome data before determining performance
targets. However, if you do not have the luxury of waiting
to collect baseline data, you can set initial performance
targets based on levels attained in comparable or related
programs. - W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Evaluation
Handbook

past experiences. - UNFPA

Means of Verification
Each indicator should include information about
the source(s) of data that will be used to
measure the indicator. This is an essential
element for the keeping indicators practical and
measurable, since the question of how the
indicator
will be
measured
Means of Verification (MOV):
is a central
The specific sources from which
considerati
the status of each of the results
on in
indicators can be ascertained.
developing
(From UNFPA)
41

the indicators. Including means of verification

is also helpful from the planning aspect of
creating a LogFrame, so that from the beginning
of the projects implementation, steps are taken
to ensure that systems for collecting the
necessary data are in place and are funded.

Sample Indicators and their

Corresponding Results
[With Targets and Means of Verification ]
-

The indicators means of verification is the data

that is needed to determine the value of the

indicator. Means of verification data can be

collected through review of documentation, facility
observation, in-depth interviews, focus group
discussions, small surveys. - UNFPA

Establishing Indicators

When setting up indicators, it is best to use the

funders guidelines if there are any. Otherwise,
your organization may develop its own format.

Sample Indicators and their

Corresponding Results
[Without Targets or Means of Verification ]
-

Result: Improved community-based natural

resource management.
Indicators:
For Outputs: Number of trainings on natural
resource management. Number of new natural
resource management committees formed in
target communities.
For Outcomes: Percent of communities in target
area that have developed a community-based
natural resource management plan. Area of
habitat in target area under community-based
management. Percentage of women holding
leadership positions in community-based natural
resource management committees.
42

Result: Students acquire and use vocational

information outside of class.
Indicators: 80% of vocational workshop
participants understand the workshop material,
as measured by pre- and post-tests. 60% of
students report they can apply the material to
their daily lives, as measured by survey
questionnaire. 60% of students create a
vocational work plan in one of the areas of
training, as measured by student records.
Result: Vocational groups provide livelihoods for
community members.
Indicators: Vocational groups provide income
for members of the group (measured by
financial logs). 75% of vocational group
members participate in savings match program
(measured by savings logs).

The number of indicators is an important

consideration. Usually, there will be several
indicators for each objective/result. Take care
to avoid having too many indicators, which will
The indicators you select for each outcome will
depend on your evaluation teams philosophical
perspective about what is the most accurate
measure of your stated outcomes; the resources
available for data collection (some indicators are
time- and labor intensive to administer and
interpret, e.g., student portfolios vs.
standardized achievement tests); and privacy
issues and how intrusive the data collection
methods are. - W. K. Kellogg Foundation,
Evaluation Handbook

LogFrame Look Back

create unnecessary burdens on the project staff

to collect and measure data. Whenever data
collection processes can be streamlined,
combined, or incorporated into existing
processes of the project, try to use indicators
available from these sources.

Indicators round out the LogFrame chart, which

began with goals. They provide the evidence of
how successful the projects objectives and
activities were, and serve as the final link in the
logical chain.

It is better to have fewer indicators that directly

measure the outcomes or impact, than to have
many indicators that only provide indirect
measures of the impact. However, where the
impact or outcomes are intangible or difficult to
measure, proxy measures (such as grades in a
class to measure learning) can be used.

Full LogFrame Example for One Project

-

Goal: To prevent human trafficking in Cambodia.

Objective: Provide prevention-based training to 200
young men and women age 15 to 25, from three
rural provinces and the capital city of Cambodia
during a 12-month period.

Two Common Problems with Indicators:

1) Too many indicators with little consideration of the

time, human resources and cost required to collect the
indicator data.

2) Indicators that seem unrealistic due to lack of data to

construct the specified indicator and/or because the
indicator is very difficult to measure.

Activities:

Publicize the workshop sessions through posters

at markets and temples, and through radio
interviews.

Hold two-day workshop on topic Understanding

Ourselves to discuss interactions of personal
histories with cultural and economic situations;
team-building; involvement in families and
communities; and goal-setting.

Hold second two-day workshop the following

month, on topic Strong Communities to discuss
community members, history of the villages, the
roles and responsibilities of community
members, and problems in the communities.

Hold third two-day workshop the following

month, on topic Avoiding Exploitation to
discuss definitions and trends of human
trafficking, risk factors for trafficking, how to
safely migrate, checklists for traveling to work in
the city or abroad, and information about how to
seek help.

- From UNFPA

Dont let your indicators guide your outcomes!

Outcomes should drive indicators, not the other
way around. It is important to start with the
overall goals and outcomes of the program, and
then determine how to go about measuring these
outcomes. It is better to have meaningful
outcomes which are difficult to measure than to
have easily measurable outcomes which are not
related to the core of a program that will make a
difference in the lives of those served. W. K.
Kellogg Foundation, Evaluation Handbook

43

Cooperate with village leaders in three provinces

and capital city to organize and schedule the
workshop sessions.

Concepts in Action - Monitoring and

Evaluation

Hold fourth two-day workshop the following

month, on topic Vocational Training to
provide a series of half-day overviews of
vocational options and employment tips.
Conduct follow-up survey of participants one
month and four months after fourth
workshop.
Results:
Outputs: 200 youth attend at least one twoday workshop; 130 youth attend all four twoday workshops.
Outcomes: Youth gain information about
vocational options and safe migration. Youth
gain increased appreciation and
understanding of their home communities.
Youth gain knowledge about human trafficking
and risks of exploitation.
Impacts: Youth unemployment and migration
in the target areas decrease.

Indicators, outcomes, and outputs are put into

practice in a process known as monitoring and
evaluation (M & E). M & E is the NGO worlds
answer to quality assurance; its about making
the project (and the organization) the best it
can be.

Indicators:
200 community members attend training, as
measured by sign-in logs.
80% of participants gained knowledge from
the workshops, as measured by pre- and posttests. 75% of youth report that the workshops
cover topics that are useful in their daily lives,
as measured by survey questionnaire. 60% of
youth shared information from workshops
with other people in their communities, as
measured by follow-up interviews. 50% of
youth report improved job performance, as
measured by follow-up interviews.
The percentage of youth who report they
intend to migrate from their home
communities is reduced by 20%, as measured
by pre- and post-workshop surveys.
80% of youth report they know how better to
protect themselves from exploitation, as
measured by survey questionnaires.

M & E is a cycle in which a project is

continuously assessed to ensure that it is
functioning according to its plan, that needed
modifications (including modifying the plan
itself, when necessary) are made, and that
lessons learned after the project period ends
are incorporated into improving the projects
design and delivery.
M & E are two essential activities of successful
project implementation, as they allow the
project to respond quickly and effectively to any
changes that impact the project and to learn
from the organizations past experiences. M &
E will utilize the information from the LogFrame
to guide the evaluations.
44

specific questions to guide decision-makers

and/or project staff, and to provide information on
whether underlying theories and assumptions used
in project development were valid, what worked
and what did not work and why. Evaluation
commonly aims to determine the relevance,
validity of design, efficiency, effectiveness, impact
and sustainability of a project. (From UNFPA)

M & E Defined
Monitoring and evaluation are usually discussed
together, but they are not the same thing. M &
E are actually two distinct processes that
complement each other and together provide
essential feedback about a project during and
after its implementation.
Monitoring is an ongoing process that happens
internally within the organization, of gathering
data and using it to improve the projects
functioning.

Monitoring

Monitoring: A continuous process that aims

primarily at providing project staff, directors,
and key stakeholders with regular feedback
and early indications of progress or lack
thereof in the achievement of intended
results. Monitoring tracks the actual
performance against what was planned or
expected according to pre-determined
standards. It generally involves collecting and
analyzing data on the projects processes and
results and recommending corrective
measures. (From UNFPA)

Evaluation is a process that happens

periodically, at predetermined time-points in a
projects operations (often 6- and 12-month
intervals) of measuring a projects operations
and results against the established indicators; it
can be done internally or by an external party.

Evaluation: A time-bound exercise that attempts

to assess systematically and objectively the
relevance, performance and success of ongoing
and completed projects. Evaluation is
undertaken selectively to answer
45

Evaluation

Continuous

Periodic: at important
milestones such as the
mid-term of project
implementation; at the
end or a substantial
period afterwards

Keeps track;
oversight; analyses
and documents
progress

In-depth analysis;
Compares planned with
actual achievements

Focuses on inputs,
activities, outputs,
implementation
processes, continued
relevance, likely
results at outcome
level

Focuses on outputs in
relation to inputs;
results in relation to
cost; processes used to
achieve results; overall
relevance; impact; and
sustainability

Answers what
activities were
implemented and
results achieved

Answers why and how

results were achieved.
Contributes to building
theories and models for
change

Alerts managers to
problems and
provides options for
corrective actions

Provides managers with

strategy and policy
options

Self-assessment by
project staff and
directors,
supervisors,
community
stakeholders, and
donors

Internal and/or external

analysis by project
managers, supervisors,
community
stakeholders, donors,
and/or external
evaluators

The objective of your funding research is to find

funders who have the same interests and values as
your organization. - Jane C. Geever, The
Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal Writing
their own culture and expectations, strategies,
and motivations.

Former Donors
If a funder has supported your organization
before, they might do it again. After all, one of
the best predictors of future behavior is past
behavior. There must have been a reason that
your organizations work appealed to them, and
if the project was successful then they could be
an excellent source of support.

(From UNFPA)

Remember

Always consider past supporters

These terms can seem unwieldy and specific,

but if your organizations grant writers and
project staff can master them, they will master
their grant proposals.

Timothy and Judith Kachinske, 90

as potential future supporters.

Days to Success in Grant Writing
If you are planning to contact former donors
about future support, its important to do your
homework first. You should check out the
funders policies about continual or repeat
support; some funders will have a policy that
they provide only a one-time grant to support
an organization, while others may be open to
funding a different project from your
organization but not the same project theyve
already supported.

Where to Find Donors

Before any grant-writing can occur, first you
must locate funders and donor organizations
that are seeking to fund projects and
organizations like yours. There are many places
where you can search for donors and grant
opportunities.
In general, you want to look at many different
kinds of funders so that you can increase your
chances of success and help your organization
build a diverse funding base. Grants can come
from foundations (which range from tiny and
local to huge and international), governments,
corporations, multilateral organizations (i.e., UN
or ASEAN); each type of grantmaker will have

You should also try to find out from your

colleagues and/or from the organizations
records about the history of the relationship
between this funder and your organization
before you contact the funder to ask about
repeated support. What was the project that
46

supporting the kinds of projects that your

organization offers.

this funder supported? What were the

outcomes of the project? Was it successful? Is
it still operating? If someone from your
organization contacts the funder again, its
essential to thank them for their past support
and show that it resulted in a strong success.

Networking
The grant opportunities in which your
organization has the best chance to succeed are
those in which there is not very much
competition for the funds, and those in which
your organization has a strong relationship with
the funder. Using your organizations networks
to find funding opportunities can help to meet
both of these criteria. You can help your
network partners help you by keeping them
aware of your organizations funding needs and
keeping them up-to-date about the projects
that your organization is operating.

If there were any problems in the grant

administration, such as late or incomplete (or
even missing) reports, this will affect the
funders willingness to support your
organization again. In this case, you will need
to address how your organization has improved
since the time of the last grant to reassure the
funder that the same problems will not result
again.

Web Research

Seek the advice of colleagues to find out about

your organizations relationships with former

The Internet provides a treasure trove of

information about all kinds of funding
opportunities. With web research, the problem
isnt usually a lack of information, its wading
through the mountains of it that you find.

grant makers. Timothy and Judith Kachinske,

90 Days to Success in Grant Writing

There are some websites that act as a sort of

clearinghouse for large-scale grant
opportunities (think monster.com for grants).
Some of these include:

Look at Similar Organizations

Donors
In grant writing, a little reconnaissance can go a
long way. Find out who your organizations
peer organizations are, and then find out who
their donors (and past donors) are. These are
funders that are likely to be interested in

It would be wise to do research on grants

awarded to your peer organizations. Keeping a

close watch on the competition is always a

good idea. Timothy and Judith Kachinske, 90

Days to Success in Grant Writing

47

Funds for NGOs

www.fundsforngos.com
Grants Information Collection
http://grants.library.wisc.edu/
Foundation Center
www.foundationcenter.org
Grants.gov (US Government grants)
http://grants.gov/applicants/find_grant
_opportunities.jsp
ProposalWriter
http://www.proposalwriter.com/intgra
nts.html

Consultants Without Borders

http://www.weitzenegger.de/en/funds.
html
NonProfitExpert
http://www.nonprofitexpert.com/inter
national.htm
Asian Development Bank www.adb.org

The important thing for you as a new grant

writer is to scope out how communication
works in your organization and where you fit
in the communication chain. If you find that
protocol dictates who may communicate with
whom, stick to the protocol. If you are free to
communicate with staff at all levels of your

There are many, many other large resources for

grants across the international development
sector; you will find the ones that work for you
through your own web research and by talking
with other grantwriting professionals that work
in your area.

organization, take advantage of that freedom

to establish relationships at all levels.
Timothy and Judith Kachinske, 90 Days to
Success in Grant Writing

You should also investigate websites,

newsletters, list servs, trade journals, etc. in the
specific field(s) where your organization works
as much more tailored information will be
found there. The more specific and narrow the
grant opportunity, the better the chance your
organization will have in the process.

Consider Your Organization

Ultimately a grant is a partnership between two
organizations that share a common goal and
common purpose. Therefore, the first step in
evaluating a grant opportunity is to determine
whether the funder is likely to be a suitable
partner for your organization. What are your
organizations values and affiliations? Does the
organization place any restrictions on its
funding sources, such as refusing funds from
religious sources, governmental sources, or
from companies that make their profits from
the sale of alcohol or tobacco?

Evaluating Whether to Submit a

Proposal
Once you have located a grant opportunity, it is
necessary to evaluate whether or not it is a
good idea for your organization to submit a
proposal. This decision will likely not be made
by you, but by the leadership of your
organization; however, knowing some basic
information will help you (and the directors) to
make the decision about whether to submit a
proposal.

Additionally, you should also consider the

politics of your organization and the funder to
ensure that they will not clash. In every field of
international development, there are different
approaches to the same problem; for example,
in the anti-human trafficking field, there is an
ongoing debate between sex workers rights
groups and abolitionist groups. In many
cases, the different approaches compete for
funds and support, or even conflict with and
oppose one another. Do the approaches of the
funder and of your organization match? Or is

Its important that you come to understand the

grants process(es) at your organization. Whose
role is it to pursue donors? What approval
processes need to be undertaken before a
proposal is submitted? How is information
about potential grants shared within your
organization?

48

project. It is also not uncommon to see

restrictions that only new organizationsor
well-established onescan apply; that only
women-led organizationsor youth-led ones
can apply; that only smallor large
organizations can apply; that certain
demographic factors of beneficiaries or staff are
to be prioritized; etc.

each organization bringing a conflicting

approach to solving the problem?

Know the Code

When assessing the political allegiances of
prospective funders and of your organization, you
may have to read between the lines. A funder may
overtly state their organizations position on the
debate, but many times their position may be more
subtle. When the messages are covert, its essential
that you are familiar with the debates in your field
so that you can recognize the code words that
reveal the funders position.

It might seem obvious, but it is important to

check what exactly the donor is funding.
Almost all grants will be for the operation of
specific projects. Grants for general operating
support (i.e., money the organization can use
for any purpose it wants) are very rare. Most
organizations will need to supplement their
grant funds through other means in order to
gain access to unrestricted funds that can be
used to support administration (please see
Fundraising Beyond Grants, page 107).

Check Eligibility Guidelines

When a funder issues a request for proposals
(RFP), the RFP generally includes a very specific
set of eligibility guidelines for organizations and
projects that are permitted to apply for the
grant. Review these guidelines carefully, taking
note of anything that would appear to exclude
your organization.

Dont Let Funders Direct Your Projects!

Some organizations are tempted to develop new or
existing projects in order to chase funding
opportunities. While its essential to recognize and
incorporate funding trends and priorities, the projects
should be responding to the demands of your
organizations target group, not the whims of funders.
Establish the projects strategy first, then seek out
funding; not the other way around.

Some common eligibility requirements include

an organizations registration status (see Grants
and the ER Volunteer, p. 96, for tips about this),
geographical specifications, and the type of

You must start with your organizations needs and

then seek funders that will want to help with them.
Dont start with a foundations priorities and try to
craft a project to fit them. Chasing the grant dollar
makes little sense. When you develop a program
tailored to suit a donor, you end up with a project
that is critically flawed. Jane C. Geever, The
Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal Writing

Foundations are formed to support specific

causes and therefore place restrictions on
what they will fund. They may also restrict
their grant making based on factors such as
geography or type of grantee. Timothy and
Judith Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in Grant
Writing
49

on the funders website. Annual or twiceannual reports are not too difficult to prepare,
but quarterly reports are another story.
Financial reports are to be expected, but the
funder may require that your organization
undergo a financial audit. Think about your
organizations level of capacity in complying
with these requirements, which might be a
breeze or they might create a large burden on
the project staff to keep up.

Strings Attached Proposal and

Grant Requirements
After you determine that the funder is the type
of partner your organization is looking for, and
vice versa, it is time to comb the rest of the RFP
to find out what the requirements will be for
the grant. Every funder has a set of
expectations about the reports that they want
from their grantees, and how often those
reports are to be submitted, and these
expectations are usually shared in the RFP.

Check whether there are any other

requirements, such as a site visit, submitting a
video of the project, international travel to
receive the grant award at a ceremony in the
US/UK/Australia/Japan, etc. These
requirements might go against the policies or
guidelines of your organization.

Essentially you will be gathering the background

information needed for your organization to do
a cost-benefit analysis about the proposal.
What are the benefits that this funder can
provide for your organization? Check out the
minimum/maximum grant amounts listed in the
RFP. Check out the length of time of the grant
period that this funder usually provides.
Usually larger grants, for longer periods of time,
are better.

Once you have this information, the costbenefit analysis can begin. Does the amount or
longevity of the grant outweigh the funders
proposal and reporting requirements? This will
help your organization to determine whether
the requirements are proportional to the funds

So, what are the efforts that this funder will

exact from your organization in exchange for
the grant? First, find out what is needed to
submit the proposal. Some proposals are very
straightforward and will ask for information
that your organization will have readily
available. Others will require letters of
recommendation, translated copies of your
organizations bylaws, certifications about antiterrorism acts, videos, hand-delivered grant
applications to an embassy office, etc. These
additional requirements can significantly
expand the labor required to submit a proposal
for the grant opportunity.

Remember
You are looking for the match between your
organization and the prospective funder. This is
when the buzz and hum of a strong relationship
and a successful partnership begin.

Needs of
Your
Organization

Next, find out what the funder will expect in the

course of the grants implementation. Check
out the reporting requirements; these may be
listed in the RFP, but will more often be found
50

Grantmaker
Interests and
Eligibility
Requirements

Chapter 4: The Grant Cycle

Chapter 4: The Grant Cycle

Birds Eye View: Understanding

the Grant Cycle
There is generally a
particular process in finding
out about, applying for,
receiving, and managing
grants. It also happens to
be cyclical, in that it repeats
itself every 12 months or so.
Unsurprisingly, this process
is known as the grant cycle.

Step 1: Finding a Grant Opportunity

Learn the grant cycle and M & E

process if you do not have
previous grants experience so
that you yourself understand
why you are doing what you are
doing. - Nol, ER Volunteer,
Thailand

Request for
Proposals
(RFP)

Reports
Financial and
Narrative

Donor
Communications

The
Grant
Cycle

Site Visits
from the
Donor

Operating
the Project

Contract with
the Donor

51

First things first: you will find

out about an opportunity to
apply for a grant. When
foundations, governments,
multilateral agencies,
corporations, and other
grantmakers want to receive
new grant applications, they
usually issue a Request for
Proposals (RFP). The RFP is a
great friend for any
grantwriter,
because it
spells out
exactly what
kinds of
projects the
funder is
looking to
support, the
eligibility
Letter of
requirements,
Inquiry
the guidelines
for proposal
format, and
the goals and
priorities that
will be used to
judge the
merit of the
Full Proposal
proposals
received. The
RFP will also
specify the
grant period,
both how long
support will

be provided (the vast majority of grants are

given for a 12-month grant period) and the start
and end dates of the grant period (which do not
necessarily follow a calendar year).

with a single year term for funding. Timothy and

Judith Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in Grant Writing
Any time that you become aware of an RFP,
check it out and screen whether your
organization is eligible to apply. There may be
guidelines based on the type of organization,
registration/legal status in the country where
you work, the locations where the organization
operates, the topic that the organization
addresses, the target group, demographics of
the leadership of the organization, the total
budget of the organization, etc. Read these
guidelines carefully since you dont want to go
through the effort to submit a proposal if your
organization is not eligible.

involve cycles and timelines. Do

not assume that you can send off
proposals at your own
convenience or that decisions
about grant awards will be made
quickly. A grant writer must
always be thinking ahead when it
comes to proposal submission,
and anticipating a foundations
decision cycle is an important
aspect of strategizing. Timothy
and Judith Kachinske, 90 Days to
Success in Grant Writing

Find out how your organization manages the

grant cycle, since you will need to work within
their existing structure. Who looks for grant
opportunities? When appropriate RFPs are
found, who should be notified to determine
whether your organization will submit a
proposal? Who takes the lead in managing the
proposal-writing process? Who is involved from
each department? How is information shared?
And, most importantly, what is your role as the
ER volunteer in this process?

Most grant proposals are for projects or programs

Grant seeking and grant making

short Letters of Inquiry and uses these to

narrow the field of applicants. A select number
of organizations are invited to participate in the
second round by submitting a full proposal.
If the management of your organization
determines that they would like to pursue the
grant, then you will proceed to Step 2: Letter of
Inquiry or Step 3: Proposal, depending on the
RFP guidelines.

While RFPs
often
request that
interested
applicants
send a
proposal
straight off,
grant
competitions
sometimes
proceed in
two rounds.
In the first
round, the
funder
receives

Step 2: Submitting a Letter of

Inquiry
So, your organization has decided that they
want to throw their hat in the ring and go after
the amazing grant that you found. If the
funders guidelines in the RFP say so, or if
youre not responding to an active RFP, then
now its time to get a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) in
the (e)mail to make your introductions.
The LOI introduces your organization and gives
a concise summary of the project for which you
are seeking funds. The purpose of an LOI is to
get the funder excited and inspired enough to
move your organization past the first cut and to
invite you to submit a full proposal. (For details
about writing a LOI, see Letter of Inquiry, p.60).
52

At all stages of the submission

From then, a contact person

at the funder will usually be
approach to writing the proposal
assigned to process your
and obtaining the required
proposal. Generally, this
signatures, you will be
persons responsibility is to
communicating
with
colleagues
present the proposals which
Be prepared to go into action if
and others associated with your
have been received to a
your LOI generates an
board or committee that
organization. The relationships
encouraging response. Timothy
decides which proposals to
you develop during the course of
and Judith Kachinske, 90 Days to
fund. The contact person
these communications are critical.
Success in Grant Writing
does not usually decide the
How you conduct yourself and
fate of your proposal, but
manage the process will determine
their presentation of it is
Step 3: Submitting a
how you are perceived. If you do
essential to whether it
Full Proposal
it well, everyone involved will take
receives funding or not.
Great news, the funder
ownership of the final outcome.
Therefore, it is essential to
liked the LOI so much that
Timothy and Judith Kachinske, 90
have good communication
they have requested that
with this person, and if they
Days to Success in Grant Writing
your organization submit a
ask for any additional
full proposal! (Or, the RFP
information or changes to
asks for proposals.) No
the proposal, definitely do it!
matter the reason, now begins the colossal task
If your LOI is successful,
then you will continue on to
Step 3: Proposal.

process, from planning the

of gathering all of the details about the project

to write a proposal.

Likelihood of Funding
Follow guidelines carefully.
- Sarah, ER/ET Volunteer, China

The vast majority of grants are to support the

operation of projects that directly support or
benefit the target group. It is rare to find grants
that can be used for general operating support
(unrestricted funds), administration, or
endowment funds. Grants for bricks-and-mortar
(i.e., construction of buildings) projects and
acquiring fixed assets (such as purchasing new
land, major equipment, or vehicles) are not very
common, and they usually involve many
restrictions and requirements. One notable
potential source of funding for construction or
fixed-assets projects is the Japanese Embassy.

Grant proposals include detailed information

about the problem that the project seeks to
address, the operations of the project, the
organizations background and goals, the
objectives and outcomes that can be expected
from the project, and the projects budget
(please see Parts of a Proposal, p. 62, for
details). All of the information is prepared and
submitted according to the guidelines of the
RFP. Proposals must be submitted on time;
most funders will not accept any proposals after
the deadline has passed.

53

expectations that govern the grant partnership.

This contract usually contains the rules that
both parties must follow, the dates of the
disbursements (when money is transferred to
your organization), and the due dates of
financial and narrative reports.

In grant writing, both failure and success are

great teachers.
Timothy and Judith Kachinske, 90 Days to Success
in Grant Writing
If the proposal is approved, you will move on to
Step 4: Signing the Contract. If the proposal is
not approved, then why not turn it into a
learning experience? It is completely
appropriate to get in touch with your contact
person with funder, thank them for their effort
on your behalf, ask if they can give any
feedback on the proposal for better success
next time.

Almost all grant money is restricted funds.

Funding given for a specific purpose can only
be used for that purpose.
All grant funds have strings attached.
Restricted grant funds have MULTIPLE
strings attached very tightly. Timothy and
Judith Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in Grant

Writing

What to do if you receive a grant:

-

It is imperative that the contract be read in its

entirety, and that anything unclear is checked
out before it is signed by your organizations
Executive Director. The contracts can vary in
length from a few pages to a large spiral-bound
notebook; regardless, your organization will be
expected to adhere to the guidelines.

Send a personalized thank you.

Keep the funder informed of your
progress.
Follow the funders reporting
requirements.

What to do if your request is turned down:

-

Dont take it personally.

Be sure you understand why.
Find out if you can resubmit at a later
date.

Get your signed grant letter or contract back

to the donor quickly so they can issue the
check. If this fails to happen promptly, they

From Jane C. Geever, The Foundation Centers

Guide to Proposal Writing

will begin to wonder whether you really need

to money. And they take this as an indication

of possible poor future performance of your

project.
Robert Jaquay, Foundation Representative,
Quoted in Jane C. Geever, The Foundation

Step 4: Signing the Contract

Centers Guide to Proposal Writing

Congratulations, your grant proposal was

approved. Next, the funder will send your
organization a copy of the contract (it may be
called a collaboration agreement, a grant letter,
or something similar) that lays out the rules and

Along with the signed contract, be sure to send

a letter that thanks the funder for their support.
This thank-you letter can be brief, but should
54

Appreciate the investment that has just been

made in your agency. Recognize that this is not

that the transfer has been received. The

financial staff keep track of all the projects
income and expenditures, making sure that
they are used in accordance with the budget as
submitted in the proposal.

just an institution that is supporting you but the

actual people within that institution. Remember
that the grants decision-makers feel good about
the commitment to invest in your organization.
They may even have had to fight for you in the

Step 6: Site Visits

face of opposition by other staff and board

members. Show your thanks and appreciation for
this vote of confidence. Jane C. Geever, The
Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal Writing
clearly state the amount and purpose of the
grant.

Step 5: Implementing the Project

Its not quite time to uncork that bottle of
champagne! Now that the proposal has been
approved, the real work begins. This is when
the staff at your organization actually begin
carrying out the activities that they outlined in
the
proposal.
Go from promise to
While the
performance.
project is
David Odahowski, Foundation
going on,
Representative, Quoted in Jane C.
the staff
are also
Geever, The Foundation Centers
collecting
Guide to Proposal Writing
data to
monitor
the projects
In accepting a grant, you are
functioning
making a commitment to conduct a
and to
measure the
set of activities spelled out in your
projects
proposal. - Deborah S. Koch, How
impact in the
to Say It: Grantwriting
community.

From time to time, your organizations funders

will decide to visit your organization and make a
site visit. Site visits provide an opportunity to
make a strong positive impression with the
funders. It is a rare opportunity for face-to-face
communication with people who are usually
only corresponded with via email, and for the
funder to see firsthand the impact that the
project is making.
When you learn that a funder is planning to
make a site visit, try to help your organization
be as prepared as possible. You will want to
find out from the funder who is coming, what
their goals are for the meeting, and who in your
organization they want to meet with. Your
organization should offer to help with the travel
and visit logistics for the funders who come to
visit, such as ground transportation, reserving
lodging in the local area, recommending area
restaurants, and securing interpreters and
translators if needed for the meeting at your
organization.

A grant-makers visit presents an

opportunity for you to showcase your
organization at its best. You can assist
your colleagues by coaching them prior
to the visit to ensure that the message is
consistent and coherent. Timothy and

As funds are disbursed from the funder, your

organizations financial staff ensure that the
donor is acknowledged; they send verification

Judith Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in

Grant Writing
55

Funders Answer the

Question, What Do You
Look for in a Site Visit?
I look for a sense of energy
and excitement about the
work being done at the
site. For example, I like to
see clients being treated
with respect and kindness,
and staff operating with a
sense of purpose and an
ability to solve problems.
Anne Corriston
- We want to see the
program in action and
understand what it is they
are trying to do. David O.
Egner
- We want to see that what
is written in the proposal
matches up with the
activities actually taking
place on site. David
Odahowski
- We attempt to get to know
the key people involved
with the organization and
the program. Carol
Kurzig
- Quoted in Jane C. Geever,
The Foundation Centers
Guide to Proposal Writing
-

Ideally, the funders

site visit will be a
memorable
experience, where
they can observe
the project and
meet the staff (and,
when appropriate,
beneficiaries) they
are supporting.
They should leave
your organization
carrying some
additional
information which
promotes the work
of your project,
such as a
newsletter,
brochure, or DVD.

strong relationship and rapport with the funder

through your contacts.
There are
some
circumstances
in which your
organization
absolutely

Relationships are often the key to

success for grant writers.
Timothy and Judith Kachinske, 90
Days to Success in Grant Writing

Stay in touch. Send newsletters and emails. Let the donor know about upcoming
events, and invite them to things. Consider
them part of the family. Let them know
what is happening. We encourage people to
stay in touch beyond reporting
requirements. Marilyn Gelber, Foundation
Representative, Quoted in Jane C. Geever, The
Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal Writing

A significant share of a grant

writers work involves managing
relationships between key people at
your organization and key people at
a grant-making entity. Timothy
and Judith Kachinske, 90 Days to
Success in Grant Writing

Step 7: Keeping in Communication

to the
budget, but
they will
often allow
funds to be
shifted
from one
budget line
to another.

While the project implementation is ongoing, it

is important to stay in contact with the funders.
The designated contact person at the funder
should be added to your organizations email
distribution list, to receive newsletters and
updates throughout the grant period. It is best
to maintain some level of contact so that, at the
very least, the funder remembers who your
organization is; ideally, you will be building a
56

must be in communication
with the funders. If your
organization would like to
make changes to the budget
or the project activities, you
must request permission
from the donor in advance of
any amendment. Usually
funders will not approve any
additional funds to be added

Keep communications with

donors open and
transparent, ask questions
when you need to.
- Nol, ER Volunteer, Thailand

Contact the donor if there are issues or problems.

Two Kinds of Reports:

The program officers want to know about any

changes or issues the grantee is having early on, not

- Narrative, where you describe the

outcomes and, hopefully, the successes of
your project. This will include reporting on
the indicators that you listed in the
proposals, describing the target group that
the project reached, and any significant
changes or updates affecting the situation
where your project works.

during a yearly progress report or at the end of the

grant. Julie Brooks, Foundation Representative,
Quoted in Jane C. Geever, The Foundation Centers
Guide to Proposal Writing

Remember the watchword of all fundraising:

communication. An email or phone call to say
thank you, an update on recent activities, or an
announcement of additional funding committed
or received are all ways to keep in touch after
the grant is made. Jane C. Geever, The
Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal Writing

Financial, where you compare the actual

income and expenditures for the grant
period with the figures that you budgeted in
the proposal. Generally any variance (+ / -)
of more than 10% for each budget line will
need to be explained.

If there are any major impacts to the project or

target area (such as political crises, natural
disasters, disruptions to infra-structure, etc.),
these should also be communicated to the
funder.

The reports will always refer back to the

proposal. In the proposal, you listed the
activities and outcomes that the project would
deliver; in the report, you will provide the
results of the project from the data collected by
the staff during the implementation. In the
proposal, you listed various indicators that
show the overall impact of the project; in the
report, you will show the performance on the
listed indicators. In the proposal, you provided
a comprehensive budget detailing line by line
the income and expenditures to be used in
achieving the project; in the report, you will
compare your actual expenditures to this
budget.

Step 8: Reporting
At the end of the grant period (and usually at
some point in the middle), your organization
will submit reports that tell the funder how the
project implementation has been going. This is
when your organization should demonstrate to
the funder that it has done what it said it would
do. Most donors will have their own template
or set of guidelines to follow in submitting
reports. Some may be brief and
straightforward, while others will be quite long
and complex.

In todays grant realities, reporting back to ones funder about the success of ones grant project
becomes ever more critical. Jane C. Geever, The Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal Writing
57

A grant report should tie the project to

Leave it to the Pros:

previously identified measurable outcomes,

Reporting may also include documents created by

entities outside your organization, such as a
professional financial audit or an independent,
external evaluation of the projects impacts.

and it should be precise and to the point.

We want to know if the grant made a
difference. Bruce Esterline, Foundation
Representative, Quoted in Jane C. Geever, The

Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal Writing

For financial reporting, I like to see the

way that is consistent with the original
budget, which makes it easy to compare.
Victoria Kovar, Foundation Representative,
Quoted in Jane C. Geever, The Foundation
Centers Guide to Proposal Writing

Know and meet your

deadlines! Try to be on
time!!!! Better to submit
an imperfect grant report
or proposal on time than
a perfect one months
late.
- Nol, ER Volunteer,
Thailand

Develop a good
relationship with
donors so that
they may be used
in the future.
Sarah, ER/ET
Volunteer, China

actual income and expenses expressed in a

strong foundation for

further collaborations down the line.

As a funder, we are trying to evaluate the

effectiveness of our own grantmaking, and

the reporting process is a very important
piece of that. Kathleen Cerveny,
Foundation Representative, Quoted in Jane C.
Geever, The Foundation Centers Guide to
Proposal Writing
It is best to get the reports to funders in on
time. As well, it is essential that the reports are
complete and provide all the information the
funder has requested. It is never good to make
the funder track you down to get information
that is missing. Turning in the reports on-time
and in-full demonstrates competence and good
planning on the part of your organization. It
also shows respect for the funder (who often
needs your reports so they can be accountable
to their own donors), and helps to build a

When you compare the actual results with the

promises made in the proposal, the realities do not
always match with the targets. Whenever there are
variances, the report should explain the reason.
The anticipated indicator was for 85% of participants
to pass the English test at the end of the term. At
the end of the term, test results showed that only
62% of students passed the test. This is due to
intensive flooding that caused students in outlying
areas to miss three consecutive weeks of school in
the term. 50,000 Cambodian Riel were budgeted
for radio advertising of the agriculture workshops,
but no money was spent on this budget line. The
radio station decided to donate the advertising to
the organization.

58

Its Called a Cycle for a Reason

Because it keeps going round and round
forever. When the current grant period ends
(or, really, before it ends), then its time to start
at Step 1: Finding Grant Opportunities once
again.

Reality Check

Some Challenges:
Constantly changing deadlines, changing requests from
donors, and multiple reporting formats. One format per
donor X seven donors = madness.
- Frank, ER Volunteer, Cambodia
Most organizations will be managing multiple
projects with multiple grants; there will be
different donors, each with different guidelines
and deadlines, often with different grant
periods. It requires a great deal of coordination
and communication, and hard-nosed just-grindit-out-now determination. This is grant writing,
and its not for the faint of heart. But then
again, faint-hearted people dont usually make
the decision to join VIA.

59

Chapter 5: Writing a Grant Proposal

Chapter 5: Writing a Grant Proposal
A proposal is the main vehicle through which
your organization communicates with
prospective funders. The proposal has two
main purposes: to convince the funder that the
issue and the project are important, and to
convince the funder that your organization is
the right one to make a difference.

For many grantseekers, the proposal is the

only opportunity to communicate with a
foundation or corporate donor. It must be selfexplanatory. It must reflect the agencys
overall image. Jane C. Geever, The
Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal Writing

The guidelines and description for parts of a

proposal below can serve as general guidelines
no matter what type of format you use for the
proposal. But, the most important thing is to
always follow the funders directions, which
may be listed in the RFP and/or on their
website. If the funder offers a proposal or
budget template, use it. If they issue
guidelines, follow them!
When the funder does not specify, you can
follow the format listed below or make use of
common grant proposal forms.

Letter of Inquiry
A letter of inquiry is often the first step in
soliciting grant funds from a foundation or
other donor. It provides a short introduction to
the organization and a summary of project that
is seeking funds, to allow the funder to
determine whether they want to find out more
about the project in a full proposal.

This is your audition for a larger role. Deborah S. Koch, How to Say It: Grantwriting

A letter of inquiry (LOI) precedes a full proposal.

Funders sometimes specify in their RFPs that
organizations should submit LOIs; in this case,
LOIs serve as the first-round proposal which
are used to narrow down the pool of
organizations who will be invited to participate
in further rounds. LOIs can also be used when
making initial contact with a funder, to
introduce your organization and your project in
hopes that they will invite you to submit a full
proposal.

The first rule of grant-writing is that you

always follow the funders guidelines.
The second rule of grant-writing is that
you always follow the funders
guidelines.

An LOI is designed to pique the interest of the

funder so that they will want to review all the
project details in a full proposal. LOIs can be a
win-win situation for both organizations and
funders, saving both parties the time and effort
60

The letter is used by funders as a simple

Anatomy of a Letter of Inquiry

screening device, enabling the grantmaker to

Date

preclude submission of an inappropriate

application and encourage the submission of

Letterhead

Salutation

Title / Subject Line

proposals with funding potential. The letter of

Organizational
Description

inquiry can be useful to the grantseeker, since it

saves time. - Jane C. Geever, The Foundation

Introduction
Brief Summary of
the Project

Problem
Statement

Centers Guide to Proposal Writing

Date

Project
Description

Outcomes

involved in writing and reviewing a full

proposal.

Target Groups
Goals
Activities

Format of a LOI
As with all grant-writing, the first rule is to
review the funders guidelines and follow them
exactly! If you disregard the funders guidelines
for content, length, spacing, font size, margins,
word count, method of submission, etc., then
you run the risk that the funder will discard
your LOI without reading it at all.

Budget

Linked with
Funders Vision

The Ask
Offer More
Information

Thanks

Closing

LOIs are generally one to two pages long, on

your organizations letterhead. It can be helpful
to include a heading or subject line identifying
the document as a letter of inquiry to ensure
that its clear what the purpose of the
document is. Following the subject line, include
the traditional elements of a letter: date,
salutation, body of the letter, followed by the
closing and signature.

Signature of
Director

Next, succinctly cover the same elements that

would be included in a full proposal: explain the
issue or problem that the project seeks to
address, describe the target group or
beneficiaries of the project, describe the
activities and time frame of the project, list the
desired outcomes of the project, describe the
organization that is doing the project (i.e.,
background and credentials), and (if desired)
include brief budgetary details. (For tips on
writing these sections, see Parts of a Proposal,
page 62.)

The first two sentences should give a brief

summary of the project. Its important that the
opening of the letter be well-written and
interesting, to hook the reader into
continuing to read all the way through the
letter rather than skimming it briefly. The
people in the funders office who review LOIs
may be wading through dozens or hundreds of
them, so try to capture their interest quickly
and clearly (think about your college application
essays).

Your LOI should explicitly link the project to the

vision and priorities of the funder and
demonstrate that funding your project will
further the funders goals. At the end of the
61

before its submitted to check that the basic

elements of the project are clearly understood
from the letter.

LOI, be sure to request to submit a full proposal

for the funders review, offer to provide
additional information, and thank the funder
for their consideration.

Remember

The LOI should be signed by the director of your

organization. LOIs will usually be submitted by
email (either in the body of the email or signed
and scanned, then sent as an attachment)
unless another method is specified by the
funder.

The only purpose of an LOI is to get invited to

submit a full proposal. Focus on this as you
write and/or edit an LOI; each word and topic
included should contribute toward this goal.

Parts of a Grant Proposal

Writing a LOI
Although LOIs will sometimes be thought of as a
kind of mini-proposal, an effective LOI cannot
be produced by simply cutting away from a
draft of a full proposal until its unintelligible.
Successful LOIs are written with a specific
funder in mind and try to answer the question,
What are we doing here that you want to
join?

Statement of Need
The statement of need lays the groundwork for
the entire proposal by describing the problem
that your organizations project will work to
solve. A compelling statement of need will
demonstrate that your

organization has a good
The statement
understanding of the
of need is also
conditions in the local area
frequently
and knows how to intervene
called a
to improve the situation. It
problem
will motivate the reader to
statement,
take action about the
project
problem; but, more than
rationale, or
this, it will start to convince
justification.
the reader that your
organization is the best

partner for them to do so.

LOIs should
provide a clear,
This is not a shorter version
concise overview
of the full proposal, but
of the project.
actually a different piece of
Clear means that
writing that fulfills a
you avoid using
distinctive function.
buzzwords with
little concrete
- Martin Teitel, Thank You for
meaning
Submitting Your Proposal
(unique, cutting
edge, raising
awareness) and focus on including facts, action
verbs, and showing outcomes. Concise means
that only information which is necessary to
convey the content and spirit of the project is
included.

Balancing Acts - Writing an Effective

Statement of Need
Writing an effective statement of need is a
delicate balancing act. One on hand, you want
to be sure that you present the problem as
important and urgent enough that it should be
a priority for funding. On the other hand, you
should be careful not to make the problem look
so desperate that there is no hope for remedy.

Be sure that the LOI communicates the why,

what, who, where, when, and how of the
project. It is often helpful to have someone
unfamiliar with the project review the LOI
62

When composing a statement of need, its

important to stay mindful of the tone of
language being used. Emotional or dramatic
language might be appropriate in a fundraising
letter or a public awareness campaign, where
the audience is the general public who are
unfamiliar with the problem, and the goal is to
provide a them with stark wake-up call and jolt
them into action.

What to Say
Professional grantwriter Deborah S. Koch
recommends that the statement of need
answer the following four questions:

What is the issue your project

addresses?
Why does this matter?
Why is what you propose necessary?
Who benefits?

This style of writing is

Explain the issue. The
The key here is to inspire with a
generally not effective
statement of need should
vision, and impress with a credible
in a grant proposal.
describe the problem that the
action plan. - Martin Teitel, Thank
The audience for the
project seeks to address, taking
proposal is foundation
You for Submitting Your Proposal
care to focus as precisely as
professionals who are
possible on the aspects of the
likely to be at least
issue that the organization works
somewhat familiar
Avoid overstatement and overly
on. Starting from the broader
with (or may even be
emotional appeals. Jane C.
issue that your organization
experts on) the issue
addresses, the statement of need
Geever, The Foundation Centers
youre addressing.
should narrow in on the specific
Guide to Proposal Writing
The best bet is to
problem that your project seeks
keep it factual.
to address and the on-the-ground factors and
Compelling prose that strategically deploys
dynamics surrounding the issue which are
statistics and outcomes is much more helpful in
relevant to your projects approach. The
convincing the reader that your organization is
statement of need can narrow the issue in
knowledgeable about the problem at hand.
several ways: focusing on a particular
geographical area, focusing on a particular
target group or sub-group of the population, or
focusing on one specific root cause.

The feeling that you want to evoke is

inspiration, not despair. Keep it positive;
instead of threatening the funder that horrific
things will befall the target group if the project
is not funded, demonstrate that your
organizations successful track record and invite
the funder to join you in your excellent work.

Example: Narrowing the Focus

Broad Issue: Education
Specific Problem: High Drop-Out Rate
Among Pregnant Teens

The statement of need should be fairly brief.

Ideally you will not spend too much time
describing the problem in the proposal; you
want to use the space youve got to focus on
solutions. Therefore, every word must count.

63

Relevant On-the-Ground Factors: Teen pregnancy

rates in the local area, lack of supportive networks
for pregnant teens, discriminatory school policies
that exclude pregnant teens from school, poor
knowledge of pregnancy prevention among teens.

The most compelling way to

strengthen your analysis of
the problem is to include
data and statistics from
reliable, well-respected
sources in the field.
Information on the macro
level issue can come from
reports by international and
national organizations and
multi-lateral agencies, from
news sources, and from
academic sources. As with
all writing, be sure to cite
any sources.

The best proposals describe a

Its equally important to

provide a snapshot of the
solution that is uniquely tailored
situation at the local level
to address the particular elements
using reports and statistics
from area government,
of that problem. Most proposals
schools, religious
make the mistake of being too
institutions, village leaders,
general in describing the issues
hospitals, and organizations
they are confronting, and as a
(including your own
result their proposed solutions are
organization!). Even when
less plausible. Matthew Klein,
local-level statistics are
Foundation Representative,
hard to come by, a brief
Quoted in Jane C. Geever, The
quote or testimonial from a
Foundation Centers Guide to
member of the target
Proposal Writing
group can provide great
insight into the dynamics of
the issue in the projects target area.
very specific problem as well as a

Here is a list of possible sources to call upon

when compiling facts, figures, and statistics to back
up your case:

Explain why the issue matters. This

section can be very short (even a single
sentence!), but it is essential to plainly state the
reason that this issue is important. To you and
to your organization, the importance of
addressing the problem is quite obvious; thats
why there is a group of people dedicated to
bring change about! But the funder may be
reviewing dozens of proposals, and the reader
will want to know why yours deserves his or her
attention more than the others.

needs assessments conducted by objective

outside parties or by your own organization
- surveyslocal or regional or national,
conducted by your organization or by
others
- focus groups with representatives of key
stakeholders
- interviews with stakeholders
- usage statistics
- media coverage of the problem or lack of
service
- reports from government agencies or other
NGOs
- demographic studies
- projections for the future, suggesting how
bad things will get if this problem is not
addressed, and/or how good things will be
if it is.
These should all derive from authorities with
impeccable credentials and be as up-to-date as
possible. (From Jane C. Geever, The Foundation
Centers Guide to Proposal Writing)
-

Some ways to show that the issue matters,

without resorting to threats or sensationalized
language, are to discuss the adverse impact that
the problem has on the target group, to appeal
to international human rights norms, or to show
how the target groups situation has broader
impacts. The best approach to presenting the
importance will depend upon the vision and
values of the funder to whom youre applying.
Explain why your project is necessary.
Next, the statement of need should address
other efforts which have been done previously
64

The way your problem is presented in the

statement of need should link logically to the
strategy and activities of your project.
If your project seeks to increase agricultural yields
through improved access to irrigation, your problem
description should lay the groundwork for this solution
by discussing the barriers that farmers have to
irrigation access and the negative outcomes they
experience due to the current low agricultural yields.

socio-economic status, occupation, family

status, landlessness, etc.). If the target group is
at-risk, define the risk factors and how they
were developed. Explain why your organization
has chosen to focus on this group. The
statement of need should demonstrate that this
group needs the intervention and that they will
benefit from it.

Beneficiaries: Individuals, groups or entities

whose situation is supposed to improve (the
target group), and others whose situation may
improve as a result of the projects
interventions. (From UNFPA)

to tackle this problem, and why they have been

incomplete or insufficient. Take care when
writing this section not to criticize other
organizations or approachesthey may have
been funded by this donor! Delicately make the
case that there is additional unmet need,
opportunity to reach underserved populations,
or changing circumstances which make your
organizations project necessary. The goal is to
lay the groundwork for your organizations
approach later in the proposal.

Additionally, the statement of need is a place to

begin demonstrating your organizations
capacity to actually implement the proposed
project. When talking about the projects
beneficiaries, show the concrete links that your
organization has with this target group, such as
cultural and linguistic competency, connections
to the community, geographic proximity, and
previous history of doing similar work.

It is often difficult to describe the need for your

project without being critical of the competition.
But you must be careful not to do so. Being critical

Make sure your statement of need

of other organizations will not be well received by

approaches the topic from the perspective

the funder. - Jane C. Geever, The Foundation Centers

of the public good to be achieved. Need is

Guide to Proposal Writing

not expressed in terms of your organization

and the work it does. Need is expressed in

Explain who will benefit from your

project. Describe in detail the target group for
the project. Provide the anticipated number of
beneficiaries in the grant period (usually 12
months). Provide information about the
beneficiaries age, gender, geographical area,
and any special characteristics (e.g., ethnicity,
nationality, legal status, sexual orientation,

terms of what the people you seek to help

need. For example, your homeless shelter
doesnt need extra beds; the homeless
population needs a place to sleep.
Deborah S. Koch, How to Say It: Grantwriting

65

Remember

This section establishes your organizations

credibility in not just knowing about the
problem at hand, but in leveraging a particular
strategy to solve the problem.

Unlike most sections of the

proposal, the statement of
need can be pre-written and
then modified to suit the
particular funder to which
youre applying.

Include just
enough
description of
the problem to
show why your
intervention is
needed, then

spend most of
the proposal talking about what your
organization will do about the problem.

What to Include
This section should explicitly justify how the
project addresses the problem described in the
statement of need. Briefly describe the
organizations strategy and tactics (these terms
are defined in Speaking the Language of Grant
Writing, page 30), being sure to link them with
one another and with the analysis that you have
provided in the statement of need.

Describe Your Approach

In this section, you will present the basics of the

Provide the elevator speech version of the
proposed project, laying the groundwork for
projects operations, with
further details to be
the most succinct account
provided in other sections
of the what, who, when,
of the proposal.
Evidence of an effective program,
where, and how of the
and a well-managed, effective
A well-written description
project.
organization make a proposal
of your organizations
stand out. Rene Deida,
If your organization has past
approach provides a birdsFoundation
Representative,
Quoted
experience in that is
eye view of the projects
relevant to the current
in Jane C. Geever, The Foundation
strategy and tactics. It
project, this is a good place
serves as a bridge between
Centers Guide to Proposal Writing
to bring that up.
the statement of need,
Particularly when you can
which details the problem to be addressed, and
provide data proving positive results from the
the objectives and activities sections, which
organizations previous efforts, this goes a long
detail the steps to be taken to address the
way in building the funders trust that your
problem.
organization is the best partner.

How to Write
It is important not to criticize other strategies
that are used to tackle this problem, or to
disparage other organizations working on the
same problem that make different strategic
choices. The donor could be also funding these
efforts!

Check the funders guidelines. This section may be

omitted, it may include the details about the project
activities (see Goals, Objectives, Activities, Outcomes,
and Indicators, page 67), or it could include additional
information. Always follow the funders requirements
and guidelines first.

It is best to use research data and the

organizations experiences in the field to

66

persuasively make the case in favor of your

particular strategy.
The section should be brief (two to three
paragraphs), unless additional information
about activities, organizational capacity, or
beneficiaries is to be included.
Remember
Present your organizations strategy in a
positive and compelling way, using past results
to highlight the organizations track record of
success and strengths in implementing this type
of project.

Information about the projects goals, objectives,

activities, outcomes, and indicators will be presented in a
variety of different ways, depending upon the funders
guidelines. Often they will be presented in a single chart
called a Logistical Framework Analysis, or LogFrame. Or,
the goals and objectives may be listed together in one
section, the activities in another, and the outcomes and
indicators in yet another section. Regardless of the
format, the most important thing is that each piece of
information links logically to the other pieces.

are the how. This section will ensure that

each activity of the project is linked with the
goals. For detailed definitions of these terms as
used in grant proposals, please see Speaking the
Language of Grant Writing, page 32.

Goals, Objectives, Activities,

Outcomes, and Indicators Oh My!
This section is the very core of the proposal. It
lays out the strategy, the steps, and the results
that the project will bring about. It is often the
first thing that a funder will read, and the
overall proposals success will rest most heavily
in this section.

Interlinked Concepts
a broad Goal
is achieved through very
specific Objectives

This section is your organizations greatest

opportunity to demonstrate that the project is
well-thought out and well-organized; to give
readers a vivid understanding of what the
project does and why; and to inspire funders
with a clear accounting of the tangible results
that the project will generate.

which direct the

projects Activities
and lead to the
achievement of Outcomes

The goals, objectives, activities, outcomes, and

indicators should be linked and flow logically
from one to the other, laying out the projects
strategy
bit by bit.
If goals are
Goals, objectives, activities, and
the why
outcomes are a linked path going
for your
from the broad to the specific.
project,
Deborah S. Koch, How to Say It:
activities
Grantwriting

which are measured by

Indicators
Why Are We Doing This? Goals
Begin with a compelling goal. A goal is a broad,
long-term declaration about what the project
ultimately hopes to achieve. It answers the
question, What is the change that the project
seeks to make in the world? The best goals are
67

Recall from Speaking the Language of Grant

Writing, p. 33, that objectives must be SMART:

Grantmakers are interested in addressing the

larger issue - Deborah S. Koch, How to Say It:
Grantwriting

positive (Children have a safe place to live)

instead of negative (There are no more
children living on the street). The goal should
be stated in a single sentence.

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-bound.

What this means in practice, is that objectives

are defined in terms of numbers, beneficiaries,
location, and time. Objectives dont speak the
language of lofty ideals (justice, opportunity,
empowerment); they speak the language of onthe-ground actions and processes (workshops,
doctor visits, scholarships).

The goal establishes the vision for the entire

project and its reason for existing. The more
daring and ambitious, the better! It should
make the funder (and project staff, members of
target groups, etc.) excited to be a part of
making the goal a reality through contributing
to the project.

Objectives play a key part in establishing

credibility for your organizations strategy.
Well-crafted objectives give the reader
confidence that your organization not only
knows about the need in the community, but
knows how to go about tackling that need.

Real-Life Example: Goal

<Goal> To empower ethnic minority children and
youth in the border areas and reduce their risk of
human trafficking and exploitation.

When crafting objectives, be realistic; you

will be evaluated on these measures. Dont

How Will We Get There? Objectives

Next, the proposal should list several specific
objectives in support of the goal. Objectives
answer the question, What will the project do in
furtherance of its goal? Objectives will
concisely state the various tangible processes or
actions that the project will complete in order
to achieve the goal.

set yourself up for failure just in the hopes

that lofty objectives will make your proposal
seem more attractive. Deborah S. Koch,
How to Say It: Grantwriting

Above all, be realistic in setting objectives.

Dont promise what you cant deliver.
Remember, the funder will want to be told in

With competition for grant dollars so

the final report that the project actually

great, well-articulated objectives are

accomplished these objectives. - Jane C. Geever,

increasingly critical to a projects success.

The Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal Writing

- Jane C. Geever, The Foundation Centers

Guide to Proposal Writing
68

There will be several objectives for each goal;

the exact number will depend upon your
projects strategies and activities, and how you
choose to structure the information. Beware of
having too many objectives it makes
presenting (and reading!) the information
challenging. The objectives should link together
logically to show what the project will do to
achieve your goal.

The activities should match the magnitude

of the objectives. The activities should
appear doable; otherwise, you lose
credibility. - Jane C. Geever, The Foundation
Centers Guide to Proposal Writing
Activities answer the question, What will the
project do to fulfill the objectives?
Usually, there will be several activities for each
objective. The activities described should
provide a thorough picture of the steps in
operating the project, from planning and
participant recruitment to the project
implementation to follow-up.

Real-Life Example: Objectives

Goal: To empower ethnic minority children and
youth in the border areas and reduce their
risk of human trafficking and exploitation.
<Objective 1> To increase knowledge of human
trafficking and related social issues affecting
children, ethnic minority and migrant
communities among 900 children age 10-18
in ten (10) schools in Mae Sai District,
Thailand.
<Objective 2> To spread and publicize
information and news about human rights,
child rights, and social problems through
radio programming, for ethnic minority and
migrant audiences on both sides of the Mae
Sai-Tachileik border area.
<Objective 3> Ninety (90) children and youth
age 10-30 in Mae Sai District create and
produce their own media products on topics
of human trafficking, domestic violence,
worst forms of child labor, sexual abuse,
gender roles, and reproductive health.

The activities should be concise, but

comprehensive enough to show that the
organization has sufficient capacity to anticipate
the needed steps, establish a sensible plan, and
execute the project fully.
For each activity, list the job title(s) for the
person(s) who will be responsible for doing the
activity, as well as the time frame for when the
activity will take place. You may consider
including a timeline (or attaching one as an
appendix) and credentials of key project staff
(or attaching their resumes/CVs as an appendix)
when it seems relevant.

Deborah S. Kochs recommended phrase

for the activities and outcomes? We
will. This subtly conveys confidence that
the organization is capable and ready to
implement the project if funded.

What Exactly Will We Do? Activities

Continuing to move from general to specific,
activities define the precise steps that explain
exactly how each objective will be executed.

69

Real-Life Example: Activities

Goal: To empower ethnic minority children and
youth in the border areas and reduce their risk
of human trafficking and exploitation.
Objective 1: To increase knowledge of human
trafficking and related social issues affecting
children, ethnic minority and migrant
communities among 900 children age 10-18 in
ten (10) schools in Mae Sai District, Thailand.
<Activity 1.1> Awareness training workshops for
900 students age 10-18 in ten (10) schools on
topics of human trafficking, domestic violence,
and other social issues impacting the target
communities. Workshops incorporate videos,
print materials, games and songs to maintain
the participants interest.
<Activity 1.2> Marches against human trafficking,
domestic violence, and other social issues
impacting target communities are held in five
(5) schools, with 600 total participants. Each
school creates signs related to the campaign,
students march through the community
surrounding the school, audio media are
played from loudspeakers on trucks, and print
media are distributed to community members.
<Activity 1.3> One-hundred (100) Core youth
are recruited from the ten (10) area schools.
Core youth receive intensive training on
social issues, methods of implementing
awareness campaigns in their schools, and
team-building activities in three-day training
camp. Core youth then implement awareness
activities in the ten (10) schools, including:
audio awareness on school intercom
system/school radio, bulletin boards and
posters on specific topics, and facilitating inclass discussions. Project staff follow up with a
site visit to each school every three months
and hold one meeting with all 100 Core youth
for follow-up.

Information about activities can be presented in

many different ways: in prose, in a timeline, a
Gantt chart, in an overall chart, in a list, in a
flowchart. Be intentional in selecting the best way
to present the information in your proposal.

Too often proposal writers pour their hearts into the

details of the problem, and then resort to vague
generalities about their actual activities. This lack of
concrete action in a proposal might result simply
from the proposal writer not having a clear picture of
whats being done by others in her organization.
Much worse, it might mean the group needs to slow
down the fundraising until they have done a better
job of strategic planning.- Martin Teitel, Thank You
for Submitting Your Proposal

What Change Will the Project Make?

Outcomes
Outcomes describe what things will look like
after completing the activities, telling the
reader about the results and impacts that the
project will have. Outcomes answer the
question, What will be different once the
project is complete?

In todays climate, the desire for

detailed information on the
outcomes of grant projects is
stronger than ever. Jane C.
Geever, The Foundation Centers
Guide to Proposal Writing
70

women will be solved by a single organization

with a single grant. Instead of lamenting the
things that your organization cannot do (or
would very much like to do), focus the
outcomes on those concrete things that the
project is able to do, for those members of its
target group, in its geographical region, in the
time available.

As discussed in Speaking the Language of Grant

Writing, page 36, you want to be sure to cover
the three sides of the results idea:
-

Outputs, which demonstrate that the

project really did what it said it would do;
they are linked back to the activities;
Outcomes, which demonstrate the effect
that the project had on its beneficiaries;
they are linked back to the objectives; and
Impacts, which demonstrate that the
project is really having the effect or impact
on the problem in the greater community;
they are linked back to the goals; they
describe advancement toward the change
that the project seeks to make in the
world.

Specific, concrete, measurable

results give donors a core reason to
fund you. Martin Teitel, Thank
You for Submitting Your Proposal

It is dangerous to promise more

than you can deliver. Jane C.
Geever, The Foundation Centers
Guide to Proposal Writing

Real-Life Example: Outcomes

Goal: To empower ethnic minority children and
youth in the border areas and reduce their risk of
human trafficking and exploitation.
Objective 1: To increase knowledge of human
trafficking and related social issues affecting
children, ethnic minority and migrant
communities among 900 children age 10-18 in ten
(10) schools in Mae Sai District, Thailand.
Activity 1.1: Awareness training workshops for 900
students age 10-18 in ten (10) schools on topics of
human trafficking, domestic violence, and other
social issues impacting the target communities.
Workshops incorporate videos, print materials,
games and songs to maintain the participants
interest.
< Outcomes for Activity 1.1>
<Outputs> - 10 awareness workshops are held in
elementary, middle and high schools; one
workshop in each of ten schools
- 900 unduplicated students attend the awareness
workshops.
<Outcomes> - Participants gain increased knowledge
about the social issues discussed in workshops.
Participants learn additional techniques to
protect themselves from dangerous situations.
Participants tell others in their family and
community about the knowledge gained in the
workshop.

All of these
types of
outcomes
should be
stated in such
a way that
they can be
measured
to check
whether or
not they
have been
achieved.

Outcomes and results must be concrete and

tangible. They refer to the impact that the
project made in only the short project period
(usually 12 months), not to the overall, eventual
impact that the organization would like to have
in the world. Outcomes should be realistic and
will often be quite modest.
Funders will understand that change on
important issues is incremental, and will not
expect that a problem like health disparities,
environmental degradation, or violence against
71

How Do We Know Weve Done It?

Indicators
Indicators are measures taken during and after
the project that will gauge whether the project
has met its intended outcomes or not. They
answer the question, How will you know for
sure that you have achieved your desired
results? Indicators complete the logical chain
from goals, through objectives, activities, and
outcomes.
Indicators support the listed outcomes, by
showing how your organization will verify that
the outcomes have been realized.
An effective indicator will have two parts:
-

Establishing a target as to how

many/how much of the result there will
be; and
State how and when the result will be
measured.

Both the targets and the means of

measurement should be realistic for your
project. Think about the likely numerical results
that the project will be able to deliver (hint: you
will almost never have outcomes of 100%).
Think as well about the kind and number of
data the project staff can collect, given the
limited time and resources they have for this
task. It can be tempting to gather lots of
information, but you dont want to burden the
staff with too much additional work outside of
actually implementing the project.
On the other hand, setting the bar too low will
give readers a lackluster impression of the
project. Ideally, the indicators will be based on
the projects past experiences so that they are
calibrated to just the right level.
There should be at least one indicator for each
objective, but ultimately the final number will

depend on the objective, the intended impacts,

and the organizations capacity to record data
about the project.

Real-Life Example: Indicators

Goal: To empower ethnic minority children and youth in
the border areas and reduce their risk of human
trafficking and exploitation.
Objective 1: To increase knowledge of human trafficking
and related social issues affecting children, ethnic
minority and migrant communities among 900
children age 10-18 in ten (10) schools in Mae Sai
District, Thailand.
Activity 1.1: Awareness training workshops for 900
students age 10-18 in ten (10) schools on topics of
human trafficking, domestic violence, and other social
issues impacting the target communities. Workshops
incorporate videos, print materials, games and songs
to maintain the participants interest.
Outcomes for Activity 1.1:
Outputs: - 10 awareness workshops are held in
elementary, middle and high schools; one workshop
in each of ten schools
- 900 unduplicated students attend the awareness
workshops.
Outcomes: - Participants gain increased knowledge
about the social issues discussed in workshops.
Participants learn additional techniques to protect
themselves from dangerous situations.
Participants tell others in their family and community
about the knowledge gained in the workshop.
<Indicators> As measured by survey of student
participants in training workshops and campaigns:
80% of workshop participants have knowledge and
understanding of human trafficking, domestic
violence. 60% of students in 10 schools can use the
knowledge gained in workshops to protect
themselves. 50% of all participants report they can
spread and tell the information to others.

72

granted, the organization will successfully use

the funds to work towards achieving that vision.

Dont Over-Promise - It Can Haunt You

The section on activities, outcomes, and indicators
does not go away when the proposal is approved.
After you receive funds, this section will be the
benchmark for the reports that your organization will
be required to submit to the funder. Your own
predictions about the number of beneficiaries, the
surveys that will be done, and the impacts in the
community will become the report template down the
line. Therefore, it is important to be realistic about
the number and kinds of outcomes and indicators that
the organization can accurately measure and report
about.

Who Are We? - Introducing the

Organization
Firstly, the organizational description should
give readers a clear sense of the organizations
values, background, and overall vision; they
should gain an understanding of who the
organization is, why it exists, and the context of
the proposed projects in the organizations
overall operations.

What really makes the difference to the

potential funder is that your organization has a

sense of direction and is implementing projects

Remember

that matter in our society. Jane C. Geever, The

Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal Writing

The components of this section goals,

objectives, activities, outcomes, indicators
must all logically flow from one to the next. Try
to anticipate the readers questions, ensuring
that the links between different concepts are
clear. After reading this section, the funder
should have a complete picture of what the
project will do, why the project is doing it this
way, and what kinds of tangible change will take
place as a result of the project.

Basic information that should be included:

Organizational Description

The organizational description section serves

two main purposes:

Introducing the organization to the

reader; and
Providing evidence that the
organization has the capacity to
successfully implement the project.

Overall, the organizational description should

motivate the reader to want to be involved with
the organization through articulating a
compelling vision and demonstrating that, if

73

Mission statement: List it.

History: Describe who founded the
organization and why, and explain how the
organizations strategies have evolved over
time. There is no need to include a
detailed timeline; focus only on the most
important changes in the organization and
those which are directly related to the
proposed project.
Strategy: Explain the overall strategy that
the organization utilizes. (Please refer to
Speaking the Language of Grant Writing,
page 30, for description of strategies.)
Target group: List the special
characteristics of your organizations
overall target group.
Projects: Briefly summarize all of the
organizations projects. If space is limited,
projects can be clustered into different
types (i.e., education, publications,
agriculture, legal).
Size: Provide information that can be used
to gauge the organizations size, such as

total number of staff, annual budget,

and/or total number of annual
beneficiaries.

Unless specified by the RFP, this section should

generally be quite brief, no more than two
paragraphs. It can be a real challenge to fit
everything in, but try your best to be selective
about what to include and list only the
information most relevant to the funder and
the proposed project.

If space allows, or if the information is relevant

to the proposal, you can also include:
Leadership: Identify the main leaders of
the organization and their background,
particularly when they are well-known or
Why Should We Be the Ones You Choose to
have outstanding backgrounds (i.e.,
Fund? Establishing Organizational
advanced degrees, associations with
international groups, inspiring personal
Capacity
background such as escaping situations of
The organizational
poverty or abuse, etc.)
Affiliations: Be sure
description should make the
Our foundation is looking for an
to mention any
readers confident that your
religious or
opportunity to further our
organization will be able to
governmental
mission by supporting good
actually carry out the
affiliations the
work. It is really important that
project, efficiently, within
organization may have,
the given time frame and
the project be strong and that
or if it is a national or
within the requested
local office of an
there be a strong organizational
international
budget. There are many
structure behind it. Karen Rosa,
organization.
types of information that
Foundation Representative,
Evidence of impact:
can be used to show
Quoted in Jane C. Geever, The
Dont hesitate to brag
organizational capacity,
(with substance!) if
Foundation Centers Guide to
depending on the type of
your organization or
Proposal Writing
project and the strengths of
leaders have won
significant awards or
your organization.
recognition, or if there are documented
Information that can be used to establish the
major positive outcomes as a result of the
organizations work.
organizations capacity to implement the
specific project in the proposal: (include as
applicable to your proposal, and as space

allows)
Great news!

Unlike most sections of the proposal, the

organizational description can easily be adapted
from a generic pre-written template, with
minimal edits to tailor it to each individual
funder.

74

History of implementing similar

projects: You can list previous projects
that are similar to the current project, or
upon which the current project builds.
This tactic is particularly when you can
demonstrate the success of the past
projects through positive outcomes.
History of working with this
population: Similarly, you can list
previous experiences serving the same or

similar target groups. This can be

established by describing any special
expertise of the organization (i.e.,
language or cultural understanding,
receiving significant referrals from other
organizations to work with this population)
and through any special relationships with
community leaders that the organization
plans to leverage in implementing the
proposed project (i.e., monks or pastors,
teachers, elders, village chiefs, doctors).
Resources are sufficient to the
proposed impact: Explain how the
resources that your organization can bring
to the project will be able to deliver the
desired outcomes. The needed resources
will include budget and number of staff,
and may include things like technology,
information management, transportation,
infrastructure, training, etc.
Skills and experience of key project
staff and leadership: In addition to
having enough staff to effectively
implement the project, you want to
demonstrate that the staff who will lead
and implement the project are wellqualified for this task. Their skills and
experience might be proven through their
educational attainment, language abilities,
cultural background, years of experience,
technical expertise, and/or completion of
training programs, depending upon the
skills that are needed to succeed in the
projects implementation.

Demonstrating your organizations capacity in

the areas of financial transparency and
project management is a sure-fire way to
move your proposal closer to the top of the pile.

Information that can be used to establish the

organizations overall capacity: (include all
items)
Financial management: Every funder
will want to see evidence that your
organization can handle the grant funds in
a responsible and efficient way. Describe
the key aspects of the financial system at
your organization. If your organization has
any of the following, be sure to explicitly
mention it: annual financial audits by an
external auditor, use of bookkeeping
software like QuickBooks, manages funds

75

through bank accounts, system of internal

controls and appropriate separation of
duties among financial staff. You may also
want to detail the number of
administrative and financial staff in your
organization.
Previous grant management
experience: Demonstrate that the
organization has a track record of
successfully managing grants from
international sources. You may consider
listing the organizations major past and/or
current funders.
Annual budget of the organization: List
the previous years total annual budget for
the whole organization. This shows your
organizations ability to manage finances
and gives funders an idea of the scope of
your organizations work.
Monitoring and evaluation system:
Describe the system for program
assessment in a condensed form here if
this information is not included in a
separate section. (Please see Monitoring
and Evaluation, p.76, for details.)
Sustainability: Describe the
organizations prospects for future
sustainability in a condensed form here if
this information is not included in a
separate section. (Please see
Sustainability, p. 79, for details.)
Registration status: Include information
about your organizations legal status in
the country or countries where you work.
If your organization is registered with the
government, state what the registration
status is. If your organization is not
registered, explain why you have not been
able to do so (i.e., political limitations,

financial challenges, pending registration,

etc.).
Significant collaborations: Your
organization can strive for "capacity by
association by listing any key partnerships
with more well-established organizations.
Some past volunteers have included the
relationship with VIA in this section to
show their organizations commitment to
capacity building.
Adherence to general principles of
NGOs: Demonstrate that your organization
is in compliance with good practices for
operating NGOs. These should include a
non-discrimination policy in the
organizations employment and services
and a governance structure to oversee the
work of the organization (usually through a
board of trustees or board of directors).

Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring and Evaluation a famous duo, on
par with Bert & Ernie, Fred & Ginger, PB & J,
Brangelina. In fact, they go together so often,
that theyre often abbreviated to M & E.
The Monitoring and Evaluation (M & E) section
of the proposal establishes how your
organization will know for sure that the desired
outcomes and indicators have been achieved.
Including
information
A strong evaluation plan is one
about M & E
of the ways you can impart
establishes
reassurance to the grantmaker
your
about your commitment to the
organizations
project and your capacity to carry
capacity and
transparency.
it out and learn from its
It sends a
outcomes. Deborah S. Koch,
message to
How to Say It: Grantwriting
funders that
your
organization
is committed
Among the grantmakers we
to achieving
interviewed, evaluation was often
results and
using the
discussed. All seemed in
funds in an
agreement that it is essential for
accountable
the nonprofit grantseeker to have
manner. It
a plan to evaluate its programs
also provides
and strategies, and that a succinct
the funder
description of that evaluation
with insight
plan was a necessary ingredient of
as to how
the successful proposal. - Jane C.
your
Geever, The Foundation Centers
organization
will use
Guide to Proposal Writing
information
from M & E in
its own decision-making processes.

Unless specified in the funders instructions,

this information should be quite brief, no more
than two paragraphs (three paragraphs if you
are also including information about
sustainability and monitoring/evaluation).

The organizational description is not the only section of

the proposal where you will demonstrate organizational
capacity. A well-written and well-thought out proposal
is proof that your organization knows what it is doing!
Especially focus on the Statement of Need and
Outcomes to show, not tell, that you are knowledgeable
about the problem and know how to deliver solutions!

Remember
The goals of the organizational description are
for the funder to be inspired to work with your
organization, and to trust your organization to
achieve what the proposal sets out to do.
76

Monitoring and evaluation are intimately related. Both are

necessary management tools to inform decision-making and
demonstrate accountability. (From UNFPA)
What is M & E?
Monitoring is an ongoing process that takes
place inside of the organization, of continually
tracking the projects performance against what
was planned. It provides continuous
information on whether progress is being made
toward achieving results (outputs, outcomes,
goals) through record keeping and regular
internal reporting systems. Usually, monitoring
is conducted by the organizations own staff,
either directors or project staff. The
performance information that the organization
gains from monitoring gives the organization
the ability to make any needed changes in the
operations of the project and improves
decision-making.

What to Write
Firstly, you should specify whether
the evaluation will be internal
(conducted by in-house personnel)
or external (conducted by a third-party). If
there is to be an external evaluation, it is best
to include the credentials of the evaluator; be
sure the cost for the evaluation is reflected in
the budget document.
List the goal(s) for the evaluation. Beyond
measuring the projects impact, the evaluation
could have additional aims such as verifying a
particular strategy or improving efficiency.
Next, list the methodologies that will be used in
the evaluation. Describe both how information
will be collected, and how it will be analyzed.
Be sure to include the details of who, what,
when, and where so that the reader will be able
to clearly understand how the evaluations will
be conducted.

Evaluation is a periodic, in-depth analysis of a

projects performance. It relies on data
generated through monitoring activities as well
as information obtained from other sources
(e.g., studies, research, in-depth interviews,
focus group discussions, surveys, etc.).
Evaluation is conducted at certain points in the
projects implementation, usually at the midpoint and end of the project period (i.e., the 6and 12- month mark). Evaluations can be
conducted by the organizations own staff, but
will sometimes be conducted by external
evaluators such as a consultant or funder.

Evaluation Questions: A set of questions

developed by the evaluator, organization,
and/or other stakeholders, which define
the issues the evaluation will investigate
and are stated in such terms that they can
be answered in a way useful to
stakeholders.
Evaluative Activities: Activities such as
situational analysis, baseline surveys,
applied research and diagnostic studies.
Evaluative activities are quite distinct
from evaluation; they are the tools that
can be used in conducting an evaluation.
(From UNFPA)

Program evaluation is a management tool. It is an

exercise that attempts to assess systematically and
objectively the relevance, performance and success
of ongoing and completed projects. Evaluation
commonly aims to determine the relevance,
efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability
of a project. - UNFPA
77

These are just a few of the many types of

evaluation that can be used:

Evaluation is most effective when it is

conducted as a partnership between the funder
and the organization, with all stakeholders

Formative Evaluation: A type of process

evaluation undertaken during project
implementation to furnish information that will
guide a projects improvement. A formative
evaluation focuses on collecting data on project
operations so that needed changes or
modifications can be made to the project in its
early stages. Formative evaluations are used to
provide feedback to project managers and other
personnel about the parts of the project that are
working and those that need to be changed.

engaged in its design. The best evaluation

plans entail gathering both objective and
subjective data that will contribute to learning
by everyone involved with the grant project. Jane C. Geever, The Foundation Centers Guide to
Proposal Writing
There are many types of evaluation, and many
types of evaluative activities that can be used.
The best methods for collecting and analyzing
data will depend on the nature of the project,
characteristics of the target group, the
resources and time that project staff can devote
to evaluation,

and your
organizations
What are some
technological
methods commonly
capacity to store
used in evaluations?
and process
data.
Both quantitative and
qualitative methods are
Ideally, the
commonly used.
evaluation plan
- Direct
measurement will include
(such as sign-in sheets, measures to be
taken prior to
meals delivered)
(establishing a
- Surveys
baseline), during
- Questionnaires
(to measure the
- Tests and assessments
process), and
- Interviews
following the
- Focus Groups
project cycle (to
- Observation
measure the
- Document review
effects that the

project had).

Outcome Evaluation: An in-depth examination

of a related set of projects, components and
strategies intended to achieve a specific
outcome. An outcome evaluation gauges the
extent of success in achieving the outcome;
assesses the underlying reasons for achievement
or non-achievement; validates the contributions
of a specific organization to the outcome; and
identifies key lessons learned and
recommendations to improve performance.
Impact Evaluation: A type of outcome
evaluation that focuses on the broad, longerterm impact or results of a project. For example,
an impact evaluation could show that a decrease
in a communitys overall maternal mortality rate
was the direct result of a project designed to
improve referral services and provide high
quality pre- and post-natal care and deliveries
assisted by skilled health care professionals.
Summative Evaluation: A type of outcome and
impact evaluation that assesses the overall
effectiveness of a project.
78

From UNFPA

shared, and what your organization anticipates

they will use the information for.

Donors love measurable outcomes, but they also

understand that some results simply cannot be
measured. If your project has these kinds of
qualitative outcomes you may choose to supplement
the concrete, measurable outcomes with
documentation of stories and lessons learned.

Remember
A strong evaluation plan sends the message
that your organization is evidence-based and is
serious about achieving results.

While measurement is important when possible,

not all outcomes are measurable, particularly in
complex human service delivery areas.
Documentation of stories, lessons learned, and
legends become an important part of the learning
experience. - Janine E. Lee, Funding Effectiveness

Evaluation should not be

conducted simply to prove
that a project worked, but
also to improve the way it
works. Therefore, do not
view evaluation only as an
accountability measuring
stick imposed on projects,
but rather as a management
and learning tool for
projects and for

Sustainability
This section of the proposal provides
information on how the project will continue to
operate after the conclusion of the grant
period. It is an important section, because
funders want to be sure that they are not
wasting funds in supporting a new project that
will only be in operation for 12 or 18 months.

Finally, this section

should describe
how information
gathered in the
evaluation will be
used to inform
decision-making
about the project.

Ideally, this section will describe a project which

just needs a temporary infusion of funds to get
started and then has abundant long-term
resources to sustain the projects operations
into the
foreseeable
A project is more appealing to a
future. In
potential funder if the funder
this fairy-tale
believes that it can continue in
situation,
some form after grant funds
you will

This section should

be fairly brief (three
to four paragraphs).

describe the
many donors
that have
already
pledged
ongoing

Dissemination

practitioners in the field

The results of your

projects evaluation
experiences of other
could be of interest
projects. W. K. Kellogg
to others outside of
your organization,
Foundation, Evaluation
the funder, and the
Handbook
beneficiaries. If
there are plans to make this information
publicly available, then this section should also
include your dissemination plan. Detail how the
information will be shared, with whom it will be
who can benefit from the

support after
the first
project cycle,
the incomegenerating
potential of
the project,
and the
community
79

expire. Although this is not

necessarily a realistic expectation,
it is one you may have to
address. Deborah S. Koch, How
to Say It: Grantwriting

Evidence of fiscal sustainability

has become a highly sought-after
characteristic of the successful
grant proposal. - Jane C. Geever,
The Foundation Centers Guide to
Proposal Writing

Sustainability: Durability of a project or a

projects results after the termination of the
cooperation. (From UNFPA)

developed? How will community members

support the project?

support from beneficiaries that will keep the

project running.

Local donations and evidence of volunteer

involvement in your organization will strengthen

If your organization does indeed have the ideal

situation, then pat yourself on the back, take a
long break, and go eat some pomegranates.
The section will basically write itself. For the
rest of us, however, usually the sustainability
section is one of the most difficult sections of
the proposal to write.

your case for grant support. Timothy and Judith

Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in Grant Writing
In the absence of a coherent strategy for longterm funding of the project, it can be helpful to
discuss aspects of sustainability such as the
following:

Many grant makers see themselves as investors

in society, and they generally view the projects

they fund as seed projects. Timothy and Judith

Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in Grant Writing
Dont stress out if there is no easy answer to
the question about how the project will keep
operating after the grant period is over; youre
not alone. Most NGOs run on a shoe-string
budget, and particularly in a global economic
crisis, funding is not guaranteed for anyone.
Still, you must do your best to show that your
organization is committed and able to
keeping the project up and running.

What to Write
If your organization has a long-term funding
strategy or plan for the project, this is the place
to describe it in detail. Who are the long-term
donors who have committed to the project?
How will the income generation aspect be

A sustainability plan should be creative but

believable. Timothy and Judith Kachinske, 90 Days
to Success in Grant Writing
80

Any contributions from the local community

and/or beneficiaries, including in-kind
donations of volunteering, goods, or
services
If the initial start-up costs will exceed the
eventual costs of operations, due to
purchase of equipment or necessary
training
If the project has potential to generate
revenue through sale of products/services
or through membership fees
If part or all of the project is intended to be
discontinued after the project period, as in
a pilot project or where different strategies
are being tested against one another
Any collaborations with local, regional, or
international partners that help to provide a
needed resource for the project not only
funding, but also training, publicity,
referrals, political support, networking,
media linkages, etc. (hint: some volunteers
have listed their organizations partnership
with VIA in this section!)
Promote the organizations ability to seek
new sources of funding, by describing the
fundraising team, the efforts to be
undertaken in securing ongoing funds, and
highlighting any past successes in funding
projects past the initial grant period.

Human resources: if the project is

developing new talent or providing skills to
Did You Say Forever?
young people who will be engaged in these
efforts in the future
Funders understand that not every successful project is
Community empowerment: if the project
intended to continue indefinitelyindeed, this would
builds the capacity and knowledge of the
usually be the sign of an unsuccessful project! The
community to tackle problems on their own
project should have a defined end point, or goal, that will
Coalition-building: if the project links
result in the phasing-out of the project once it is
together with other organizations and
achieved. In the sustainability section, you should show
stakeholders to effect changes on a larger
that your organization can keep the project running as
scale
long as it needs toand not a moment longer.
Advocacy: if the project is a part of
changing public policies that will have broad

impacts on the problem or issue in the
future
Other Models of

Environmental
Sustainability Planting
stewardship: if the project
The definition of sustainability
Seeds of Change
promotes sound
for nonprofits draws challenge
environmental practices
The sustainability section
and debate. The most common
that ensure minimal impact
should always include
definition or description typically
on the targeted
information about the
communities
focuses on financial or fund
financial sustainability of

Others: think about

development capability. But
the project. This is funders
the long-term impact of the
many executives want to see an
primary concern in the
project and how it builds
the resources (both
expanded definition to include
section.
concrete and intangible)
the importance of the
However, depending on the
that will be needed for the
organization being market-driven,
advancement of the
nature of your organization
customer-driven, and focused on
projects goals (with or
and the project in the
without the project).
improving the end outcomes for
proposal, you might also
the user.- Janine E. Lee, Funding
describe the projects
Remember
Effectiveness
sustainability as
The purpose of this section
conceptualized more
is
to
show
that
your
organization is able to
expansively. Following are some examples, but
continue the project so that their investment
each of them is linked to the prospects for
will reap returns for the beneficiaries beyond
ongoing progress toward the projects goal,
the end of their grant. Ideally, this section will
rather than the ongoing operations of the
instill confidence in the reader that the
project itself. In other words, you can explain
organization has enough supporters and
the ways in which the project is making an
expertise to keep the project running for as long
investment in social change through its
as it needs to.
activities, which will advance the projects goals
whether or not the project itself continues.
(Note: dont explicitly say that the project might
not continue!)
81

The budget should inspire confidence in the

funder that your organization is committed to
transparency and efficiency in its financial
matters.

The budget demonstrates how well you have

thought through all that it will take to
complete your project. It also is a statement of
your organizations capacity and financial

How to Structure the Budget

As with everything in grant writing, the first rule
is to always follow the funders guidelines.
Often, the funder will have a downloadable
template that you can use to simply fill-in the
figures for your project. This is really the ideal,
so that you know exactly what they are looking
for in a budget.

sophistication. - Deborah S. Koch, How to Say

It: Grantwriting

Budget
The budget is arguably the most important
section of the proposal; after all, the whole
purpose of the proposal is to secure funds for
the project. Coincidentally, it is also the section
that you as an ER volunteer will usually have the
last control over.

In other cases, you will have to create your own

template, reflecting the guidelines that the
funder has provided, of
The project budget forms
course. Budgets will almost
the basis of the grant
always be created in Excel,
The project description provides
partnership. This is where
and should be organized in
the picture of your project in
you will state precisely how
an easy-to-follow and
words. The budget further refines
much money your
logical fashion. It can be a
that picture with numbers. A
organization is requesting
helpful idea to incorporate
well-crafted budget adds greatly
from the funder, and how
shading, bold, italics,
exactly that money will be
to the proposal reviewers
indentation, and/or
used to deliver the
understanding of your project. numbering to help make the
proposed project.
Jane C. Geever, The Foundation
information clear.
Centers Guide to Proposal Writing
A well-done budget will link
Always include your
together the
organizations name,
information about
the funders name, and
It is critical for a grant writer to have a
activities in the
the title of your project
proposal with clearly
good working relationship with someone
as a heading on each
explained financial
on the financial side of the organization. A
page of the budget.
data on the income
partnership forged between a budget
Also include the
and expenditures of
currency exchange
person and a grant writer is a prescription
the project. It makes
rate, the date of
for success. Timothy and Judith
it clear to the funder
submission of the
Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in Grant Writing
that your organization
proposal, and the
knows what is needed
relevant grant period (i.e., January 2013to successfully operate the project and it shows
December 2013) on each page for reference.
the other sources of support that your
organization expects to secure.
82

Currency

or if you have not yet received a decision about

your proposal (requested).

Unless specified otherwise by the funder, each budget

line should include the budgeted amount in both the
local currency and the funders currency. List the
exchange rate at the top of each budget page. If the
funder specifies a particular exchange rate, use theirs.
Otherwise, you may check current exchange rates at
www.xe.com.

Donors usually prefer not the be the only

source of support for a project; often, they will
have requirements about minimum levels of
match funds that must be secured from other
sources (i.e., The foundations contribution
cannot be more than 85% of the total budget
for the project). Showing all of the sources of
income demonstrates local support for the
project and supports the arguments made in
the Sustainability section that the project can
secure other sources of funding in the longterm. If there is a sizable percentage of the
projects budget that is not covered by this
funder, its strongly recommended that you
include a budget narrative (see below) where
you explain your plan for securing the
additional funds needed to operate the project
as youve described.

What to Include
in the Budget
Currency Abbreviations
Income.
Here you should
Australian Dollars
AUD
list all of the
sources of income
Burmese Kyat
MMK
for the project
during the
Cambodian Riel
KHR
specified grant
period. This
Canadian Dollars
CAD
should be very
comprehensive:
Chinese Yuan Renminbi
CNY
include other
grants to be
Euro
EUR
received,
corporate and
Great British Pounds
GBP
individual
donations to the
Indonesian Rupiah
IDR
project, income
Japanese Yen
JPY
generated from
the project itself,
Swiss Francs
CHF
volunteer hours,
in-kind donation
Thai Baht
THB
of goods or
services, any
US Dollars
USD
contributions
from the
Vietnamese Dong
VND
organization itself,
and even the
interest that will
be gained from the projects income in the bank
before the funds are used. If you are listing
other grants, it is best to specify whether the
grant has already been secured (committed)

Expenditures. Here you should list all of

the costs necessary for the operation of the
project as described in the narrative. For each
budget line, you should provide a calculation
showing how that amount was derived (i.e.,
Internet costs of 2,500 Thai baht per month X

How Wide a Net to Cast?

Grant-writers often wonder whether they are
supposed to include budget information for the
organization as a whole, or only for the project in
question. When you are not sure, it is best to check
with funder; however, usually they want only the
information for the specific project for which the
proposal is being written. Organization-wide
information can be provided by including a copy of
the previous years financial audit as an appendix to
the proposal (see Additional Information, p. 87).

83

12 months) so that the expense is clear and

justified.

social security, insurance, or other benefits,

these should be listed as well.

Include the full project expenses including

equipment, personnel, transportation, office
supplies/stationary, training, advertising, and
evaluations. Each category of expense should
be itemized as exactly as possible, so that it is
clear where each Dollar (or Riel, Kyat, Dong,
Yuan, Baht, or Rupiah) is being spent.

It is important to include the administrative

costs for the project in the budget as well. The
project cannot operate without office space,
financial management, utilities, maintenance,
office supplies,
administrative staff;
Make sure you
unless administrative

understand what the

expenses are
funders rules are
specifically excluded
by the funders
regarding allowable costs.
Budget Line Example: Equipment
guidelines, they
Grantmakers have very
should be a part of
Item
Calculation
USD
EUR
specific ideas and rules
the budget.
about what their monies
Video cameras 3 items X 360 USD $1,080 841
Administrative,
can be used for. Honor
financial, and
that. - Deborah S. Koch,
management
Exchange Rate (1 USD = 1.2846 EUR)
How to Say It: Grantwriting
personnel should
also be included,
For each personnel position, list the title of the
with their salaries expressed as a percentage of
position, the number of people in that position,
their time spent on the project in question. The
the positions salary expressed in terms of the
costs for financial audits and external
pay cycles (i.e., 2,100,000 Vietnamese Dong per
evaluations should also be included here (as a
month), the number of pay cycles in the project
percentage of the total, unless the
period (i.e., 12 months), and the positions
audit/evaluation will be specific to the project).
percentage of time spent contributing to the
Check funder guidelines closely; they will
project (i.e., 50% of time). If non-salary
frequently impose a limit to the amount of
expenses are incurred for personnel, such as
budget that can be allocated
to administrative expenses,
Budget Line Example: Personnel usually 10% or 15%.
Position

Calculation

VND

GBP

Program Manager

2 People X 2,100,000 VND per

month X 12 months X 50% of
time

25,200,000

751

Exchange Rate (1 GBP = 33,549 VND)

84

Qualities of an Effective
Budget
Clear. The
information in the budget
should be well-organized in a
logical fashion, so that the
reader can easily find a specific
piece of information, and can
see the relationships among
the different pieces of

information.
Complete. All necessary expenses
should be included, as should all income
sources.
Detailed. The budget should explain
the basis for determining the cost for each
budget line item, through a cost calculation or
though a note.
Reasonable. The total budget and
individual budget items should be neither too
high nor too low. It should be possible to
achieve the desired impact with the resources
listed in the budget (the budget is sufficient for
the task). It can sometimes be tempting to lowball your costs to make your project appear
efficient, but remember that your organization
will be accountable for fitting within the budget
that you submit!

public relations, evaluation (unless youve

explained this in the narrative), networking,
administrative expenses, etc. These things are
all appropriate to include, of course, but they
should be itemized further so that funders
understand how the funds in these categories
will be spent.
Links with the Proposal Narrative.
Everything should be connected in the budget
and the proposal. There should be nothing is in
the budget thats not in the narrative, just as
there should be nothing is in the narrative
thats not in the budget. The expenses clearly
represent the activities listed in the narrative,
and nothing new is introduced in the budget
that was not adequately described in the
narrative.
Always make sure the budget reflects

Be certain that the expense estimates are neither too

accurately what your narrative says youll be

lean nor on the high side. If you estimate too closely,

doing. Surprises that pop up in the budget

you may not be able to operate within the budget.

with no explanation in the narrative raise

You will have to seek new donors or underwrite part

red flags for reviewers. David Williams,

of the cost out of general operating funds.

Fundraising Professional, Quoted in Timothy

Consistently overestimating costs can lead to other

and Judith Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in

problems. If you have a lot of money left over at the

Grant Writing

end, it will reflect badly. - Jane C. Geever, The

Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal Writing
Budget Narrative
You may consider (or the funder may require)
including a budget narrative (also called a
budget justification). This is a narrative section
in which each of the costs in the budget is
explained fully. You may want to pay special
attention to explaining costs for expenses which
might seem unusual or excessive.

Demonstrates Efficiency. The budget

should show reasonable and efficient use of
resources that are appropriate to the objectives
in the narrative. For example, the number of
staff and volunteers listed in the budget
matches with the expected outcomes. All
expenditures in the budget are needed to
achieve the goal (no extraneous spending), and
the allocated resources are sufficient to achieve
the goal (no under-budgeting).
Demonstrates Transparency. Each
expense in the budget should be clearly
explained what it is for; you will want to break
down expenses as much as possible. Try to
avoid vague categories for staff development,

The budget narrative is also the place to explain

your fundraising plan if the funder will not be
covering the full cost of the project. The more
sources of committed funds versus
requested funds, the better; but, even
without firm commitments you should use this
85

There are some roles in where ER volunteers

may be able to contribute with regard to
budgets in proposals. These will depend on
your organization and how the process works
there.

How Much Should We Ask For?

The answer to this question will vary, depending on
the total budget of the project, the needed funds
which your organization has not yet secured, the
guidelines in the RFP, and other factors. You can
research the amounts that the funder usually gives to
other organizations to get a ballpark. You want to be
careful here not to ask for too much or too little. The
most important thing you can do is make sure that the
amount requested is proportional to the impact the
project will bring. Some ways to measure this are perparticipant or per-unit cost (remembering the level of
impact the project provides to each person) as a
means of proportionality.

Requesting more than a grant maker typically

awards can result in a turndown. Timothy and
Judith Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in Grant Writing

space to make the funder confident that your

organization will be able to get the resources to
pull off the project.

A budget narrative may be a separate section in

the narrative, or it may be another tab in the
Excel document. The budget narrative should
be listed in the same order as the budget
document.
ER Volunteers and Budgets
ER volunteers involvement in the budgets
section of the proposal will usually be minimal.
No volunteers surveyed said that they had
helped in creating budgets, and only 31% said
they had helped to edit budgets. This is best
done by the financial staff of your organization,
who know the extent of the expenses and the
cost of the items in the local area.

Communicating the funders guidelines

to financial staff. The budget must be in
accordance with the funders requirements
for format, audit requirements, reporting
requirements, cost-sharing, expenses which
are allowed to be included, caps on the
amount of administrative costs which can
be included, currency and exchange rates to
be used, etc. You may be able to help
research these guidelines and share them
with the financial staff.
Facilitating communication between
project staff and financial staff. It is
essential that the contributions of the
project staff match with those of the
financial staff, so that the project narrative
and the budget lines match perfectly. You
may be able to help these two crucial
departments to coordinate their
information in the proposal-writing process.
Double-checking. You may be able to add
value by checking the budget before
submission to the funder. Is the format
clear and does it follow the funders
guidelines? Is the
spelling, grammar, and
math correct in the
Double-check
document? Are there
budgets.
any budget lines that
Sarah, ER
could be further
Volunteer,
itemized to make the
Vietnam
budget more
transparent?

Remember
A clear and complete budget will be as strong as
the rest of the proposal in showing your
organizations capacity and ability to implement
the project successfully.

86

Letters of reference are not usually helpful to

funders, so dont include these unless they are
required. Media developed by the organization,
such as brochures, newsletters, and videos
should be used sparingly and only when they
clearly connect to the project in the proposal.

Additional Information
Grant-seekers will sometimes want to include
additional information or media with the grant
proposal. The rule on this is to check the
funders guidelines; some will specify that
nothing other than the proposal should be
submitted, while others will require certain
materials to be attached.
Where the funder does not
specify their guidelines on
this, then usually you will
only include information
which strengthens the
connections or claims made
in the proposal. If you are
on the fence about
including something, then
its probably best not to.
The most helpful
information that can be
appended to your proposal
(or may be required by the
funder) include:

Remember

Never force the reader to consult

an appendix in order to make
sense of your project narrative.
Timothy and Judith Kachinske, 90
Days to Success in Grant Writing

Videos and DVDs are hard for

our foundation to manage and
they dont help; so please dont
include those. Maria Mattola,
Foundation Representative, Quoted
in Jane C. Geever, The Foundation
Centers Guide to Proposal Writing

Additional information that

is included in the appendix
to a proposal is just that
additional. Dont bury a key
point of information about
your project in the
appendix! This information
is used only to support the
narrative. The proposal
body should be able to
stand alone.

Cover Letter
The cover letter is the letter
that will introduce the
proposal to the funder. It
will sit atop the proposal
and appendices if a physical
proposal is submitted; more
often, it is the body of the
email to which the proposal,
budget, and appendices are
attached. In any case, it is
the first piece of writing
that the funder will see
about the project.

Your organizations
registration documents.
Nonprofit applicants would be
These should include
well-advised to refrain from
the scanned original
adding any unnecessary
copies, as well as a
certified English
attachmentsever! Jane C.
translation.
Geever, The Foundation Centers
A list of board members
Guide to Proposal Writing
and their affiliations.
Financial audits from
previous years.
An effective cover letter will get the reader
Timeline(s) or a Gantt chart showing the
activities in the project.
excited about the project, solidify the
Resumes/CVs of management and/or key
relationship between the funder and your
project staff.
organization, and emphasize the main vision
List of the organizations current and future
and goal of the project.
funding organizations.
Organizational chart.
87

Review donor guidelines closely.

- Nol,
Volunteer,
The
coverER
letter
is key.Thailand
It should

The cover
letter should
be one page
or less.

What to
Include
be clear and make me want to turn
In the cover
the page. Hildy Simmons,
letter, you
Foundation Representative, Quoted
want to get
the reader
in Jane C. Geever, The Foundation
excited
Centers Guide to Proposal Writing
about the
project. Here it is okay to use a bit more
passionate language than in the proposal,
talking about visions and hopes. The letter
should explicitly link the project to the funders
goals and priorities.

Remember

If youve requested funding

from the same source before,
always know the history o
previous proposal and current
relationship with that funder.
Sarah, ER Volunteer, Vietnam

The cover
letter
prepares the reader for how you want them to
feel when they read the proposal: excited and
mindful of the relationship that the funder has
enjoyed with your organization.

Qualities of a Good Proposal

The cover letter is part of the relationship

between your organization and the funder, so it
should cite any previous interactions that your
organization has had with the funder. If they
have funded your organization in the past, be
sure to thank them for their support and
reiterate the positive outcomes from the
partnership.

While there will never be a perfect proposal,

there are some general qualities that can help
to move a proposal higher up in the stack.
The Proposal Follows the Funders
Guidelines to the Letter
No matter how well-written, compelling, or
complete a proposal may be, if it disregards the
funders guidelines regarding format, content,
space, or method of submission, then it is

Finally,
the cover
A cover letter is more a personal
letter
communication than a grant
should
proposal. Deborah S. Koch, How
prime the
to Say It: Grantwriting
reader for
the
project that is presented in the proposal.
Briefly state the projects goal and summarize
the projects activities so that the reader will
know what to look for in the proposal.

The grantmakers we talked to were quite

consistent in stating that in fact there is no one
magic formula for proposals. Rather, they
recommend a holistic approach to thinking and
strategizing about the proposal-writing process.
They agree that the most important steps to take
are also the most obvious: follow the funders

How to Write a Cover Letter

It should be formatted as a letter, with
salutation, body, and closing. Try to address
the reviewer by name in the salutation. Your
organizations executive director should sign
the letter. Include contact information for your
organization.

guidelines, do your research thoroughly prior to

any contact with a funder, and always keep the
lines of communication open with current and
prospective funders on your list. Strive
constantly to improve and view the process and a
continuous learning process. Jane C. Geever,
The Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal Writing
88

research to support its claims. On the other

hand, statistics and data should be used
sparingly; if there are complicated information
or charts, include them in an appendix so the
reader can refer to them later.

almost guaranteed not to be funded. In many

cases, proposals that do not exactly conform to
the requirements are discarded without ever
being reviewed. Grant-writing can be tough
and competitive; you will want to be sure that
your proposal gets a chance to compete and
isnt disqualified from the start.

Your words need the power of clarity to

The Proposal is Free of Spelling and

Grammar Mistakes

make sure you are understood. They need

the power of logic to erase doubt about the
strength of the project. And they need the
power of passion to rouse empathy and to

Always double-check grammar, spelling, all the

little details. Sarah, ER Volunteer, Vietnam

assert your commitment. - Deborah S. Koch,

How to Say It: Grantwriting

Typos, misspellings, and grammar mistakes

distract from the message of your proposal.

Try to write for the educated layperson. Define

all acronyms and terms unless you have seen
them in the RFP.

The Proposal is Written in Simple, Direct

Language

Information is Presented in a Clear Way

Be mindful about the best way to present the
information in the proposal. Charts, tables,
diagrams, flowcharts, and bulleted lists can save
space and add clarity. However, watch out not
to overdo it; there should be text as well to
explain the different parts.

Pay attention to detail. Proofread your

proposal. Double-check the math on the
budget. Spell the name of the grantmaker
correctly. Laura H. Gilbertson, Foundation
Representative, Quoted in Jane C. Geever, The

It may be helpful to add a header or footer with

page numbers and the name of your
organization, unless the funders guidelines
specify otherwise.

Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal Writing

The best writing style for the proposal is to
write clearly, avoiding jargon, clichs, and
metaphor. It is best to write like a journalist,
with short sentences and active voice. The
choice of words is important; they should be
factual, but they also need to pop and stand
out.
The prose should be persuasive without being
demanding, strategically using statistics and

Clarity, clarity, claritycrispness, crispness, crispness.

Get to the point. Avoid too much verbiage. We ask
people to express in very few words the facts about
what they are doing, what they want to do, and the
emotions behind it. Develop that sense of electricity.
David Ford, Foundation Representative, Quoted in Jane
C. Geever, The Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal
Writing
89

The Proposal Sections Link Together

The Proposal is
Concise

Be concise More
information is not always
better. Compelling and
specific information that
supports program and cost
structure is more
important. Sarah, ER
Volunteer, Vietnam

Although the proposal is divided into many

separate sections, they must link together to
form a cohesive whole. The information in each
section should be related to the other sections,
providing all the pieces to make a strong
argument in favor of your project.

Aside from being

within the funders
required page
limitations, which are
often quite stingy, the
proposal should be
brief. Say only what is
needed to make the
point, and nothing
more. Every sentence should move the
narrative forward toward the goal of
demonstrating that your organization should be
the one that is selected to do the work that you
describe in the proposal.

The intervention your organization proposes

should be sufficient to meet the challenge
presented in the statement of need. The vision
is linked to the strategy that will be used, and
the strategy is linked to tactics and activities on
the ground. The resources in the budget are
reasonable and sufficient to deliver on the
promised activities. The anticipated outcomes
are linked to tactics and resources, and the
results are measured with indicators to
demonstrate success or needed changes in the
project.

The Proposal is Organized Logically

The proposal should flow in a logical way,
answering the questions that are likely to come
to the reader as they go through. You want
every sentence to connect to your main point,
to move the argument forward in some way.

It is important that you have a good sense of

how the project fits into the philosophy and

Deborah S. Koch notes that the proposal should

be easy to read, easy to follow, and easy to
find information.

mission of your organization, and the need that

the proposal is addressing. These concepts
must be well-articulated in the proposal.
Funders want to know that a project reinforces

the overall direction of an organization.

Can Funders Reading Your Proposal Answer

These Questions?
-

Jane C. Geever, The Foundation Centers Guide to

Proposal Writing

Do I understand the need the applicant wants

to address and is that need compelling?
Do I understand what the applicant is proposing
and what the likelihood of success is given the
information the applicant has provided?
Is the applicants capacity clear and reliable?

The Proposal is Written Specifically for the

Funder
As in any kind of writing, you should write to
your audience in a grant proposal. The most
successful proposals will demonstrate that the
project aligns with the funders goals.

- From AmeriCorps Georgia, AmeriCorps: The Grant

Review Process

90

funders understanding of the problem and its

causes, who the target beneficiaries are, and
where (and by whom) interventions should take
place.

First you need to

know what the
proposal, you must find the
funders focus
points are. You will
hookthe words that will
come to know
resonate with meaning,
these by
purpose, and connection to
researching the
the proposal reviewer. You
funders current
find the hook by first
and past grantees,
identifying the underlying
looking into the
beliefs and principles of the
funders history,
prospective grantor. and reading their
Deborah S. Koch, How to Say
materials. You will
use this
It: Grantwriting
reconnaissance to
find out what about the project will resonate
the most with the funder. Specifically you are
seeking to identify the funders goals, vision,
preferred problem-solving approach(es),
and their political orientation.
When you are writing a

Use this information to tailor your proposal to

the specific donor, showing throughout the
proposal that your project perfectly fits
together with the funders priorities, and will
advance the funders vision.

Things that Make Funders Happy

Trends in the NGO World

Donors and NGOs go through cycles where

certain things will be emphasized over others;
pay attention to these trends, and be sure to
highlight them
if they apply to
your
Todays funders are very
organization.
interested in collaboration. - Jane
Be sure to
C. Geever, The Foundation Centers
mention these
Guide to Proposal Writing
only if you can
back them up!

The preferred problem-solving approach

is the priority that the funder places on
certain strategies to address the
problem in question; these might
include direct service, prevention,
education, research, public awareness,
advocacy, activism, etc. The funders preferred
problem-solving approach is related to the

One generic proposal submitted to all donors really

will not work. While its okay to start with a generic
set of information about the organization and
project, each proposal must be customized to fit the
funders goals, priorities, and proposal guidelines. If
you start from pre-prepared information, be careful
when cutting and pasting so that the transitions are
there, avoid repetition, and that the correct funder
name is represented.

91

Collaboration. Collaborations between

two or more organizations (or with
government or private-sector agencies) are
often viewed positively by donors.
Collaboration gives donors the impression
of expanding the reach of their support. If
your organization has a formal
collaboration, it might be helpful to discuss
this in the proposal.
Participation. Inclusion of members of
the target group in the design,
management, delivery, and/or oversight of
the project is a positive for many donors. It
shows funders that your target group is
empowered and has ownership of the
project rather than just being passive
recipients of aid. If your project or
organization has formal involvement of

From a Real Grant Reviewer: The

Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Participatory Approach: A broad term

for the involvement of primary and
other stakeholders in an undertaking
(e.g. project planning, design,
implementation, monitoring and
evaluation). (From UNFPA)

Actual Comments from a Winning Proposal

Score of 95 out of 100
Strengths of Proposal A:

beneficiaries in its operations, detail this in

the proposal.
Innovation and
Replicability. Many
Grant makers are
funders are looking
interested in
to be a part of
funding programs
launching a new idea
or a novel approach
that they consider to
to a problem that
be new and
can be applied in
innovative.
other locations. If
Timothy and Judith
your organization is
investigating a new
Kachinske, 90 Days to
approach or starting
Success in Grant
a pilot project, you
Writing
can emphasize this
in the proposal.
Evidence-based approaches. Many
donors are seeking to fund approaches that
are based on research and strategies that
are proven to work. If your organization
has a documented track record in its
particular strategy, you can mention this in
the proposal.

92

Strong use of data in describing the need

that exists for this project in the community.
Excellent use of prior participants outcomes
and results from external evaluation.
Clear and thorough description of the
activities of the project.
Excellent description of the projects
outcomes and indicators for measuring their
achievement.
Good use of listing awards/achievements to
highlight the organizations strengths in
management.
Strong description of organizational
structure and governance.
Good description of the staff members who
will work directly and indirectly to support
the project.
Strong plan for financial sustainability.
Good details about the fundraising plan for
anticipated match funds.
Good budget narrative with explanations for
each expense.

Weaknesses of Proposal A:
- The organizations mission statement was
not clearly stated.
- Would like to know the total number of staff
in the organization.
- Would like to see detailed plan of the
organizations expansion into new
communities served in the proposed project.
With the administrative and supervisory
staff located in another city, there is some
concern that additional challenges may
result from launching the new sites
remotely.
- Personnel costs seem high.

Weaknesses of Proposal B, cont.:

- Would like to see more thorough description of
the anticipated project outcomes, with details of
when and how they will be measured.
- Acronyms are used without being defined.
- Would like to see more information about history
and organizational structure of the organization.
- Would have liked more details on the other
sources of funding that the organization has
secured (financial and in-kind) for the project.
- Would have liked detailed description of the
responsibilities/contributions of each of the staff
members assigned to the project.

From a Real Grant Reviewer: The Good,

The Bad, and the Ugly
Actual Comments from a Losing Proposal 62 out of
100 points
Strengths of Proposal B:
-

Data and research are used to show the extent of

the social problems facing the target group for the
project.
Strong description of plans to ensure compliance
with grant requirements and financial
management.
Narrative demonstrates a great deal of research
and planning into the projects activities, and a
willingness to incorporate new findings into
project design so that it is evidence-based.
Strong discussion of the organizations focus on
and expertise in collaborations and partnerships.
Good description of organizations management
team and governance structure.
Good breakdown of expenses in budget narrative.

Things that are Make Funders

Cringe
Common Pitfalls in Grant Proposals
- The proposal describes a need but does not
provide data or source reference.
- The proposal describes the need in national or
regional terms; it is unclear what the specific
need is for the local area and target group the
organization proposes to serve.

Weaknesses of Proposal B:
- Would like to see the statement of need provide
analysis of the problems facing the community
that is framed from the situation of the target
groups, rather than in terms of the programs
focus. It wasnt clear from the narrative how the
social issues raised are linked to the proposed
project.
- It is very concerning that the narrative lists factors
that exclude groups of potentially at-risk youth
based on immigration status without explaining
the reasons for this. Such apparently
discriminatory requirements are a serious
consideration and the reasons why they have been
adopted should be clearly explained!
- While the narrative provides a glimpse of a
creative and comprehensive project, the project
description was unclear. How are participants
referred to / recruited for the program? How is it
structured, where does it take place, what are the
expectations for participants? What is the project
cycle (one-year, ongoing)? What are the
respective roles of each of the staff members and
partner organizations in the projects operations?

- The project description is broad and has no

links to the organizations mission.
- There is no clarity on how the proposed
project will address the need described in the
proposal.
- The applicant is a new organization and/or has
no track record of managing grants.
- The program design is not clear.
- The organizations management structure is
not clear.
- Proposal narrative does not identify the who,
what, when, where, how.

93

and limitations. When its good enough, turn it

in. When the deadline arrives, turn it in.

- There is not enough information to determine

if the proposed project will be successful (i.e.,
lacks effective outcomes and indicators).
- Request for budget and financial support do
not match the program design in the narrative.

As you pause to stretch your weary fingers

and tired back from laboring over your

- The organization is not requesting a

reasonable amount of funds for what they are
proposing to do (either too small or too large).

proposal, bring yourself back to the reason

youre doing your work. Connect with the
core motivations and passions that keep you

- The proposal does not outline enough

resources in terms of funding, staff, and
management capacity to adequately manage
the program.

at it, day after day. Then pour that dedication,

(From AmeriCorps Georgia, AmeriCorps: The

Grant Review Process)

all you could. - Martin Teitel, Thank You for

commitment, and hope for a better world into

every syllable of your proposal. When youre
finished, sit back and know that youve done
Submitting Your Proposal

A Short List of Unequivocal Donts

1. Never claim to be unique.
2. Dont claim to be a demonstration
project unless youre using that phrase
in the rather narrow technical sense
and can prove it.
3. Dont rely on spellcheck or the
purported ability of spreadsheet
programs to add figures.
4. Never criticize the competition.
5. Avoid jokes and sarcasm, slang, and
most technical words and terms of art.
6. Dont use colored paper or scented
cover letters.
(From Martin Teitel, Thank You for Submitting
Your Proposal).

Remember: Dont Stress

Your proposal will always approximate
perfection, never reaching it. Its alright!
Funders are used to working with organizations
who do the best they can within their resources

94

Chapter 6: Grants and the ER Volunteer

may be expected to coordinate the whole
process. You may have considerable resources
(technology, experienced staff, materials
translated to English) at your disposal, or you
may be without the most crucial resource of all
when it comes to grants sufficient time!

Chapter 6: Grants and the ER

Volunteer
Broad descriptions of parts of a proposal, the
grant cycle, and project management
terminology can sometimes give the impression
that grant-writing is straightforward, onedimensional, or that there is a one-size-fits all
methodology.

Snapshot: What Past Volunteers

Have Been Doing

This couldnt be further from the truth! In real

life, grant-writing takes place in dynamic
organizations, with creative and dedicated
staff/volunteers who find myriad ways to link
resources with needs. On-the-ground grantwriting is messy and complex and inspiring and
painstakingly slow and friendship-building and
so, so necessary.

Volunteers experiences are as varied as there

are people and posts. To get a sense of the
overall range of the duties and contributions
that VIA volunteers take on, volunteers were
surveyed in February and March 2012 about
their experiences in their posts.
When it comes to grants and fundraising, there
is considerable variation among volunteers
involvement. Two-thirds of ER volunteers said
that grants and fundraising were part of their
duties, while nearly 40% of volunteers in hybrid
ER/ET posts said this was part of their duties.
No full-time ET volunteers cited grants and
fundraising as part of their duties.

Within each organization, the process of

seeking, applying for, and managing grants will
operate differently. As well, each ER volunteer
will bring his or her own unique skills and
experiences that can be utilized to benefit the
organization.
Your role in this process at your organization
might not be immediately clear to you. You
may end up with a small but crucial role, or you

Most volunteers helped in applying for grants

from international sources, while several
volunteers (mostly from China) had also helped
in applying for grants from within their country
of operations.

No matter what your past experiences with grants,

you can provide a valuable contribution to
your organization in terms of grants. The only skills
necessary for grant writing are the ability to write
well and strong skills of research as long as you
have these, you will be able to learn everything else
you need! Of course, prior exposure to grant
writing, budgetary matters, and/or M & E will
benefit you greatly as you seek to apply your own
experiences to the work at your post.

Among those who help with grant-writing at

their posts, volunteers were involved in almost
every aspect of the process; the most common
contribution made by volunteers was by editing
grant proposals written by their colleagues.
The most common grant-writing roles for
volunteers in ER and ER/ET hybrid posts were:
locating grant opportunities, writing/editing
letters of inquiry, writing/editing grant
95

and effort, which

means that it takes
time. If you are
new to writing or
editing grant
proposals and
reports, it will take
longer to build your
skills and
confidence as well.
Unfortunately, in
most organizations,
this is one luxury
that you are
unlikely to be
afforded.

proposals, communicating
with donors, and
writing/editing grant
reports.

Common GrantWriting Challenges

There are some difficulties
that are nearly universal
among volunteers in their
grants experience at their
post. Its helpful to know
about these in advance,
because when these
challenges inevitably arise,
youll know that it has
nothing to do with you.

Work is busy and can be timeconsuming even after hours. In a

large organization like my post,
multiple reports are often given
to the volunteer with little notice
and under a time constraint.
ER Volunteer

Grants to translate are given to

me with a few-hour deadline. I
think the directors
misconceptions are that it
shouldnt take me long. The
reality is that it needs much more
editing than the time allows. I do
my best in the time I have.
ER/ET Volunteer

Not enough time. Meeting

a funders standard for
effective grant writing takes a great deal of skill

96

Its not that your

organization
doesnt want you to
do a good job, or
that winning the
grant isnt important to
them. At many posts, the
most urgent need always
takes priorityand that
lingering grant report
doesnt move to the top of
the organizational to-do list
until just before its due.
Be politely assertive about
the amount of time you feel
you need to do an adequate
job on the writing and/or
editing. And if you find
yourself once again with 16
hours worth of editing and
only 4 hours to do it in, take
a deep breath and
remember that its not
personal; in fact, its the

Other than just waiting your turn, what can be

done? Try to ease your translators burden by
communicating early and often what is and is
not needed for the report. If the staff
producing the reports or charts for the grant
arent clear on what is needed, they will not be
able to provide it to you. The right combination
of proactivity and patience will serve you well in
this situation.

status quo. Old habits are hard to break, and it

will probably take more than one reminder to
change the way the organization is used to
operating.
Language and communication. Its
often quite a hefty task just getting the
intensive volume of information needed to
write a grant report or proposal from the local
language into English. Remember all of the
details and information in the last chapter that
would ideally be included in a grant proposal:
local-area statistics on the problem situation,
details of the location and measurement of
activities, explanations of the calculations of
individual budget lines, the organizations
history and board...

Organizational registration/status
requirements. Every funder will have a long
list of eligibility requirements for the
organizations that theyre seeking to fund, and
most of the time this includes the requirement
that the organization be legally registered as a
non-profit or charity organization (or equivalent
status) in the country where the project is
operated. In the US, this non-profit registration
is called 501(c)3 status.

So, for any of that information to make it into

your proposal, its likely to have to be translated
into English, often by a very-highly-in-demand
bilingual staff person who has dozens of other
duties to manage. Google translate is getting
better as time goes on, no doubt, but it once
translated Daughters Center 20-Year
Celebration in Thai to Celebrating 20 Years of
Zero Women in English. No, Google translate
still cant take the place of a good, oldfashioned flesh-and-blood translator.

Most of the organizations where volunteers are

posted are registered in the country where they
work, but very few will have 501(c)3 status
since they dont work inside of the United
States. So whats an organization to do when a
funder specifies that the grantee must be
registered as a 501(c)3?
Most often, funders want their grantee
organizations to have 501(c)3 status so that
they can claim a tax exemption on their
contribution. If you want their support, you will
have to find a way to get their support in a way
that allows them to get the tax exemption in
return. Some organizations manage this by
using a registered 501(c)3 organization to serve
as a fiscal agent and receive the funds on their
behalf, either by working with an existing USbased non-profit willing to serve as fiscal agent
or by forming their own and having US-based
supporters launch a Friends of .
organization.

There were challenges in gathering data from

project staff, deciphering the data from project
staff, and sifting through unnecessary data
from project staff. I addressed this through
meeting with project staff directly with ample
time to procure data, by communicating why
donors request what they request, and by
keeping the lines of communication as open as
possible.
ER Volunteer
97

The main
challenges have
been the NGOs
lack of eligibility
for grants that
require the
organization to
be officially
registered in
China and the
NGOs lack of
eligibility for
grants that
require the
organization to
be 501(c)3 tax
exempt. Were
addressing these
challenges by
starting small
social enterprise
projects to bring
in local income.
ER/ET Volunteer

You could also try to contact the donor to

explain your organizations situation; they will
be familiar with the barriers to registration in
your country and may be able to make
exceptions if the organization has a compelling
reason for being unregistered.

Several fundraising
organizations provide
certification of 501(c)3
equivalency and can help
your organization to receive
donations and grants. The
most well-known are
Give2Asia
(www.give2asia.org) and
GlobalGiving
(www.globalgiving.org);
both require an extensive
registration and screening
process, and both charge a
15% administrative fee for
their service.

Tips for Everyone Involved with

Grants
- Relationships are key. Creating and
maintaining a strong rapport with your key
contacts in your organization will pay intensive
dividends when it comes time to bring them
together to help with a grant proposal or
report. This should start well before any
deadlines or grants are on the horizon.
Dropping by to ask about their families, sharing
snacks that you bought in the morning market,
and complimenting a new pair of earrings or a
new hairstyle will go a long way in building
those relationships that you need to accomplish
your work.

For the minority of posts

where the organizations
havent registered even
with the government in the
country where they work,
this is usually because of
the particular political
situation, or a very subjective registration
process, in certain countries. In that situation,
the organization might try to find another
registered organization in the local area to act
as a fiscal agent and receive the funds on your
behalf, or actually partner and collaborate with
a registered organization to deliver the project.

The relationships you establish

with your colleagues are critical.
You cant serve colleagues will if
you dont know them and they
dont know you. Your aim is to
developed collaborative
professional relationships
characterized by trust and
respect. Timothy and Judith
Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in
Grant Writing

My post is registered in the country where we

work, but the small organization founded by one
of our former volunteers isnt. Since her project
also supports children in difficult circumstances,
the director agreed to manage grants on her
organizations behalf until she could complete
the long and expensive registration process.
ER Volunteer

Knowing the people involved in building and

writing proposals and reports will benefit your
efforts, whether you are editing or writing. This
will usually include the project staff, the
organizations directors, and the financial staff.
Get to know them and their departments early,
98

I had to learn to build relationships with the

project staff and the financial director outside of
our grant-related work. I knew that it was time
to become better friends with them when one
day I walked into the room, and they said
dejectedly, Oh, no. What else does she need from
me? - Sarah, ER Volunteer, Thailand
so that you can leverage these relationships
when it comes time to follow up with them
about their writing.

Internal
Relationships
(Directors,
Finance Staff,
Project Staff,
Volunteers,
Beneficiaries)

communicate it to funders. Sometimes you can

get what you need to know from reading a
description of the project, but wont going out
to visit the homes of the beneficiaries give you a
better picture of who exactly the project is
designed to help? Accompanying the project
staff into the field will let you directly observe
how skilled and professional they are, so that
you can describe their passion and integrity in
the grant proposal. The more experiences you
have, the more detailed your reports and
proposals will be; it will also help you to
understand more fully the context in which the
organization works.

Get to know everything you possibly can

External
Relationships
(Foundation
Staff,
Supporters,
Partners,
Corporation
Staff)

about the institution you serve. Sit in on

meetings, glean reports, get to know the
directors. Find out what theyre excited about.
Good grant writers are always thinking about
bring people and ideas from a variety of
different disciplines or functional areas
together. David Williams, Fundraising
Professional, Quoted in Timothy and Judith
Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in Grant Writing

Get as much perspective and

background knowledge about your
organization as possible. The more firsthand
exposure that you have to the work of your
organization, the better you will be able to

Accept that you cannot achieve

perfection. There is nothing wrong in
approaching a task with a realistic appraisal of
what you can hope to achieve given the
resources and time at your disposal. If you
practice this principle as you write and edit
grant documents, it can help you to maintain a
healthy outlook. While its tempting to always
measure our work against a fantasy of what a
perfect report or proposal would be, we do
better to measure our work against a modest
standard of what we actually have the
opportunity and ability to do. Accept that you
can only do the best you can do.

I have pushed more exposure to the field to see

the work were doing first hand. I think its
important for all staff, including volunteers, to
have a firm grasp on the activities of the
organization, how those activities are received in
the target communities, and what challenges
remain. The only way to do this is to get out there.
ER Volunteer
99

Tips for Writing

Prepare what
you can in advance.
Having basic information
about your organization
and its projects ready will
enhance your response
time to a grant proposal or
letter of inquiry. Try to
collect documents about
the organizations history,
background, budget,
audits, board members,
and strategy. Try to get
information about the
goals, objectives, activities,
target groups, personnel,
evaluations, and outcomes
of the projects as well.

Give yourself as much time as

possible. Your most valuable asset in drafting a
letter of inquiry, proposal, or report is time; try
to start the process a minimum of six weeks (or
more!) beforehand. First, you need to become
familiar with the requirements and guidelines
for what information is needed to produce the
proposal or report, which will often be quite
complex and detailed. As well, it is essential to
allow sufficient time for all of the different staff
members who will contribute to the proposal or
report, and to include extra time for inevitable
delays, miscommunications, technology
failures, document translations, and the like.

Get out in front of the deadlines and chip away

at it. Be sure to overcommunicate your progress
and get your colleagues to verify and OK your
work as it progresses. This will help mitigate
(although not eliminate, despite your best
efforts) the need to duplicate effort. Frank, ER
Volunteer, Cambodia

Communicate the
needs of the donor to
project staff and
management well in
advance (best to do
this face to face).
Procure information
needed well in
advance and proceed
with polite
persistence! - Nol,
ER Volunteer, Thailand

Ask for or create a

document that lists
basic information
about your
organizations
projects, goals,
objectives, history,
outcomes, cost
structure so you can
use this information
to build and tailor
different grant
proposals. Sarah,
ER Volunteer, Vietnam

Timothy and Judith Kachinskes 90-Day

Proposal Organization Checklist:
- Develop a proposal outline format that can be
adapted for the types of proposals you will be
writing for your organization.
Assemble standard, vetted text to describe your
organization that can be used when appropriate in
background sections of proposals.

Ive had a high

volume of grantwriting responsibility
given on short-term
notice. Im coping by
learning quickly and
trying to create a
schedule for
upcoming/next years
grants.
Sarah, ER Volunteer,
Vietnam

Assemble critical statistical and qualitative data to

support basic needs and interests of your
organization.
Consult with your finance officer to develop an
organizational budget summary suitable for
appending to proposals when required.

100

One challenge has

been decentralized
information. Ive
learned who to ask
for what for the most
part. I also had a
lack of experience in
knowing what
information I needed
to gather. Ive been
finding successful
proposals and
gleaning what/how
information was
presented, and
asking current
sponsors/donors/
partners. Sarah, ER
Volunteer, Vietnam

Communicating
with supervisors is
key. It is important
to have clear
guidelines so you can
successfully write
the application. A
challenge for me was
acquiring all the
necessary
information to fill
out forms for
international
organizations. I
addressed this
problem by
communicating with
my supervisors and
reviewing other
grant applications
and using that
information to
complete the forms.
Natalie, ER/ET
Volunteer, China.

It takes a
village. No one person
can write a grant
proposal (or report) all
by him- or herself,
especially when they
dont know the history
of the organization, the
depth of the local
problem the project will
seek to tackle, the
details of the projects
operations, or the
anticipated costs for the
project. These are all
necessary sections of a
proposal, so you will
need to get this
information from the
other staff in your
organization who have
it.
Over time, you will find
the best way to
communicate within
your organization,
whether its holding
weekly meetings with
all of the needed staff
members to follow up
on the proposals
progress, meeting
individually with the
people whose input you
need, or communicating
through email chains.
No matter how you end
up doing it, the
proposals success
depends on getting all
the people together

Make sure project staff and management

understand the needs of the donor so they
are not compiling unnecessary information.
- Nol, ER Volunteer, Thailand
whose contribution will enhance the proposals
success.
Get a champion in your corner.
Rallying people to help in with a grant proposal
or report can be tough when your
organizations staff have so many pressing
duties and urgent matters that they face. Your
efforts to get information for the proposal or
report will be helped greatly if they are
supported by a high-status person in the
organization who can mobilize the staff. If the
leadership makes it clear that the proposal or
report is a high priority, it will help to bring the
staff on board.

Timothy and Judith Kachinske on Managing

Team-Driven Proposals (Which They All Are):
- All of the groundwork you do to establish good
relationships within your organization will come to
fruition as you begin to manage team-driven
proposals.
Team-driven proposals involve input from all levels
of the organization.
- The team should include the individuals who will be
responsible for implementing the projects, finance
staff, and directors.
The team should have a leader; ideally this will not
be you, but someone with the authority to supervise
all of the other team members and hold them
accountable for their participation.
Help all team members to understand the grantmakers requirements and expectations.
Let the team leader tackle any problems of missed
deadlines or incomplete submissions.

101

There should be many contributors,

but only one writer. While its essential to get
input from many different people, in the end
the proposal or report should be drafted or
reworked by a single person. This will help to
make sure that the document has a consistent
voice and focus; cutting and pasting many
different peoples sections unedited will lead to
a disjointed and confusing proposal.

The image of a writer scribbling away in a

garret, deep in thought and isolated from
human contact, does not fit the grant writer.
On the contrary, grant writing is a very social
activity. The successful grant writer is
continually engaged with others both inside
and outside her organization, pulling together
people and ideas to make it possible for good
things to happen. There comes a time, of
course, when the grant writer must close the

The document should be fully integrated

door and take responsibility for the actual

without separate chunks. Some proposals

writing of a grant. However, in the days or

read as if five different people wrote the

weeks leading up to that time a lot of

proposal, which may be the reality, but it

interpersonal relationships need to be

needs to all pull together. Leslie

managed to maximize the chances for

Silverman, Foundation Representative,

success. Timothy and Judith Kachinske, 90

Quoted in Jane C. Geever, The Foundation

Days to Success in Grant Writing

Centers Guide to Proposal Writing

Keep good records. Keep copies of all

the documents you submit, since you never
know how they might serve you, or the next
volunteer, later down the line. You might
recycle the organizational description in
another proposal, or refer to the excellent
outcomes from that report in a proposal to
another organization. Certainly its absolutely
necessary to keep the proposal handy when
writing the reports, since the
outcomes/indicators and budget will be used as
the standard against which your project will be
measured. Even in the long-term, the
organization will want to know whether they
have applied for grants with this funder before,
and what the result was of that proposal.

Seek editors far and wide. Allow for

as many rounds of editing as you have the time
for. Certainly its essential that the leaders of
your organization have a chance to review the
letter of inquiry, proposal, or report before it is
submitted; after all, its their name that is on
the line! It is also helpful to have other
colleagues edit the proposal, as they may be
able to suggest other ways to present the
information about your organization that have
been successful in the past. Its also a great
idea to have an
editor who is
completely
If possible, always
unfamiliar with the
double-check
project, since they
information and
presentation of that
can give unbiased
information with the
feedback about the
leadership of the
clarity and
organization. Sarah,
coherence of the
ER Volunteer, Vietnam
document.
102

Save your work for the next person, and youd

thank the person before you who saved
his/her work for you. - Sarena, ER/ET
volunteer, China

Push for
Communicate
plenty of time.
regularly and
Effective editing
effectively about
always takes a
your deadlines and
good deal of time,
how much time you
and even more
need to complete a
project. Often,
may be needed
projects are
when language
dropped on my lap
barriers and
with unrealistic
extensive NGO
deadlines (such as a
lingo come into
109 page report
which needs to be
play. Even to do a
edited in one day).
cursory edit of a
It is important not
proposal or report,
to accept everything
you might like be
at face value as the
given two to three
staff will continue
to assume you can
days; where more
handle everything.
extensive editing
Let them know what
for style and
you can and cannot
content is needed
do and dont be
(and it often is), at
afraid to say no.
least a week could
Gabrielle, ER
Volunteer,
Cambodia
be provided.
Although this will
often be out of
your control, try to communicate your time
needs in advance, or see if the deadline is
flexible at all (for proposals, unfortunately it
usually isnt).
Work in two (or more) rounds. It
can sometimes be helpful to break your editing
into several rounds. In the first round, you can
check that spelling, grammar, and word choice
in the document are correct. Then, in the
second round, you can tackle reworking the
proposal in terms of its organization and
content.
Have as much background
knowledge about the projects as possible.
Your own knowledge about the projects will
help to guide your understanding of the drafts
that you receive. It can help you to understand

Always do your best to follow grant guidelines

and best practices, even when those who outrank
you suggest doing otherwise. Timothy and
Judith Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in Grant
Writing

Tips for Editing

Editing grant proposals and reports will
probably be one of the more mundane tasks of
your volunteer experience but, its also a
crucial way that volunteers can add value in
their posts. Turning a mediocre (or worse)
proposal into a winning one brings new
relationships, opportunities, and funds for your
organization.
Editing can often be more difficult than writing
a proposal. Even in US organizations, Timothy
and Judith Kachinske note that many staff can
produce a first draft that is unintelligible,
inchoate, disorganized, or otherwise
unacceptable. When the writers (or
translators) have varying levels of English
fluency and familiarity with the grants process,
things can get increasingly murky. Time and
firsthand knowledge are always your greatest
resources when you are tasked with editing.

The extent of my involvement in

grant is doing the final
translation/edit of a proposal that
was already (poorly) translated into
English. - ER/ET Volunteer
Editing can be a mind-numbing
exercise, but it goes with the turf.
ER Volunteer

103

vocabulary and commonly-used acronyms, that

might not be commonly known outside your
organization. It will help you to better grasp
and refine the intended message that the
writers put into the report or proposal.

Past Vols on the Editing that is Needed:

Sometimes the question being asked isnt even

answered; the paragraphs dont make sense; it is
written in uninspiring English.
It is poorly translated and looks like it was done
by Google Translate.

Create a rapport with the grant writers

before their grant even lands on your desk.
Talk to them about the project while theyre
in the process of writing. Hopefully, youll
glean some project knowledge from your
conversations while will help you later on
while editing. And youll be more
comfortable approaching them with
questions. Christine, ER/ET Volunteer,
Indonesia

Provide
constructive feedback
to the writers. To
build on your editing
efforts over time, it can
be helpful to share the
edits youve made, and
the reasons for them,
with the writers who
created the original
document. This can be
done by editing with the
writer present,
explaining each change
as its made; or, this can
be done by sending an
email summarizing your
edits. This can help to
increase the staff
members English skills
and understanding of
grant-writing, as long as
it is presented positively
and done respectfully.

Talk directly to the writers or staff

who are in-the-know. If you are editing a
document and you come across a sentence or
paragraph that just makes you say, huh?, its
a good idea to communicate directly with the
writer or another person in-the-know to find
out what they were trying to say. Sometimes
things make sense when they are said verbally,
but they are much more difficult to
communicate in writing. If you dont
understand what the document is trying to say,
and you work for the organization and have
seen its projects firsthand, then rest assured
that the reader in the funders office will be
even more confused. Try to go back to the
source whenever you can.

I couldnt help but

think how much
better the grants
could be if I talked
to the writers and
gave them writing
tips. I suggested
being involved
earlier in the
process. Usually,
writers dont want
to learn WHY I
made corrections,
they just want me
to make them,
however, I edited
these papers with
the staff member as
a stipulation for my
editing. - ER/ET
Volunteer

Ethics and Grant Writing

I have to ask questions to make sure I
understand the project and retain the
same meaning when I edit (sometimes I
have to overhaul whole sections) and that
takes time. ER/ET Volunteer

Volunteers involved with grants should be

familiar with the expectations on both sides of
the grant agreement, both the funder and the
organization. These expectations will guide the
volunteers actions and the volunteers role in
104

communicating each partys expectations to the

other.

Funders Answer the Question: Whats the

Worst Thing a Grantee Can Do?

Understanding Donor Expectations

Spend the money on something else without

permission. Peter F. Bird, Jr.
- Use the grant money for other than the
requested purpose. This happened once and
we asked for the grant money back. Jane
Hardesty
- Not doing what you said you would do. Not
submitting your reports on time. When the
project is done, well have no clue whether it
met its goals or not. Kathleen Cerveny
- Not acknowledge the grant and simply cash
the check. A. Thomas Hildebrandt
- Fail to be in contact with the foundation about
significant delays in implementation of the
program. We are more than happy to grant
extensions, but we need to know there is a
problem. Julie Farkas
- Lose their enthusiasm about what they are
doing. David Ford
- Quoted in Jane C. Geever, The Foundation
Centers Guide to Proposal Writing

- Transparency. Funders expect that

the organizations they support will be open
about sharing information about the
projects operations and finances, even if
that information is negative.

- Honesty. Funders expect that their

grantees will provide truthful information in
proposals and reports, not willfully omitting
or misrepresenting information.
- Recognition. Funders usually specify in
their contracts the ways that they will be
publicly recognized for supporting the
project. This could include printing their
logo on any publications or materials
produced in the course of the project,
displaying posters with their logo at events,
and acknowledging them in any media
coverage of the project.

- Adherence to the activity plan and

budget. Funders expect that the project
will be implemented as described in the
activity plan, and that all funds will be used
in exact specification according to the
budget.

Understanding Your Organizations

Expectations
- The organizations values and
identity. Your organization may have a set
of policies that is based on deeply-held
values. Organizations that serve children,
religiously affiliated organizations,
environmental organizations, organizations
serving unregistered migrants, etc. may
have their own policies about the kinds of
funders that they consider appropriate to
partner with. They may seek to avoid or
limit receiving funds from alcohol or
tobacco companies, companies with
adverse environmental records,
government entities, etc.

- Advance notification of any

changes. Funders expect that their
grantees will request any needed changes
in the budget or activities for the project in
advance.
- Follow-through with reports.
Funders expect to receive the required
financial and narrative reports, and any
additional requirements such as audits or
external evaluations, in a timely fashion.
105

- The organizations privacy and

protection policies. Be aware of any
policies that your organization may have
that are designed to protect the
confidentiality or respect the privacy of
staff and beneficiaries. For example, your
organization may place limits on site visits,
taking photos or videos onsite, sharing
personal information of beneficiaries,
sharing personal information of staff, etc.

The fundraisers I trust most are the

unassuming non-experts who infect people
around them with authentic passion. Dont
let the pressure of meeting deadlines and

You Can Do This

budgets separate you from your dedication.

Your commitment is the best tool you have. -

While navigating the many demands and

requirements of funders, along with the many
processes and challenges of your organization,
might seem a daunting task, you can definitely
do it. Keep sight of your reasons for coming to
be a part of the organization, and remember
that your contribution is valuable to the
organization you serve.

Martin Teitel, Thank You for Submitting Your

Proposal

106

Chapter 7: Fundraising Beyond Grants

every 12 months as
the grant periods
expire. But making
time to invest in other
sources of support is
essential to the
sustainability and
flexibility of every
organization.

Chapter 7: Fundraising Beyond

Grants

Beyond Grant Writing

Organizations
cannot survive
without a
diversity of
donors. Danah
Craft, Foundation
Representative,
Quoted in Jane C.
Geever, The
Foundation
Centers Guide to
Proposal Writing

Grants are only one piece of

the fundraising puzzle. While
its rare to find the
organization that exists
without grants, its equally rare
to find the organization that
relies solely on grants for its
financial support.

Grant-writing is
one crucial but still
limited part of fundraising. Sarah, ER
Volunteer, Vietnam

Most volunteers have helped their organization

in fundraising beyond grants, from reaching out
to individuals to managing income-generating
projects.

Many organizations pursue

grants to the detriment of
other kinds of fundraising.
Getting information needed for
proposals and reports is timeconsuming and taxing, and the
process must be repeated

Working with your organization to support or

launch other kinds of fundraising to supplement
grant funds is a way to make an immediate
impact that will have long-term benefits for the
organizations
stability and
independence.

Critiques of
OverReliance on
Grant
Funds
Stability and
Sustainability
Grants can pose
a seeming
paradox;
although grants
make up the
majority of funds
in most
organizations
annual budgets,
107

they are a constant source of budget instability

and uncertainty. This is because grants rarely
provide a long-term source of funds to sustain a
project until its goals have been completed.
Rather than maintaining loyalty to a project and
providing continuous support for years on end,
most funders today want to make a short-term
investment that will yield long-term results.

There is increased
competition for
grant dollars
among nonprofits.
There are so many
good agencies and
not enough
money. William
V. Engel,

Dont forget that foundation grants are only

Foundation

one of a broad range of ways of stabilizing

Representative,

your organization; a handful of grants is not a

Quoted in Jane C.

safe funding base. An organization that stays

Geever, The

small but totally owned by its members or

Foundation Centers

clients is one that will make it in the long

Guide to Proposal

run.- Martin Teitel, Thank You for Submitting

Writing

Your Proposal

We started feeling
ever more
constrained by the
amount of grant
writing, site visits,
and reports
required by our
dependence on
foundation
funding. We were
drained by the
rejections, the
waiting. Nicole
Burrowes, Morgan
Cousins, Paula X.
Rojas, and Ije Ude,
The Revolution Will

Not Be Funded
not being able to
secure new funding
after the grant period. They invest significant
time and resources into seeking new grants,
without any guarantee of a return on this
investment. It is hard to effectively plan
projects when the source of support is
unknown.

Every 12 (or, if your organization is lucky, 24)

months, your organization must scramble to reapply for a grant to maintain support for the
project. The funding landscape is dynamic and
can change rapidly, as funding organizations
launch new initiatives and abandon their old
funding priorities or locations. In some of the
countries where ER Volunteers are posted, the
increasing political and economic stability of
their host country results in funders shutting
down their
operations and
moving to where
they perceive there
In a meeting with the
is greater need.
directors, I told them that
we had applied for 17 grants
Organizations that
in the last six months, and
are fully or
had only been approved for
two of them. This is what
primarily
got us talking about other
dependent on
ways to raise money. ER
grants face the
Volunteer
constant worry of

Ownership
A grant competition is literally a process of
pitching and selling your organizations ideas
and projects to funders. An organization that
does not respond to the needs and priorities of
its funders is an organization with no funders. It
is no wonder that organizations feel pressure to
shoehorn their projects into funders guidelines
to remain viable for funding, even if the
funders guidelines are irrelevant, or even
contrary to, the approach and values of the
organization. By holding the purse strings,
funders exercise tremendous influence over
their grantees.
108

This trend has been particularly acute since the

start of the global economic recession, when
the availability of grant funds has diminished
while in most fields there is increased need for
grant funding. With decreasing grant supply
and increasing grant demand, competition for
grant opportunities is on the rise, and it has
made grants into a sellers market. Funders
are issuing ever more stringent requirements
that organizations show evidence of significant
impact, that they demonstrate sustainable
sources of funding, that they hire staff with
professional qualifications, that they utilize
advanced financial management methods and
tools, that they submit more frequent and more
detailed reports about their projects.

Other Opportunities for Funding

Engaging Individuals
Fundraising from individual supporters can
provide benefits to both your organizations
budget and networks. Individuals can be a
crucial source of
support for your
Support from
organization,
individual donors
providing
might be a better
unrestricted funds
source for some of the
that your
priorities that you are
organization can use
according to its own
seeking to fund.
priorities and needs
Moreover, having a
and spreading the
diverse base of funding
word about your
support is beneficial to
organization through
the financial welltheir communities.
being of your
Here are some ways
organization. Jane C.
that others have
Geever, The Foundation
reached out to

In being
accountable to
The framework of funding,
their funders,
in which organizations
organizations
expect to be funded by
can lose sight of
benefactors rather than by
remaining
their constituents, negatively
accountable to
impacts social movements.
their other
stakeholders.
Andrea Smith, The
Trends and fads
Revolution Will Not Be Funded
in funding shift
constantly, and
in chasing the hot new approach to climate
change/education/womens rights, the
organization can become unhinged from its
own approaches, developed in consultation
with its beneficiaries.

individual
supporters:

Centers Guide to
Proposal Writing

- Online. The web is a powerful tool for

outreach. Utilizing social media such as
Facebook, YouTube, blogs, Twitter, Google +,
etc., your organization can reach people all over
the world who care about the issue that you are
working to tackle. Your organization may also
choose to open web channels for individuals to
make donations. GlobalGiving
(www.globalgiving.org) and Give2Asia
(www.give2asia.org) have easy-to-navigate
websites that allow individuals to donate, and
they provide tax deductible status for US and
UK (GlobalGiving only) donors (see details in

Within the context of increasing demands on

the part of funders, there are two things that
organizations should be doing:
-

Pursuing diverse funding streams so

that the org is not dependent on, or
beholden to, foundations.

Working on capacity building to

increase the organizations chances of
getting and sustaining grants, and

109

A Dutch
family came to
visit our office
and see our
projects. The
teenage son
was so moved,
that he held a
human
trafficking
awareness day
at his high
school, with a
sports
competition.
Then he wired
us 3,200 Euros
that he made
from the
fundraiser.
ER Volunteer

We were able
to fund half
the expenses
for our school
from online
donations at
GlobalGiving.
Having a single
link to
fundraising
allowed us to
post the link
everywhere
and promote
our school at
the same
time. ER
Volunteer

supporters that host events in a

less formal way, but still raise
funds and awareness.

Grants and the ER Volunteer, p.

96). Note that these websites
require a good deal of leg-work
on your organizations part in
order to be listed there. Another
option that is easier for your
organization is to set up a PayPal
account, where donations can be
made by anyone with an account
or a credit card, though they will
not be tax deductible. There are
many other options that your
organization can investigate, to
raise your organizations online
profile at the same time as
raising funds.

Social Enterprise
Many organizations have found
great success in setting up
businesses where all of the
profits go to support the
organizations projects. In every
big city across Southeast Asia,
you will come across
restaurants, tour companies,
handicraft shops, language
schools and other kinds of
businesses that generate
income for organizations that
run social and environmental
projects. One of the most
famous examples is the
Cabbages & Condoms
restaurant in Bangkok (now
with multiple locations
throughout Thailand and a new
resort called Birds & Bees) that
supports the Population and
Community Development
Association (PDA), a prominent
family planning and HIV/AIDS
prevention organization.

- Small-scale fundraising
events. Individual supporters
can engage their local networks
and communities by hosting
small-scale fundraising events in
their homes or on their
campuses. House parties, movie
screenings, catered dinners on
campus, breakfast events, or
bake-sale fundraisers offer
individual supporters the
opportunity to mobilize their
friends and colleagues to get
involved in learning about and
supporting your organization.
Some organizations have a
formal corps of individual
supporters that host small-scale
events in their own
communities, providing
promotional materials, publicity,
and recognition for the
individuals that contribute.
Other organizations have

A doctor from
Sweden
contacted us
over email and
said that she
wanted to
help. All our
website
offered were
ways to donate
and to
volunteer, but
she said she
didnt have
very much
money and
didnt have the
time to travel
and work as a
volunteer. She
came up with
the idea to
have a dinner
at her house,
and invite her
colleagues
from the
hospital and
from her
daughters
high school.
She played a
video about
our
organization,
passed out
leaflets, and
raised over a
thousand
Euros for us in
a single night!
ER Volunteer

These social enterprise

businesses can have many
benefits beyond the funds that
they bring in. The businesses
can provide internships and jobs
to students or beneficiaries of
the organization. Restaurants
and handicraft shops also
provide a kind of advertising to
the public, raising awareness about the
organizations projects.
110


Our sister site
started
growing
mushrooms to
generate
income for
their shelter.
They grew
them in the
backyard, then
the staff
members went
to sell them at
the market.
What didnt
sell, they used
in their meals
at the shelter.
Although they
didnt make a
huge profit,
they were able
to net about
$500 over
three months,
and it helped
them to feel
that they were
building the
shelters selfsufficiency,
even if only on
a small scale.
ER Volunteer

One Organizations Journey for SelfSufficiency and Self-Ownership

Local Sources of Funds

While big-name and
international funders can sound
prestigious, it is important not to
underestimate the value of local
sources of support. Local
governments, local businesses
and corporations, and local
communities can provide crucial
sources of funding and other
kinds of support, such as in-kind
donations or volunteer hours.
Local support for your
organization deepens its impact
as the government, religious, or
business leaders lend legitimacy
to your projects among local
target groups. Being able to
demonstrate strong local
support is also an essential
component of sustainability to
show for international funding
organizations. Forming
partnerships or collaborations
with community institutions
such as schools and religious
institutions can also broaden
your organizations reach.

As we worked to do what we thought would

ensure a healthy and stable organization, most of
the advice we received was about fundraising,
administrative development, and infrastructure.
First, there was fundraising. We spent a great deal
of time dedicated to writing and rewriting letters of
interest, proposals, and reports. Over time, funding
trends actually came to influence our work,
priorities, and direction as we struggled to remain
competitive and funded.
Since then, we have created a grassroots
fundraising program to generate support from a
wide variety of activities and opportunities. These
include an annual event, program advertisement
sales, community benefits, a monthly sustainer
program, training, house parties, selling T-shirts,
and more. Our goal is to now raise 50 percent of
our money from grassroots sources to reduce
dependency on grants. The work is slow and
painstaking, but essential to sustaining our work
over the long run.
Amara H. Prez, The Revolution Will Not Be
Funded

Groups and Communities

Your organization may also be
able to benefit from the support of certain
groups or communities of supporters who have
a compelling reason to be involved with your
organization or cause.

- Churches or religious congregations. Even

if your organization is not overtly religiously
affiliated, collaborations with a religious
congregation in your country or internationally
can yield sources of support.
- Business community. Corporations and
businesses, particularly those that are affiliated
with your community in some way, can be
sources of support for your organization.

- Diaspora communities. Organizations can

reach out to members of a diaspora community
that may be scattered all over the globe, but
want to maintain connections to their country
or ancestral home.
111

Remember

A majority of corporations worldwide

boosted their giving in 2011. We are

Expanding funding sources beyond simply

grants can be challenging, and usually requires
a great deal of commitment. Fundraising from
individuals or operating a social enterprise is
not easy. But, it can be worth it if it results in a
more reliable and stable source of funding, that
can be utilized by your organization according
to its own needs and priorities.

optimistic about the levels of commitment

we see from companies, said executive
director Charles Moore. Not only are they
continuing to give, but they area also doing
so in more strategic and thoughtful ways in
partnership with their employees and their
communities. Quoted in Foundation
Center website

112

Part III: Capacity Building

Part III:
Capacity
Building

113

Chapter 8: Capacity Building: An Introduction

Chapter 8: Capacity Building: An
Introduction

Capacity: The knowledge, organization and

resources needed to perform a function.

Most ER Volunteers are involved in capacity

building at their posts, and they are usually
delighted to be a part of making long-term
change that will improve their organization.
Capacity building is another opportunity for
volunteers to put their creativity, persistence,
and interpersonal savvy to work at their posts.

Effectiveness: A measure of the extent to

which a project achieves its planned results
(outputs, outcomes and goals).
Efficiency: A measure of how economically
or optimally inputs (financial, human,
technical and material resources) are used
to produce outputs. (From UNFPA)

Why Should Volunteers Care

About Capacity Building?

grant funds to those countries. At the same

time, the global economic crisis has affected
foundations and governments (the main
sources of grant funds) such that less funding is
available overall than in previous years.

- Capacity building is important to

volunteers. To start with, there is the old
adage about leaving things better than you
found them, and capacity building is the way
this can be done in your post. Volunteers also
become involved with capacity building because
they themselves want to see their organizations
functioning better; being part of an imperfect
system (as all organizations are) brings many
opportunities to make improvements. Outside
of the relationships that volunteers form in
their workplace and community, the impact of
their efforts at capacity building is usually one
of the most meaningful aspects of a volunteers
experience.

In a trend that started before the current

funding crunch, the philanthropic community
has been steadily increasing their demands for
accountability and efficiency from their
grantees. Funders requirements are getting
stricter and stricter; there are more reports,
and each of them must be more detailed. Its
no longer enough
to describe what
the project did;
Expect more
now grantees
demanding funders;
must provide the
funders are becoming
outcomes on a
much more involved
series of
with the organizations
measurable

- Capacity building is important to

organizations. Organizations are interested to
enhance their capacity for a variety of reasons,
not the least of which is maintaining their ability
to secure funding within a shrinking and
increasingly competitive grant pool. Many of
the countries where VIA volunteers are posted
have been experiencing a boom in civil society
(i.e., non-government entities) in recent years,
which results in more competition for existing

indicators and
determine the
size of the impact
the project made
in the
community. No
114

they finance, expecting

clearer evidence of
results. Mike Hudson,
Managing at the Leading
Edge

What on Earth is Capacity

Building?

Nonprofit organizations, to the surprise and

chagrin of many grantmaking staff, are having

This is a good question,

since it turns out that
capacity building is not
Capacity
building is an
so easy to define.
absurdly
Sources consulted for
subjective term
this handbook talked a
that is
great deal about
misinterpreted
capacity building, but
widely. ER
many were reluctant to
Volunteer
offer a precise definition
and the definitions they
did offer varied widely.
This is because an organizations capacity is
measured in terms of its effectiveness, which is
itself a difficult term to define as the
effectiveness or an organization will vary by
context.

difficulty producing timely and accurate

financial and social outcome reports as
required by their funders. The data are only as
good as the organization has the capacity to
produce given its staff, technology and other
infrastructure. As a result, the funding
community is increasingly frustrated and
impatient about the low quality of reports
received, and nonprofit organizations are
struggling to explain their inability to meet the
demands for greater accountability.- Melinda
T. Tuan, Funding Effectiveness
requirements are as revered by funders than a
grantees financial transparency and efficiency,
and grantees are held to an exacting standard.
Failure to meet these stringent financial and
measurement requirements can result in nonrenewal of the grant, or worse, can leave the
organization open to suspicions of financial
improprieties.

Capacity and effectiveness will mean different

things for different organizations, depending on
their goals, target groups, strategies, and skills;
capacity cannot be defined with a one-size-fitsall approach.

Aside from increasing their competitiveness for

seeking and maintaining funding, organizations
care about capacity building because they are
committed to doing their best to achieve their
mission and serve their beneficiaries.
Organizations are motivated to improve their
ability to reach their target groups and make
real change in the world.

To reduce organizational effectiveness to a

checklist is to deny the inherent complexity of
organizational life. - Barbara D. Kibbe, Funding
Effectiveness
When there is so much ambiguity around the
what capacity means, volunteers and their
posts should feel free to be imaginative in
exploring and coming up with definitions and
perspectives on this issue that fit with the
organizational culture and match the
organizations values.

Lack of capacity is seen as the bottleneck

that is constraining organizations from
having greater impact on pressing social
issues. Mike Hudson, Managing at the
Leading Edge
115

Building organization capacity is about

systematically investing in developing an

organizations internal systems (for example,
its people, processes, and infrastructure) and
its external relationships (for example, with
funders, partners, and volunteers) so that it

can better realize its mission and achieve

greater impact.
Capacity building has to be viewed in the
context of an organizations objectives and
values. It is not about strengthening an
creating an organization that has the ability
to make a serious impact on its desired
mission. Mike Hudson, Managing at the
Leading Edge

Traditional Perspectives on
Capacity Building
Usually what is meant when a donor talks about
capacity building involves applying
international-standard principles of
management to the work of the organization to
improve its performance in areas such as
financial management, strategic planning,
project management, and M & E.

funders have placed

greater emphasis on
financial
accountability and
social outcome
measurement for
the non-profit
programs they
fund. - Melinda T.

This perspective on capacity building can

enhance the organizations ability to produce
measurable levels of impact for the target
group with limited finances and staff. The need

In this perspective, improving the organizations

efficiency is essential to building its capacity and
effectiveness. Valued organizational attributes
in this perspective include:

In recent years,

Achievement of these
Tuan, Funding
desired attributes is
Effectiveness
assessed based on various
processes within the organization: financial
management, human resources and staff
development, fundraising, record-keeping,
evaluations, and use of technology (Kathleen P.
Enright). Improvements in defining, measuring,
and reporting outcomes are often a key process
in determining an organizations level of
effectiveness.

organization for its own sake. It is about

Management:
Aligning policies,
processes, and
resources with the
desired outcomes,
along with strong
governance; and
Resource
development:
Assembling diverse,
reliable, and
sustainable flow of
financial assets.

Organizational capacity building can be

understood as the application of knowledge and
expertise to the enhancement of those factors that
contribute to organizational effectiveness.

Planfulness: Having a clear mission

and vision, linked with achievable goals,
measurable objectives, and sustainable
strategies;
Disciplined implementation:
Defining, delivering, and evaluating
programs, linked with research and
evidence on promising practices in the
field;

Capacity building focuses on an organizations

skills, systems, structures, and strategies. The
primary intent of organizational capacity
building is to enhance an organizations ability to
achieve its social mission. - Barbara D. Kibbe,
Funding Effectiveness
116

Most capacity
building projects are
concerned with
strategic planning,
fundraising and
financial
management,
communications,
and marketing.
Mike Hudson,
Managing at the
Leading Edge

Valued attributes in this

perspective be oriented
toward adherence to
the organizations
mission and priorities,
increasing
collaborations with
local partners,
introducing new ways
for beneficiary
participation in guiding
and managing the
organization, expanding
services to greater
numbers of
beneficiaries, or
launching new projects
to meet existing
beneficiaries needs
more comprehensively.

for organizations to
increase their capacity
in these areas has
grown significantly in
recent years, due to
the increased
competition for funds
in the wake of the
economic crisis and
due to ever-morestrict funder
requirements about
financial management
and outcomes
reporting.

On the other hand, a main criticism of the

traditional perspective is that most of the
measures of effectiveness used in this
perspective streamlined financial reporting,
evaluation of project
outcomes, and strong
I think an effective
planning are
nonprofit has to know
responsive to donors
how to serve its
needs, rather than to
constituents. We tend
the needs of the
to think about our
purported target group
methods of doing
for the organizations
efforts, the
things as an
beneficiaries.
organization, meeting
the next appointment
and all that, and we
forget that the main
thing is that this
organization is
designed to serve
somebody. - Dr. John
Gardner, Quoted in
Janine E. Lee, Funding
Effectiveness

In this perspective,
outcomes are not
emphasized as much as
processes; the judge of
effectiveness is the
ability to remain faithful
to the core values and
beliefs of the
organization.

Anyone who works

with nonprofits can
describe organizations
that are marvelously
effective but may not
manage every aspect
of their organization
according to the
textbookalong with
many efficient
organizations that fall
short when it comes to
results. - Barbara D.
Kibbe, Funding
Effectiveness

Instead of social
change, we have
service deliverables,
and the vision that
once drove our deep
commitment to
fighting violence
against women has
been replaced by

outcomes.
This emergentOrganizations sense
perspective can equip
of accountability
the organization to truly
shifted from their
be accountable to its
constituents to their
target group members
funders. Ana
and intensely focused
Clarissa Rojas Durazo,
achieving its social
The Revolution Will Not
impacts in accordance
with its values. At the
Be Funded
same time, it has a
weakness of neglecting fundraising, which may

Emergent
Perspectives on
Capacity Building
Capacity building can be
conceptualized
differently, as enhancing
the organizations ability
to effectively respond to
the needs and demands
of its target group.

117

We try to look at
ways to develop an
organizational
culture and practice
inspired more by
revolutionary and
holistic paradigms
than corporate and
business models. The
work is not just about
what we do, but how
we do it; the process
is just as important as
the outcome. - Amara
H. Prez, , The
Revolution Will Not Be
Funded

be necessary for the

organization to serve
its beneficiaries at all.

Opportunities for Traditional-Perspective

Capacity Building:
The post has a reactive environment rather than a
proactive environment. ER Volunteer

Our organizations
culture becomes noncollaborative,
narrowly focused,
and competitive as we
become more
concerned with
attracting funders.
Andrea Smith, The
Revolution Will Not Be

The organization struggles to effectively report on

M & E. Its difficult to get the directors and project
staff to see the importance of M & E. ER
Volunteer
There was no contextual awareness for
management principles at my NGO, so I tried
capacity building around management. ER
Volunteer
Even though some of the staff here have been
running programs for years, they do not quite
understand how to think about their projects in
terms of goals, objectives, outcomes and indicators.
Which is a major reason why it's been so difficult for
them to write reports or apply for grants from
Western donors, because they havent learned how
to collect data that is often taken for granted in a
Western culture. A pity, because despite that they
really have some amazing projects going on, donors
are hard to come by. ER Volunteer

Funded

Which Perspective to Utilize?

You will shape your own perspective(s) on
capacity building through consulting with
directors and peers at your organization,
assessing the strengths and challenges at your
post, and based on demands by both funders
and beneficiaries. Most likely, you will utilize
aspects of both perspectives at some point.

Many volunteers find potential areas of

improvement within their organizations based
on the traditional perspective of capacity. From
your personal experience of being a part of the
relevant organizational processes (fundraising,
evaluations, etc.) and liaising between the
organization and its funders, you will be able to
identify ways to enhance the process. Funders
are also likely to be supportive (or, at the least,
appreciative) of efforts to increase their
grantees effectiveness as defined by the key
attributes and processes in the traditional
perspective.

Volunteers will also come across ways to

enhance their organizations effectiveness in
the emergent perspective, which is focused on
responding to the target group. These efforts
can be well-received by staff when they build
upon the many strengths of your organization in
connecting with its target groups and
implementing its work.

118

meeting the needs of all its

stakeholders.

Opportunities for Emergent-Perspective

Capacity Building

Unsurprisingly, these
competing needs will
sometimes conflict. One
common example is the issue
of professionalization, which
can be a consideration in
many instances of capacity
building.

There is a spin mentality among many NGOs in

this area. At times some NGOs seem oriented and
focused on keeping reports flowing out and
money flowing in, and precious little on actual
demonstrated activities. - ER Volunteer

Because of
professionalization,
soon funders were
expressing their
preference for
degree-bearing
professionals
instead of
community
organizers. Ana
Clarissa Rojas
Durazo, The
Revolution Will Not
Be Funded

Professionalization and
its Discontents
Attempts at capacity
building can be made more
challenging by the large
number of stakeholders to
whom the organization is
expected to be
accountable: beneficiaries,
funders, the broader
community, etc. Each of
these stakeholders may
have different goals and
priorities that must be
taken into consideration in
order for the organization
to function optimally,

The traditional
perspective emphasizes
skills of financial
management and
outcomes measurement
that are usually gained
through specialized
education and training,
which is best served by
hiring professional staff.
However, the emergent
perspective emphasizes
skills of connecting with
beneficiaries, which is
best served by hiring
local community
members who
understand the local
culture and language.

Generally, the experts go straight to

In conflicts such as the

one over
professionalization,
there is usually no one
clear answer that will
serve all of the
organizations needs. In
all likelihood, the
organization will need to
have both professionallytrained and locally-savvy

mission, structure, et cetera, and Im going to

say that the number one point is good people.
And I dont mean good at the trustee level, at
the executive level, the staff, generally. I
dont mean high IQ or SAT scores or grade
point average or graduate degrees from elite
universities. Im talking about to the extent
that people are well equipped to do their
jobs. - Dr. John Gardner, Quoted in Janine E.
Lee, Funding Effectiveness
119

I suggested
my NGO hire
long-term,
permanent,
skilled grant
writers and M
& E staff. ER
Volunteer

Our organization
intentionally rejected
the idea that there is
a fundamental
difference between
ourselves and the
people we work
with. We understand
ourselves as
community members
whose experience
helps to inform our
work and
accountability to our
constituents. We
prioritize leadership
development among
the people we
organize, which
results in many of
those individuals
being hired as
interns or staff.
Alisa Bierria, The
Revolution Will Not Be
Funded

staff to meet the needs of all its constituents.

Each organization will face conflicting demands
from stakeholders in its own way, and
sometimes differently at different times.

d) This data is used to make

decisions and planning.
3) Sustainable

Assessing Organizational
Capacity

b) The organization has diverse

sources of funding.

In order to improve an organizations

effectiveness, it is first necessary to determine
the organizations existing level of capacity in
various areas. Then, you can build from the
existing strengths and try to address any weak
areas.

c) The organization has

appropriate financial controls in
place.
4) Proactive

Janine E. Lee has developed the following list of

clear criteria for assessing an organizations
capacity in different areas. This list is by no
means comprehensive, and it may not apply to
all organizations, but it provides some useful
tools for thinking about ways for organizations
to grow and develop.
Organizational
attribute

Indicators for Capacity

1) Missiondirected and
vision-driven

a) Mission and vision statements

are clearly written and widely
distributed.

2) Outcomesoriented

a) Desired outcomes are stated

specifically and when possible in
measurable terms.

a) An effective long-term
strategy has developed a diverse
and stable funding base.

a) The organization pursues new

opportunities and resources and
partnerships.
b) The organization takes the
lead in identifying unmet
community needs and
developing solutions to address
those needs.
c) Leadership exemplifies the
values of the organization and
the community.

5) Adaptable

a) The organization stays up-todate on changes affecting staff,

clients, funding sources, legal
requirements, and community
needs.
b) The organizations response is
smooth and appropriate.

b) Outcome achievement is
tracked over time, and assessed
for corresponding
improvements in the situation
of the organizations
stakeholders.

6) Beneficiaryfocused

a) The organization knows its

clientele and provides services
they really want.
b) There are sufficient channels
for members of the target group
to be involved in projects
design, share feedback about

c) Outcomes are logically related

to the mission and services
provided.
120

takes place, its the

organization that is
taking the risk in
investing time and
resources in one
approach rather than
another; the
permanent members
of that organization
should have the most
say in what the
approach will look
like.

the project, and to address any

grievances they may have.
c) The management, operations,
and publicity about the project
reflect respect for the
beneficiaries.

Keys to Success in Capacity

Building
- The organization has ownership of
the process. The best scenario for lasting,
positive improvements in an organization is for
the changes to be initiated and led by the
people on the ground who know their
organization best. When the organizations
leaders, staff, and constituents guide the
process of determining what needs to be done,
the commitment to capacity building will be
deeper, the impact will be greater, and the
costs (yes, there are always costs) will be more
readily borne.
External parties, like funders, or short-term
participants, like most ER volunteers, have
valuable insight and contributions to make to
capacity building, but
their efforts alone will
The members will
not be sufficient to
know their
sustain the momentum
organization better
needed for true
than anyone ever
capacity building to
will. That deep
occur.
experience should
Allowing the
be acknowledged
organization to take
and respected. ownership of its
Barbara D. Kibbe,
capacity building
Funding Effectiveness
efforts is also
important to avoid
imposing outside
viewpoints and inputs. When capacity building
121

The more decisions

organizations make
for themselves, the
more committed
they are to the
process and the
project. - Barbara D.
Kibbe, Funding
Effectiveness

- The organization makes capacity building

a priority. Like everything that is worth doing,
capacity building takes a lot of time; specifically,
the time of the organizations leadership and
staff members who usually already have a
dizzying array of responsibilities to shoulder. If
capacity building efforts are to succeed, they
will need to be high on the priorities list for the
organization. This is yet another reason why
the push for capacity
building should come
from the organization
The main difficulty
itself (specifically, the
has been getting the
English classes
directors) as much as
started!
Since I
possible. To encourage
arrived, the staff
individual staff
have been telling me
members to take part
they want to learn
in capacity building,
English. The
Directors got behind
appropriate use of
the idea and even
incentives such as
located a donor for
awards, recognition,
it. Still, the staff
extra time off, etc. can
(and me too!) are so
help to ensure success.
inundated with
their other
- Someone within the
demands, that its
organization
been hard to get the
class off the
champions the cause.
ER
ground.
One universal feature
Volunteer

than a
destination,
Prioritize capacity building
and
initiatives, because
maintaining
organizations can cope with
it will be an
only a limited number at any
ongoing
one time. Mike Hudson,
process.
Managing at the Leading Edge
For success
in capacity
building, try
building gradually, layer by layer.

of efforts at capacity building is that it always

takes a really, really, really long time. If an
organization is to keep capacity building on the
front burner long enough for it to make a
difference, there will need to be a permanent
staff member who leads the charge. Ideally
there would be a full- or half-time staff position
devoted to implementing capacity building, but
even without this it can work as long as
someone (ideally someone highly placed within
the organization) is constantly pushing for these
developments.

- Lack of follow-through. Many well-planned

and well-intentioned efforts at capacity building
flounder after a short time. There can be many
reasons for this, either because the key staff
person leaves or has too many other
responsibilities, not enough resources and time
are devoted, and/or because capacity building
turns out to be harder and take longer than
anyone anticipated. Integrating capacity
building into other organizational processes,
such as writing reports, monthly staff meetings,
or personnel evaluations, can help to keep it on
the organizations docket. Having a staff to
champion ongoing capacity building is also a
useful way to avoid this pitfall.

All capacity building initiatives ultimately

have to become embedded in the
organizations cultureits way of doing
thingsand this requires the sustained effort
and dedication that is best provided by a
champion. Mike Hudson, Managing at the
Leading Edge

Some Potential Pitfalls in Capacity

Building
- Biting off more than you can chew. When
an organization decides to seriously devote
itself to capacity building, sometimes it decides
that it will try to fix everything all at once. Its
wonderful to have a can-do attitude about
making organizational improvements, but the
scorched-earth approach will almost never
work.

Remember

Building and strengthening

relationships with partners and donors
has been the area in which I think I have
seen the most impact, however, I dont
know who will take on this role and
maintain those relationships after I
leave. ER Volunteer

Capacity building is like weight loss; you might

be able to reach your goal in a week or two, but
you wont be able to keep it up for very long.
True capacity building (as with true weight loss)
must happen slowly in order to be done in a
healthy way. Its more of a habit and a process
122

Capacity building is a fluid concept that is meant

to be applied and defined by each organization
differently. Dont be discouraged by other
organizations failures and successes; stay
focused on serving your organization to operate
at its optimum level.

123

Chapter 9: Capacity Building and the ER Volunteer

Chapter 9: Capacity Building and
the ER Volunteer

The vast majority of ER volunteers are involved

in building capacity at their organizations in one
way or another. Making positive changes in the
way their posts operate ensures that the
volunteers contributions to their organization
will continue long after their term of service has
ended.

Cuidado!
Knowledge is important. If you are not wellinformed, then you might suggest a
counterproductive intervention.
Capacity builders to put it bluntly, need to
know what they are doing, because a nave
approach can do real harm. - Barbara D. Kibbe,
Funding Effectiveness

Qualities of Exemplary Capacity

Builders

trends in your organizations field of work.

From your day-to-day work, you are also likely
to gain experiences that are directly relevant to
the job at hand.

- Knowledgeable. Effective capacity building

should come from someone with a deep
understanding of the organization and its
constituents. The
person would ideally
have knowledge, skills,
Learn as much as you
and experience related
can about project
to organizational
management/LogFrame
effectiveness. Most
analysis and donor
expectations so that you
importantly, capacity
can share it with the
builders should be
staff. Sarah, ER
committed to continual
Volunteer, Thailand
learning and
improvement.

- Reflective. Good capacity building will come

from having a broad view of the organizations
strengths and weaknesses, resources and
underutilized opportunities. Exemplary
capacity builders have an ability to look beyond
the organizational dynamics to see the system
that operates.
It is best to recognize and utilize existing
resources, information, statistics, and
outcomes, so that you can capitalize on the
lessons learned and grow from past capacity
building efforts. In addition to reviewing the
existing information at your disposal, you can
try to pay it forward for the next person by
keeping good records and fostering
communication.

Some volunteers will

come to their posts with well-equipped with the
needed expertise, but many will not already
have the background and experience to begin
capacity building right away. This is no
problem; you can build the knowledge you
need. You can learn about organizational
practices by visiting other NGOs and talking to
peers and colleagues. You may be able to learn
from donors; many have capacity-building
information on their websites or will know of
resources they can suggest them to you. You
can read and keep up to date on news and

- Flexible. The most effective capacity

builders understand that circumstances and
needs change, both within and outside of the
organization. They are always assessing their
efforts for organizational improvement, keeping
in mind that the plans they have launched and
124

many areas for

development. But
framing your
The staff at my
organization are
recommendations
extremely
positively - in terms
competent.
They
of new opportunities,
dont need me to
expanded impact,
pick up their
increasing the skills of
slack. Christine,
staff, and building on
ER/ET Volunteer,
Indonesia
strengths will
garner much more
support for your
proposal than a pessimistic list of all the
organizations deficiencies.

into which they have invested significant time

may need to be abandoned in favor of
addressing a more pressing need. Capacity
building is an ongoing process that must be
responsive to dynamic realities; it is best to stay
abreast of new developments and be ready to
change at any time.
Building capacity can sometimes feel very
intense, because of the significant personal
investment that volunteers make into bettering
their organizations. While its great to be
passionate about what you are doing, its also
important to stay open to feedback about your
efforts and to stay aware of your own
limitations in skills and perspective.
- Positive and focused on strengths. It can
be tempting to think of capacity building in
terms of making up for organizational
weaknesses or fixing persistent problems in the
way things work, particularly if your
organizational capacity assessment reveals
Organizational effectiveness can be

Communicate
goals of projects
to permanent staff
and its
importance to the
organization as a
whole. Sarena,
ER/ET Volunteer,
China

approached with a rather mechanistic, fix-it

- Collaborative. Capacity
building is an organizationwide process that will
require organization-wide
participation. Effective
capacity builders will seek
out allies within the
organization who can help
them to make the case
about how to proceed.

- Resourceful.
Effective capacity
builders are not focused
on arriving at a predetermined destination,
they are focused on
finding and seizing
opportunities that will
move them forward.
After you identify an
area for improvement
and determine that its
appropriate to focus on
this area and that you
have the needed skills
and knowledge to do

mentality focused on the deficits of the

nonprofit, or it can be seen as a
developmental opportunity. It can be
relegated to consultants and evaluators, or it
can be seen as an opportunity for high
engagement between funders and
practitioners. It can be planned and
organized around a highly detailed
blueprint, or it can grow out of a
commitment to learning and shared
discovery. It can be framed as a series of
transactions, or it can be embedded in a web
of relationships. - Alexa Cortes Culwell, Lisa
Sobrato Sonsini, and Sterling K. Speir, Funding
Effectiveness
125

All people and all

parts of an organization
are interrelated. No
matter how specific the
issue, it connects with
the rest of the
organization. Change
has a far better chance
of success when it
involved people from
many levelsstaff,
constituents, and
directors. Mike
Hudson, Managing at the
Leading Edge

so, even if you are only able to make a small

contribution that seems insignificant, you can
try to find a way to make it happen.

Tips for Capacity Building

- Identify organizational needs, key staff and their
needs.

What Needs to Be Done?

In your first few months at the post, you will be
conducting an informal assessment of the
organizations capacity. This assessment of the
organizations strengths and needs will be
based a great deal on your own thoughts and
experiences, but it should also be collaborative,
involving as many stakeholders and
constituents as possible. Former volunteers,
colleagues, directors, funders, and beneficiaries
will all provide valuable perspectives that will
help in triangulating
exactly what
capacity building
I arrived to find a
needs are most
mish-mash of many
appropriate to focus
different halffinished attempts at
on. Talking to
building systems in
others will also help
the past. ER
you to find out what
Volunteer
efforts have been
done at your
organization in the
past, whether they were effective, and the
reasons for this success or failure.

Identify current system(s), what works, what

doesnt, what alternatives there are and how well
it fits with your organization.
Enlist input from colleagues.
If you can, get leadership buy-in.
From Sarah, ER Volunteer, Vietnam

You may wish to share

some of your suggestions
with the organizations
This is a very topleadership in an
down organization
appropriate forum. If
so it can be hard
organizations directors
enact my own
initiatives to build
are supportive of your
capacity; so I have
efforts, it can also be
had more success
useful to include donors,
at working with
community partners,
donors/partners
senior NGO staff, and
toward capacity
building. ER
grassroots NGO staff in
Volunteer
the process of capacity
building, as long as they
can be an ally and
support the capacity building process in some
way.

Of course, go about gathering this information

delicately! Remember that unless you have
been asked to make a formal assessment, your
inquiries should definitely fall on the side of
informal. Take care to follow the organizations
communication protocol, be conscious about
how your approach may be perceived (i.e., you
dont want people to get the impression that
you think the organization is poorly run), and
dont let your discussions about capacity
building degenerate into a gripe session to
complain about the organization. Keep the
assessment positive and focused on solutions.

What Can Realistically Be Done?

Your capacity building wish-list might be
significantly different than what you are
actually able to implement in your organization
with the available resources in the time that
you have. When trying to determine a realistic
set of activities to build the capacity of your
126

organization, it can be helpful to discuss your

ideas with the organizations directors (or with
your peers, when appropriate) to determine
which aspects are feasible. It will depend on
the amount of time that staff can devote to
capacity building, the amount of funding
available for this purpose, the amount of
support directors will lend to the capacity
building process, and the time and skills that
you can provide to the process. Another factor
might be the political or regulatory climate in
the area where you work; keep in mind that
there may be restrictions
on what can be safely
done by your
My tip for
organization in a time of
capacity
building:
increased scrutiny of civil
PATIENCE.
society.
Christine, ER/ET
Volunteer,
Allow plenty of time for
Indonesia
the capacity building to
occur, and be patient
with yourself and with
the organization. The
changes that you want to
see will not happen
Overall, I think
overnight; in fact, they
my efforts have
been helpful but
might not happen during
are often limited
your term of service. Be
in terms of
prepared to re-set your
impact due to a
expectations, and
very fast-paced,
understand that you are
small staff work
environment
making a significant
that leaves little
contribution even if you
time to build
dont see things
long-term
progressing at the pace
sustainable
you would like. You may
solutions. ER
Volunteer
be planting a seed which
will blossom later on
down the line.

My fellow volunteer and I worked incredibly

hard to increase the project staffs awareness
of the outcomes and indicators that they are
supposed to be tracking for donor reports.
We held a series of workshops for the
managers of all the projects, then designed
and delivered project-specific workshops for
the staff of each project.
We worked especially closely with one
project located in a site about 4 hours away
from the main office, who were at risk of
losing their long-standing donor because of
the quality of the reports. We literally spent
days talking about the objectives, outcomes,
and indicators in the proposal with the
project staff, working through a language
barrier and limited technology. The last one
of these workshops at the sister site was only
a few days before my term of service ended,
so I came back to America just hoping that
we had made any kind of difference for that
project.
I was so delighted when the next volunteer
contacted me after writing the report on the
sites project to tell me that they did an
outstanding job! They collected all of the
needed information and submitted it to her
in time to get it translated and into the donor
on time. Even more, the data showed that
they did an excellent job and made a huge
impact on the children they serve they
exceeded their targets on several of the
indicators! I was so happy to hear that we
had helped this project to measure their
results and keep a strong relationship with
their donor, even though I didnt know this
while I was there. Sarah, ER Volunteer,
Thailand

127

Capacity Building
in the Field:
English Language
I am in the
process of
planning and
implementing
English classes for
the staff at my post
in hope that they
can give more
significant
contribution to
donor
correspondence
and report writing
in the future.
ER Volunteer

ways that the

staff will be using
English in their work (writing, speaking, reading,
etc.). Efforts to increase the use of English
within an organization are generally wellreceived, but often encounter barriers of staffs
limited time for this activity.

What Kinds of Capacity Building

Have Past ER Volunteers Done?
Volunteers efforts at capacity building have
been as diverse and creative as the volunteers
themselves. Their most common contributions
have been through improving channels of
communication in their organizations, teaching
English to their local colleagues, and through
working to develop staffs capacity on a one-onone basis.

Capacity Building in the Field: English Language

I taught a couple of English classes to some of the
staff members when I first started. After a couple of
months it fizzled out as they could not decide on a
schedule which worked for everyone. I now take it
upon myself to send out company-wide emails with
English tips and corrections for reports, based on
what I see and hear around the organization and in
their reports. The Executive Director is very
supportive of these efforts and everyone is
appreciative when I make corrections and help
them with their English grammar and speaking.
- Gabrielle, ER Volunteer, Cambodia

Improving the English Skills of Local

Colleagues
One of the most common contributions that
volunteers make in their organizations is by
helping to build the English skills of local
colleagues. This is often done through English
classes for staff, but it can be done in many
other ways as well. It can be helpful to assess
the staffs existing levels of English (which are
likely to be varied), and to take into account the
128

One-on-One Capacity Building

Another common
contribution of
volunteers is working
individually with staff
Interventions at
to increase their skills.
the level of the
direct project staff
This can range from a
are very welllanguage exchange, to
received and so I
helping a colleague
advise continuing to
learn how to use a new
work at this level
kind of software, to
with the direct
project staff to train
mentorship for peers.
about international
Capacity building of
donor expectations,
individual staff is
concepts of project
relatively easy to offer,
management,
and it can have longproposal and report
writing, etc. Sarah,
term impacts for the
ER Volunteer,
organization,
Thailand
particularly if the staff
are likely to be there a
long time.

Capacity Building in the Field: Communication

Im currently working on a donor database that
will log correspondence with potential donors
to my organization, track contact persons, grant
deadlines, past funding and projects petitions,
and grant guidelines.
Sarena, ER/ET Volunteer, China

Capacity Building in the Field: One-on-One

I have been teaching one-on-one. Several staff
asked me to edit their applications for higher
education and scholarships. This is the area where
I feel I make the most impact.
Christine, ER/ET Volunteer, Indonesia
I have been working one-on-one with staff to
improve key skills whether that is programplanning, event-planning, or networking. It helps
build personal relationships between us. Although
the training/skill-building is on a needs-basis so it
isnt an organized structure, I do feel that staff have
learned (and I have learned) from planning projects
and events together.
Sarah, ER Volunteer, Vietnam

129

Improving the Flow of Communication

Communication is a frequent focus of
volunteers efforts for capacity building. This
can range from improving processes that will
make the whole organization run better,
pushing for a move to email, having standing
weekly meetings with directors, or even
something as simple as keeping good records of
your work so that others can follow it. Since
the internal flow of
communication is a key
process of any
My efforts to
organizations
improve
effectiveness,
communication,
documentation, and
improvements in this
record-keeping have
area have the potential
been moderately
to make an incredible
successful. Right
difference in the
now, Im trying to
organizations
build a system with
the files/areas I work
effectiveness. However,
with and then will
significant barriers for
later introduce staff
communication exist in
into using that
many organizations, and
system.
making substantial
Sarah, ER Volunteer,
Vietnam
changes to
communication
problems can be
difficult.

Capacity Building in the Field: Technology

Providing Training Sessions

Volunteers have organized training sessions for
the key staff and/or various departments of
their organization, to share their own skills and
experiences that will benefit their colleagues.
This can include topics such as using software
like Photoshop or Dreamweaver, utilizing social
media platforms like Facebook or YouTube,
creative skills such as photography or
videography, and technical skills such as M & E
or financial reporting.

My efforts around media outreach/programs were

very well received, and there was measurable
improvement.
Frank, ER Volunteer, Cambodia
I have worked closely with the director to update
and improve the website.
ER Volunteer

When planning training sessions for colleagues,

its necessary to anticipate any challenges
associated with technology, as well as with
language and translations. Is your fluency in the
staffs main language sufficient to deliver the
session in that language? What about their
English level? Dont overlook any written
materials that will be a part of the training;
these should also ideally be in both languages

Seeking Technology Upgrades

Improvements to an
organizations technology and
infrastructure can have longterm impacts that enhance the
A past volunteer
helped our
organizations overall
organization
operations. Securing new
build a beautiful
computers and copiers,
and
training staff on new software
comprehensive
that helps them to manage
website in 2008,
but after he left
information, and opening
nobody in the
channels of social media can
NGO understood
help to multiply an
the platform that
organizations reach. One
he used to make
frequently overlooked
it. Several years
later, we are
component of technology
having to build a
upgrades, is that they should
new website
always be accompanied by
from scratch
sufficient human resources
because we
that can maintain them over
cannot figure out
how to update
time. Help permanent staff
the existing
receive computer training,
website, which is
form relationships with a
by now
computer repair and
extremely
maintenance shop, and make
outdated. ER
Volunteer
sure there are people who can
continue to make use of the
technology after you leave.

Capacity Building in the Field: Training Sessions

I created a curriculum and then had a meeting
with all the teachers, Chinese and English, to run
through how the curriculum works and how to be
continually improving it. Overall there has been a
very positive response from the staff and were
continuing to emphasize working along the
curriculum and editing it if it doesnt match the
needs of the program. I will be administering a
workshop for demographic and participant
surveying at the end of the Spring to program
managers at my post, to explain why we need to
gather data about the student before and after the
program; why we generate statistics for the donors;
and what kinds of statistics would be appealing to
the donors.
Sarena, ER/ET Volunteer, China

130

Capacity Building in the Field: Training Sessions

I co-created and delivered (in English and Thai) a
series of five workshops for staff of my post
(altogether about 30-35 people attended) on
creating goals, objectives, outcomes, and indicators,
as well as writing financial and narrative reports.
These workshops were very highly rated in
evaluation forms, as to their applicability to the
daily work and the clarity of the presentation.
100% of participants in workshops expressed
interest in receiving further training on these
topics. This is one of the most tangible ways that I
feel I have achieved my task of building the
organizations capacity during my time here.
Sarah, ER Volunteer, Thailand
Language is
definitely an
issue. The
trainings need to
have locallanguage
translation of
the documents
(PowerPoint,
evaluation
forms, handouts,
etc.) used in
training, as well
as verbal
interpretation
during the
training course
this can often be
difficult to
arrange because
of the lack of
English-speaking
staff. ER
Volunteer

to enhance the staffs

understanding of the
materials. The best bet is
to get an interpreter (for
oral communication)
and/or a translator (for
written communication).

Organizational Restructuring
Changes in an organizations structure can
result in increased capacity, and several
volunteers helped to support their posts in
times of restructuring. Usually changes in the
structure of an organization are initiated from
the board or managers, and volunteers play a
supportive role in managing the transition and
providing their suggestions.

Capacity Building in the Field: Restructuring

I would like to aid in the changes in our
organizations structure. My NGO is currently
becoming its own independent NGO this year
(previously it was part of an international NGO),
which will require more funding.
Stephanie, ER Volunteer, Vietnam
Finding External Capacity Building
Providers
Most organizations require external expertise
and support to make substantial capacity
building occur. If the organizations are seeking
to engage with outside
parties in their capacity
building efforts, volunteers
I informed
can help them in locating
directors
and
the best partners for this
staff
that
there
process. Professional NGO
are resources
consultants will often
for capacity
provide capacity
building
workshops
assessments, strategic
available to
planning, and training for
us.
- Nol, ER
staff, but at a high cost.
Volunteer,
More affordable options
Thailand
include partnering with
other NGOs to exchange
best practices and provide
training to one another, utilizing the skills of

One challenge
was the
language
barrier to
explaining why
something
should be done.
We needed to get
a translator.
- Sarena, ER/ET
Volunteer, China

131

the better chance they will have at success.

university students (international or domestic)

who provide their help on a voluntary basis, or
partnering with volunteer exchanges that send
international business professionals such as
accountants, managers, and fundraisers for a
short-term consultancy. Many funders are
willing to provide training or capacity
assessments directly, or can provide
recommendations for implementing these
activities.

Challenges along the way are normal and can

be expected. If the approach you tried didnt
seem to work, it could be one step along the
path, and it will provide you with important
lessons to be applied for the future.

Remember
Capacity challenges and difficulties in
management, structure, and organization are
normal and ongoing for all NGOs, both in Asia
and worldwide.

This will be a very long

and slow process, both
as the skills of the staff
continue to grow and as
the organization itself
reduces its resistance to
the needed changes.
ER Volunteer
ahead for how
your efforts will
be carried forward
over time.
Remember you
are there for a
very short time in
the life of the
organization.
The more actions
initiated by the
organization itself,

There is no quick
fix, and there is
no permanent
fix.
Organizational
development
takes longer and
is more difficult
than anyone
thinks. It can be
useful to plan

Think of how you can

sustain capacitybuilding efforts longterm after you are gone,
what staff will carry on,
how will you transfer
knowledge to your
successor, etc. Sarah,
ER Volunteer, Vietnam

132

Part IV: Making the Most of Your

Experience

Part IV:
Making the
Most of Your
Experience

133

Chapter 10: Dealing with Challenges Along

the Way
that, too. Take comfort in knowing that the
volunteers who have come before you, and
those who will come after you, share the same
experiences, frustrations, and joys.

Chapter 10: Dealing with Challenges

Along the Way
Challenges are a daily part of life for people in
every country and in every situation, and so it is
for VIA volunteers at their posts. With
navigating a new culture, functioning in an
unfamiliar language, getting to know new
people and a new community, and developing
new professional skills, its no surprise that the
experience brings difficulties on a regular basis.

What Former Volunteers Say

There are two ways of meeting difficulties:
you alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself
to meet them. Phyllis Bottome

As a volunteer, it is best to wake up each day

with the expectation that you will face
challenges, and so when they inevitably come
you will be prepared and able to manage them.

Its a rare volunteer who faces no challenges in

their work and personal life at his or her post
so rare, in fact, there havent been any such
volunteers to date. Here is what volunteers cite
as the most common difficulties they have
addressed during their time at their posts:

Below are summarized some of the most

common difficulties that volunteers face in their
posts. Some of the challenges include
suggestions of how to
address the problems,
but other challenges
are just a fact of life
that little can be done
to change. Tolerance
and, whenever
possible, acceptance
are the best tools at
your disposal in
addressing most of the
challenges at your post.
Facing these challenges
with grace is not
always easy, and
sometimes it just wont
be possible. There are
suggestions below for
134

Its hard for me to get answers to my

questions.

Note that every one of these challenges was

experienced by 50% or more of volunteers
surveyed- you better believe they are incredibly
common!

Common Challenges Experienced

by Volunteers

- Locate and open channels of communication.

Identify the ways that communication within
your organization needs to happen: Who do
you need to communicate with, and who needs
to communicate with you? Try to open new
channels of communication if the existing ones
are not sufficient, and make sure that youre
responding to the people who need you.

Things to Try

Communication
The Challenge

Other than the

Directors, few
staff speak very
much English, so
most
communication
is filtered
through the
busiest people in
the
organization.
ER Volunteer

Communication
within the
organization is a
constant
challenge,
limiting the
effectiveness of
the volunteers.
ER Volunteer

Make it easy for your colleagues to funnel

information to you. Timothy and Judith
Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in Grant Writing
- Find the best means of communication. Think
about and test out different means of
communicating. There are many methods of
communicating: by phone, by email, in person
one-on-one, in person in a large meeting,
through group emails, through a secretary,
through a department head, etc. There are also
different times that communication can be
done: scheduled in advance, impromptu, well in
advance of deadlines, just before deadlines, etc.
You will probably already know which of these
methods works best for you, but you should
spend the effort to find out what works best for
others that you need to be in contact with.
Keep in
mind that
language
Ask questions, especially in
and/or
email form. Its good for
reference
and as reminders to
literacy
both
you
and
your colleagues.
issues may
Stephanie, ER Volunteer, Vietnam
play a role.

Communication is a
perennial challenge for
volunteers.
Communication problems cause feelings of
frustration, limit volunteers ability to complete
their tasks, and make volunteers feel left out at
their posts.

What do communication challenges look like for

volunteers?
-

Information is communicated in the local

language and not in English.
I have no idea whats going on.
Everyone else seems to know whats
happening except me.
There is no central or consistent source of
information.
I dont know how to convey information to
others.
135

Be clear. Communicate in writing and insist

on receipt/acknowledge responses.
Frank, ER Volunteer, Cambodia

Be proactive when
it comes to
communication.
Dont wait for
others to come to
you. Nol, ER
Volunteer, Thailand

Ive learned to ask

questions and
questions and
questions to get
VERY specific
answers. If you
dont ask, people
usually wont tell
you. Be proactive!
Amy, ET Volunteer,
Vietnam

- Try to build
organizational capacity
around communication.
If the problem is bigger
than a language barrier
or people not
responding to their
emails (and it probably
is), then you can try to
build your organizations
capacity by developing
new methods of
communication.

- Be proactive. If you
dont know what is
going on, dont be shy
about asking your
colleagues. They may
not even realize that
you havent been
informed of the big
meeting next week or
the revised room
assignments for the
next school term. Even
if you think you know
the answer to
something or you know
the schedule for the
next days field trip, it
cant hurt to ask again.
Follow-up and doublecheck regularly, since
things change
frequently in a dynamic
environment.

- Just accept that

communication will
never be 100%. With
communication such a
widespread and
pervasive challenge
among volunteers, it is
not realistic to think that
you can solve the
problem fully at your
post. Try to think of
inconsistent
communication, and the
many surprises that it
can bring, as part of the
adventure.

If communication is
a wide-spread
problem across the
organization, try to
find other staff who
also want to find ways
to resolve the issue.
ER Volunteer

We suggested having
biweekly meetings
between the ER
volunteers and the
organizations
directors to improve
communication. We
made this suggestion
in our end-of-the-year
report, and asked
again several times.
So far nothing has
happened. ER
Volunteer

Channels of communication may cause

frustrations. Information may be disseminated

Actively ask other people what

is going on each day. Dont wait
for your co-workers to tell you
because they often forget or
dont realize that you need to
know the information. Rachel,
ET Volunteer, Indonesia

to you in a haphazard manner, if at all, not to

mention the real possibility that there is a
language barrier. You may have to accept that a
lot goes on of which you have no knowledge
and over which you have no control. Michael
Palmer, quoted in Sarah Fielding, Study Abroad
Guide
136

What do cultural/communication style

challenges look like for volunteers?

Cultural Styles
The Challenge

Styles of
communication are
still a challenge for
me, as I am never
fully aware of all the
layers of what is
going on. ER
Volunteer

Many volunteers from

the U.S. are socialized in
a low-context culture and
are accustomed to a style
of direct communication;
in their posts, they may
struggle with highcontext culture and
indirect communication.

I am constantly worried about saying the

wrong thing and offending someone.
Even when people tell me something, I
dont really know whats being said.
I dont know how to address problems at
my post without saying it plainly.
My colleagues and supervisors will only give
me positive comments.
People say yes to things and then dont
do them.

Things to Try

Adjusting to styles of
interaction where most
of what is being communicated is not directly
stated, and where great care is taken to avoid
offense to the other party, takes a great deal of
time and tact for most volunteers. Until
volunteers are able to learn how to function in a
high-context/indirect communication
environment, they can feel confused,
frustrated, and impatient.

- Understand that you must adjust. Remember

that you are the odd one out, and so you should
not expect others to conform to the means of
communication that is most natural for you.
Dont ever try to force someone into making a
direct statement or telling you no to your face,
because you will have done serious damage to
your working relationship with that person.
- Be patient with
yourself, and with
others. Navigating
Be patient with
new modes of
yourself when you
communication can
reach culture
be difficult and
fatigue. - Nol, ER
consume a lot of our
Volunteer, Thailand
patience and energy.
While you are
learning, it is natural
that you will make mistakes and misunderstand
whats being communicated to you. Dont let
these small speedbumps slow you down or
discourage you; use your mistakes as
opportunities to learn so that you can do better
next time.

In many of the articles I have written,

I advocate for open, honest, trust-based
relationships being a direct, nononsense, tell-it-like-it-is person; that
is what I value most.
I can often find indirect, seemingly
non-committal, indecisive
communication a real chore. Just get to
the point, I hear myself say. Or, are
you just saying yes to just be nice or do
you really want to go ahead? Aaggh.
Sue Barrett, Culture and Communication

- Ask others for advice. Find people who are

familiar with both cultures who can help to give
137

communicating is thinking or what they are

trying to convey and then you can see how
they address the situation with each other.

Share cultural difficulties with someone who

can understand and knows more about the
culture and may be able to explain it to you.
Oftentimes, people do not mean to make things
difficult or cause offense and there is usually
cultural/organizational history that may lead
to certain ways of operating. This doesnt
mean your experience is not valid, simply that
you are working in a different context. Sarah,
ER Volunteer, Vietnam

I learned a lot about how to

communicate indirectly by sitting in
on meetings where I had been
debriefed beforehand. I was able to
clearly see how the directors
interacted with partner organizations
that they really were excited to work
with and how they interacted with
partners where the collaboration was
not going well. This helped me to see
how nonverbal cues, silence, underenthusiasm, sending things off to
committees, dragging feet about
scheduling the next meeting, etc. are
used to convey subtle messages about
the organizations position. Before
this, I thought that indirect
communication meant that certain
things just werent being said.
Afterwards, though, I was able to
understand that everything is being
said, but in ways other than direct
words. Sarah, ER Volunteer, Thailand

advice and tips, and who can explain some of

the reasons and thinking behind the situations
that youre struggling with.
- Observe others actions. When you are a
third-party observer, it can be easier to
understand the methods that are being used for
indirect communication. Try to find situations
where you can be a fly on the wall where you
know what one or both of the parties

A Few Tips in Indirect Communications:

- Using silence to convey disagreement, especially

when you would be enthusiastic about something
if you agreed with it.
- Using maybe to convey no, or giving an
extremely long time-frame for completing
something so that its clear that it is a low-priority
thing for you.

- Take your time. People will want to avoid

telling you no, and instead may give a series of
excuses or delays to convey to you that they are
not interested in doing something. Sometimes
it can take time for the message behind their
statements to become clear to you, so keep
your patience and look for nonverbal cues
about the message that is being conveyed.

- Using its very difficult to convey no or to ask

someone to reconsider.
- Using third-parties to convey messages that are
unpleasant. While hearing about things through
the grapevine is a definite no-no in most Western
cultures, using intermediaries can be effective in
the context of your post.

- Keep your cool. When dealing with indirect

communication gets overwhelming and
138

outlets such as
hobbies, your
community of
volunteers, or
your favorite
foods to keep
your sanity so
that you can
keep your cool.

frustrating and itdoes rely

on your other
More Tips on Communicating
Indirect communication relies on context,
particularly eye contact, facial expressions,
tone of voice, and body language rather than
the spoken word. By paying attention to nonverbal language, listeners can decipher the
true message. If you come from a direct
culture, it may take time to understand the
nuances of indirect communication where
what is not said can be as important as what is
said. People from direct cultures must learn to
listen hard to avoid missing the subtleties.
They may also need to temper their speech
pattern to not appear overly blunt and rude.

Time and Efficiency

The Challenge
Almost every volunteer comes to their post
with motivation
and passion that
make them
My NGO takes
want to get
disorganization to a new
things done
level, with plans
constantly changing at
now! What
the last minute (or more
most volunteers
often there were no plans
encounter at
in the first place!). ER
their posts,
Volunteer
though, is that
things do not
move at the
pace that they are used to.

Clues to help you decipher indirect

communication:
- Be on the lookout for the word maybe
because it can be used to make a direct
statement indirect.
- If you hear phrases such as I will see, I will
try or It may be difficult, youve probably
been given a negative response.

Patience is a
virtue, and one
that you will
The work itself is very
need to have in
disorganized, and
your toolkit
volunteers are frequently
every day at your
asked to complete
post. But, it can
reports on an emergency
be hard to stay
basis or to host
visitors/give
patient when
presentations/attend
deadlines pass
meetings with no prior
and donors are
notice. ER Volunteer
knocking at your
door, or when
your teaching
schedule changes for the fourth time in a week.

- If there is a long pause or other non-verbal

cues such as avoiding the eyes or evasive
responses, youve probably just been told no.
- Rather than accept assurances or
agreements on face value, ask for specifics. It
can be difficult to get definite answers to
questions if the response would be negative.
Therefore, watch for evasions or half
statements.
- Carrie Shearer, Indirectness as Seen Through
the Eyes of a Direct Communicator

Talk to your family and

friends at home when
you are over the edge so
that you do not do this to
staff/directors. You do
not want to lose face or
ruin relationships. ER
Volunteer

139

you dont want to be in a position of ordering

your colleagues around.

Schedules are a problem. Im expected to teach

the office staff, who are usually here every day,
and the field staff, who comes to the main office
in varying shifts once a month. I never know
when these shifts are no matter how much Ive
asked. Field staff say they dont know
themselves. And when the field is here, Im not
sure who will actually come to class. Ive tried
several different class times/ layouts/material.
Ive given people my number and tried to
appoint a class leader (unsuccessful). For now,
I recycle material between the office and field
staff to accommodate spontaneous schedules,
and Im thinking of planning for just the office
and having the field join when theyre here.
ER/ET Volunteer

- Try to build capacity around planning and

strategy. Planfulness is one of the qualities of
an effective organization, according to Barbara
D. Kibbe; and its a
quality that is
frequently in low
It was tough to have
supply at volunteers
staffpersons meet
posts. As with all
deadlines, so I tried
holding meetings to
capacity building, this is
update the status of
easier said than done,
projects. - Sarena, ER/ET
but if you can help to
Volunteer, China
integrate scheduling
and planning into your
organization, it will
make a positive change for the long-term.

What do time challenges look like for

volunteers?
-

- Deal with it. Time is very cultural, and its

unlikely that the post will make any radical
changes on this issue.
Your best bet is to
adjust your expectations
Dont stress out or
and your schedules
behave in a Western
accordingly, and just
work manner. My
relax and accept it.
colleagues are generally
less stressed and more
Many volunteers who
flexible. It gets done
initially were stressed
when it gets done. out about the different
Nol, ER Volunteer,
orientation toward time
Thailand
when they first arrived,
find at the end of their
posts that they
appreciate the slower
pace. Learning how to
I try to practice
take time to enjoy your
patience. I try to lighten
surroundings and enjoy
up. I go on vacation :)
your colleagues and
Christine, ER/ET
friends is one of the
Volunteer, Indonesia
greatest gifts of being a
volunteer.

Things take longer than I think they should.

Things dont get done.
There is no planning.
We spend all our time putting out fires.
Everyone is late.
Schedules change all the time.
Things are so disorganized.
Things to Try

I would suggest
meeting with the
Director to schedule
regular English classes
and make sure this
timing is adhered to,
with the Directors
support. Continue to
teach the classes even if
only one person shows
up.
ER Volunteer

- Get management
support. When
you can, try to get
directors or
managers to
support your grant
report/proposal
timetables or class
schedules. The
staff are more
likely to listen to
the directors, and
140

you start to wonder if you will ever be able to

progress on your language learning or get to
know your neighbors since all your time is spent
in the office.

Workload
Workload issues are a common challenge
among ER volunteers in particular; they usually
fall into one of two positions: too much to do,
or not enough to do.

Things to Try

The Challenge Too Much Work

Some volunteers arrive to their posts to find a
huge stack of work waiting for them, and the
organization expects their full-time dedication
not only during the work-day, but on nights and
weekends as well.
Its nice to know
that you are needed
at your post, but it
There is not much time
might be nice to
for capacity building. I
have a personal life
spend so much time
as well. But every
just writing reports and
time you power
proposals and having to
juggle a wide range of
through an item on
other tasks during a
your to-do list, six
time when the NGO
more urgent things
underwent staffing
appear. Work-life
shortages. ER
balance has just
Volunteer
gone out the
window, and in its
place is the neverending march of things that your post expects
you to complete.
Forget about getting
ahead, all you can
After a particularly
do is just keep your
busy period at work, I
head above water.
made it back to my
usual coffee shop. The
At first, you didnt
barista asked where I
had been, I was away
mind taking on
from
the shop so long
those extra tasks
that she thought Id
because you came
gone back to America.
to help out, right?
ER Volunteer
But after a while
141

- Look around. Are all of your colleagues

working every weekend? Is this just a part of
the organizations culture and expectations for
all staff? If long hours and lots of work are par
for the course at your post, you may have to
adjust yourself to it somewhat. But if most
people are leaving at 5:00 while youve still got
hours of work to do, then thats another story
altogether.
- Set boundaries early and
often. It can be hard to
turn down work
opportunities when you
are new at your post, but
if you accept extra
assignments on evenings
and weekends when you
are newly arrived then
you are setting a
precedent and building
the expectation that you
dont mind working all the
time. Find out from the
previous volunteer if its a
demanding post, and if so,
try to establish your
boundaries early. Know
for yourself what your
tolerance is for overtime,
and stick with it as much
as you can. Communicate
your boundaries politely,
but try to be consistent.

Set firm
boundaries
about workload
if it is too much.
Explain
respectfully the
reasons behind
your
boundaries.
Sarah, ER
Volunteer,
Vietnam

Dont overcommit your

time. Draw lines
early so that
expectations are
realistic. ER
Volunteer

mountainside,
bargain for a
new pair of
sunglasses, or
whateverdo
it.

- Delegate. If youre alone at your post in

finding yourself overwhelmed with work, then it
can be helpful to source out the tasks to others
who have the time. Sometimes delegating your
work to colleagues is a good opportunity to
build relationships, and to help them develop
important skills that will be useful later on.

When you reach your

limit, do something that
brings you joy so you
can come back to the
work environment
refreshed and ready to
pick up where you left
off. - Nol, ER Volunteer,
Thailand

- When you
must, grin and
bear it.
Sometimes
round-the-clock work is just unavoidable. In
grant writing, there are definite report seasons
like at the end of the year and proposal
seasons like April/May and
October/November that are sure to keep you
busy after-hours. In teaching, there might be
deadlines for submitting final exams and grades
at the end of the term, and developing the
semesters curriculum before the term starts.
In any organization, there might be workrelated seminars and retreats that keep you
occupied for several days. When skipping out
on a work activity is likely to damage your
relationships with colleagues, then sometimes
you just have to do the work.

- Prioritize. It might be the case that not

everything youve been assigned to do is
necessary. While some of the tasks might be
essential for the organizations continued
operations, others might be busywork. Whats
the worst that could happen if some of the
things on your list just never got done?
- Follow your values. Its never a good idea to
compromise on things that are important to
you. If its essential for your well-being that you
make it to church on Sunday or that you have
your Skype date with your family on
Wednesday nights or that you make it to Ho Chi
Minh City for that concert youve been dying to
see, then dont give it up. You could find
yourself in a situation
where you missed
something dear and
Hold your
important to you to meet a
ground (firmly
work priority, but the
but nicely).
schedule changed and it
Frank, ER
didnt end up happening;
Volunteer,
this is a recipe for
Cambodia
resentment and
unhappiness. Keep your
own values first.

The Challenge Not Enough Work

Some volunteers arrive to their posts, and
naturally take their time at first in waiting to be
assigned work to do. They keep on waiting,
asking their supervisors, but even after they
have been at their posts for a while, they are
not given anything to do.
You enjoyed the time to settle in, get to know
your colleagues, find your way about town, and
update your blog, but now that youre here you
would really like to have some work to do. Your
colleagues are nice people, and there seems to

- Take breaks and take time for self-care. Selfcare is important to avoid burn-out. No matter
how tight the deadline is, if you hit the wall and
need to do yoga, get a cup of coffee, watch a
funny movie, take a bicycle ride up a
142

Former Vols Dish: No

Clear Role for Me at the
Post
- I had to make up my own
role, for the most part. ER
Volunteer
- Because I am one of four
international volunteers
currently serving at my post,
in addition to one full time
expat staff member, I often
feel underused. While I have
had a hand in some
interesting projects, they have
been on a very ad hoc basis,
with no overarching structure
or theme for me to sink my
teeth into. ER Volunteer
I think I could be more
effective with more specific
direction from the NGOs
directors. ER Volunteer
- There was not a clear
mission or tangible objectives
for why I was at this post. ER/ET Volunteer

good idea, because they saw other

organizations with volunteers that seemed to
be helping, or to garner the prestige that a
foreigner can bring to the organization (please
see Privilege and Status, p. 149).

be enough to
occupy them,
but every time
you ask if you
can help with
anything, they
say that theyve
got it under
control.

- Ask for guidance. Try asking your supervisors

and your colleagues for ways that you can
contribute. You can ask what they are working
on, and try to suggest a role for yourself in their
activity.

Eventually you
start to wonder
if youll get a
chance to
develop any
professional
skills, and why
did this post ask
for a volunteer,
anyway?
Reports and
proposals are
probably boring
to work on, but
youd gladly
take them over
the boredom of
sitting in an
office watching
YouTube and
messing around
on Facebook all
day.

- Learn everything you can. With the extra

down time you have, you can use it to gain
background knowledge about the organization,
your host country, and the issues that your
organization is working on. You can read old
reports, look
through email
history, contact
former volunteers,
Use spare time at
and talk with your
work to read
papers/reports
colleagues to find
about
your country
out about the
or issues which
history and projects
youre interested
of your
in. Even if theyre
organization. You
not directly related
to your day-to-day
can look into the
activities,
they give
details of the
you more context
demographics of
about where youre
your organizations
living and issues
target groups, localyour NGO is dealing
with. Maura, ER
area statistics of
Volunteer, Indonesia
beneficiaries, and
the past outcomes
of your
organizations projects. You can also stay active
in reading news updates, watching videos and
documentaries, and seeking out reports about
the local and regional situation that your
organization is actively working on.

Things to Try
- Remember that its not personal. Your post is
probably not doing this on purpose, they just
may not know what kinds of work you can do.
Some organizations ask for a volunteer without
having a specific role in mind for the volunteers
to take on once they arrive. They might have
requested a volunteer because it sounded like a
143

materials for their posts, such as brochures,

blogs, websites, videos, newsletters, etc.

- Define your own role. You

can try to turn the situation
Think creatively
into an opportunity to
about the ways
explore and find your own
you can
role within the organization.
contribute in
Be proactive in looking for
your work
setting. Maura,
ways to get involved with
ER Volunteer,
existing initiatives, or in
Indonesia
launching new initiatives
that you think would be
helpful. You are in the best
position to know your own skills and identify
ways to put them to work at your post.

- Be social. You can use your time forming

relationships and getting to know your
colleagues and neighbors. Go around and meet
everyone, find out
what each department
does and what each
I eat lunch with
persons role is. Dont
co-workers to
just ask about work,
find out what
theyre working
though; find out about
on. Christine,
their family, their
ER/ET Volunteer,
hobbies, and where
Indonesia
they are from. Attend
work social eventsor
plan them. Aside from
building your relationships and giving you an
opportunity to practice the local language, this
will help people to know who you are, so that
maybe they will think of you when the next task
comes along.

- Work ahead. You can make your time useful

for your organization by working on things that
you know will definitely be needed down the
road. ET volunteers can work on creating a
curriculum or a handbook with useful teaching
materials that will benefit future volunteers. ER
volunteers can work on gathering documents
and information needed to write grant
proposals and reports, such
as copies of the
organizations registration
I entered an
documents (should have
NGO
both the original copies and
environment
an official translation),
where its not so
mission statement,
obvious what
there need is for
resumes/CVs for key staff
me, but where
members, copies of past
theres a ton
years financial audits and
going on which
budget information, job
Im open to
descriptions, internal
explore and find
my own niche.
documents of the
ER Volunteer
goals/objectives/indicators
for each project. ER
volunteers can work on
writing or updating LOIs, organizational
descriptions, sustainability sections, etc. that
can be used as templates in future proposals.
Volunteers can also develop public relations

- Develop your skills. One of the most obvious

ways that you can use your time to develop
your skills is by studying the local language. If
you have time while you are on the clock to do
this, then why not? It will free up your evenings
and weekends for exploring the local area,
trying new foods, etc. In addition to language
study, you could develop other skills that might
be useful in your work. Take online tutorials
about Microsoft Office, Photoshop, web
developing, or WordPress; practice
photography or videography; work on your
technical writing or social media skills.
- Network. You can be of service to your
organization by making contacts and linkages
on their behalf. Research and network with
other organizations in your field that are
working locally and internationally. You can
make site visits to learn about the organization,
144

Visit other NGOs and

talk to people
working in other
organizations.
Gabrielle, ER
Volunteer, Cambodia

your under-utilized
talents or meet your
I have asked to be
unfulfilled expectations
involved in the grantfrom the volunteer
writing/editing
placement. You might
process but have so
far not been
volunteer with another
successful.
Im
organization and find
considering
ways to help out by
volunteering on the
developing a webpage,
side with other NGOs
teaching English,
to gain more handson experience with
writing grant
actual writing. ER
proposals, helping out
Volunteer
with public relations,
translating documents
and events, painting,
infrastructure development, etc.

invite them to visit

your organization,
and seek out ways to
work together to
benefit your
organizations
activities and
projects.

- Look for other opportunities. At some posts,

despite all of a volunteers efforts to get
involved, there will just not be enough work for
the volunteer to do. If this is your situation,
then you can seek out other organizations,
religious congregations, or schools in the
community that will be able to make use of

Supervision
The Challenge

Past Vols Share Their Advice on What to Do

When There is Not Enough Work at the Post:

Some volunteers find

that the kind of
supervision they receive
in their posts is different
from what they are used
to in the U.S., and this
can take some
adjustment.

- Ask the organization often what theyd like you

to do, and if you still get vague answers, suggest
roles for yourself, as they might not know your
skills and interests. - Daniel, ER/ET Volunteer,
China
- Try to reach out to the people in charge of the
organization you work for, ask them how you can
get more involved in the organization, ask for
feedback on your performance. Natalie, ER/ET
Volunteer, China

Some volunteers have

supervisors that are
overwhelmed with
other responsibilities
and have little time to
be a mentor or to
provide guidance. This
hands-off style of
management can leave
volunteers feeling
directionless or without
support.

- Instead of asking more generally, What do you

want me to do?, ask, What kinds of workshops or
classes do you need?, and give plenty of
suggestions for staff to choose from. Sarah
ER/ET Volunteer, China
- When there was not enough work at one NGO, I
looked for other NGOs in the area and worked
with them also. Sarah, ER/ET Volunteer, China

145

Hierarchical
decision-making,
even in an
organization that
endeavors to
empower young
people, is very
difficult for me as
time goes on.
Sometimes I have to
work very hard to
maintain patience
when it seems that
any ability to make
decisions has to wait
for the Directors to
be around. ER
Volunteer

Many organizations are being run by accidental

trust, you may be allowed greater latitude in

taking on your own tasks
in the future.

managers who may be highly skilled in teaching

literacy to street children, for example, but may
have great difficulty in creating a budget, writing

- Focus on work. When it

With limited
comes to the quality, and
resources, my post
quantity, of your
takes a do the best
supervision, there is
you can approach to
everything. But do
probably little that you
the best you can
can do to change the
doesnt always leave
situation. The best thing
me satisfied. ET
that you can do is to keep
Volunteer
your contacts with your
supervisors positive, and
brief, and spend most of
your time focused on the actual tasks of your
work. You will surprise yourself at how well you
can do your job, even if you have little guidance
from your supervisors or if you have to check
every little detail with them as you go along.

a proposal, or supervising someone else at

teaching. If you find yourself frustrated because
your boss is an accidental manager, you may want
to try to keep focused on the project. If you have
management experience, you may want to offer to
help improve management systems. You might
want to manage your boss by writing out
priorities as you perceive them and sharing the
list with him or her. Remember that many
accidental managers are doing a lot with scarce
resources, and are making headway despite
facing serious obstacles. Joseph Collins, Stefano
DeZerega, and Zahara Heckscher, How to Live Your
Dream of Volunteering Overseas
Others are surprised to find that their post
requires all decisions to be made by
supervisors, and that they must check-in
regularly. Hierarchical management can be
difficult for volunteers to accept, as they may
be more accustomed to taking responsibility for
their own work.

I learned that effective leadership does

not necessarily mean other people
recognize you as a leader. This is another
aspect of indirect communication.
Leadership is about getting people to
work together for a higher purpose.
Sometimes, you need to guide people

Things to Try

subtly so that they find their own reasons

- Manage your supervisors. Tactfully

managing your superiors is a difficult skill to
acquire, but once mastered, can serve you for
the rest of your working life. You can subtly
guide or suggest courses of action, then offer to
take it on yourself in order to help. With
hierarchical management, try to get approval in
advance for several different contingencies and
several steps of the process, then go ahead and
do what you like. As you gain your supervisors

to give you what you need. from Indirect

Communication and Indirect Leadership in Asia

Technology
The Challenge
Modern-day offices are completely dependent
on technology to operate smoothly and
effectively, and problems of technology and
infrastructure can hamper volunteers
contributions at their posts.
146

When youre making documents and

spreadsheets, save your work frequently; if the
power goes out, everything you did will be lost.
Back-up your work files in a safe place like
online storage or an external hard-drive; there
is no good reason not to also make back-ups of
your back-ups. If emails, reports, or
information are important, then print a copy so
that you can be sure you have it if the computer
or Internet suddenly becomes unavailable.

While your colleagues may be able to do their

jobs with just a motorbike and a notepad,
usually the work of ER
volunteers relies heavily
upon technology, in
Technology: My
doing online research for
computer isnt
grant opportunities,
compatible with the
creating spreadsheets
printer or
along with proposals and
projector.
reports, maintaining
Printers/copiers
die. Power is out.
email contact with
Christine, ER/ET
donors and supporters
Volunteer, Indonesia
worldwide, and creating
public relations
materials. When the
power goes out, the printer breaks down, the
Internet shuts off, or the computer catches a
virus, the ER volunteers work can be
completely sidelined.

- Go it alone. If you have your own computertype equipment, bring it. You might not use it
as your primary workspace, but it can be great
for meetings and for working when there are
problems with work computers. That said,
protect your device from viruses by limiting
your connections with other computers,
especially if you have a PC (i.e., send files
through emails instead of through USB drives,
scan any new files you receive before
downloading, etc.). If you need to utilize
technology outside of the office, such as
Internet cafes, copy shops, and the like, do it.

These challenges
have the potential to
go beyond the usual
There are three
hiccups that happen
(old) computers for
with technology
volunteers to use,
everywhere. You
as well as two
printers/scanners,
could lose an hour of
one of which
work when the
occasionally
power suddenly
works. ER
shuts off if you
Volunteer
forgot to save a copy
of your document or
spreadsheet. You
could lose years of your organizations work
when a virus attacks if there wasnt a backup
copy of the hard-drive.

- Minimize your need for technology. Dont

plan your English
lessons around use of
technology, or if you
I try to lesson plan
do, be sure to have a
as much in advance
back-up plan in case
as possible. I rely
the technology
on copy shops. I try
doesnt work. For ER
to use as little
volunteers, it is best
paper as possible.
to always have ready
Christine, ER/ET
a set of nonVolunteer, Indonesia
computer work that
you can be doing in
case the power or
Internet inexplicably goes down, especially in
the rainy season when infrastructure problems
are more likely.

Things to Try
- Plan for technology failure. Technology
problems happen often enough that its worth
planning for the most likely contingencies.

147

than locals in some areas, where you will pay an

extra surcharge as a foreigner for lodging,
transportation, etc. The reason could also be
that you command a higher standard of living
than locals and need to make a bit more. The
reason could also be because of the prestige
attached to being a foreigner (please see
Embodying Western Prestige, page 150).

Make suggestions as politely as possible re:

technology/infrastructure and make them
routinely. If your NGO is willing to have you
make improvements directly, just do it!!
Nol, ER Volunteer, Thailand

- Why do I make less than expatriates?

Expatriate staff are usually paid a wage that is
designed to give them a substantially better
standard of living than locals, which is meant to
keep them on par with peers in the U.S, U.K.,
Europe, Australia, etc. standards.

- Seek out ways to upgrade. If you have skills

or contacts related to technology, this is an
excellent way to build the capacity of your
organization.

Money
The Challenge

Mediating
Between
Cultures

While funds shouldnt really be a challenge per

se for any volunteer, it is fairly common for
volunteers to experience a certain level of
discomfort surrounding their stipends.

The Challenge

The main difficulty is

communicating
effectively between
the donors and the
organization.
Expectations about
budgeting, reporting
on activities and
indicators, and
reporting timelines
can be difficult to
convey between these
two parties. ER
Volunteer

Many ER
volunteers find
themselves in a
position of
mediating
between different
cultures: balancing
funders
expectations and
the organizations
expectations,
Western cultures
and Asian cultures. Being in the middle point
gives volunteers the potential to bridge gaps in
understanding, but it also places volunteers at
risk for being squeezed on both sides.

Some FAQs about volunteer stipends include:

- Am I really a volunteer if I get paid? Yes,
because you are making a local-level (or near to
it) salary. Your stipend is not designed to make
you rich, but is
meant to cover your
basic costs so that
My expat friends
you are able to stay
feel sorry for me
as a volunteer for a
when I tell them
my salary, but my
long-term period.
volunteer
stipend is higher
- Why do I make
than the salary of
more than locals?
several of my local
Not all volunteers are
colleagues. ER
paid more than their
Volunteer
colleagues, but some
are. Sometimes
there is a good
reason for this, and other times there isnt. The
reason could be that you may face higher costs

There is not much in the way of suggestion

about how to resolve this issue, but it is one
that ER volunteers should be aware of in trying
to balance their responsibilities.
148

abuse it. You may

have ideas or
suggestions that you
wish to make, but it
may be best to leave
it alone and let the
locals come up a
solution, which is
bound to be more
appropriate and
more sustainable
than anything that
you would have
thought of. You may
be asked to speak or
to give your opinion
on something you
know little about, or
you may be credited
with a success that
isnt really yours; use
these opportunities
to empower your
colleagues and
recognize people
who remain on the
sidelines but whose
work is essential to
the enterprise.

The grants culture focuses on making

relatively small grant investments in order
to leverage significant and long-term change.
Most organizations, on the other hand, are
often preoccupied with survival. You may
find yourself poised between opposing
cultural values and norms, and it will be your
job as a grant writer to structure a win-win
for both sides. - Timothy and Judith
Kachinske, 90 Days to Success in Grant Writing

Navigating Issues of Privilege and

Status
Being Given Power and Status You Dont
Deserve
No matter what your
social status in the US,
Understand that,
you are likely to be
because you are a
given a somewhat
foreigner, especially
privileged status in
if you are white, you
your host country.
may be given power
Because of your
and status that you
association with a
relatively powerful and
do not deserve. You
wealthy country,
may not want the
people in the
power, but its up to
community and even
you to make some
some at your post are
conscious decisions
likely to view you with
about what you want
positive attributes and
to do with it.
to give you a high
Joseph Collins,
status, whether or not
Stefano DeZerega,
you actually deserve it.
and Zahara
It is important to be
Heckscher, How to
conscious of the status
Live Your Dream of
you are afforded as a
Volunteering Overseas
foreigner, and to not

Even when there

is a problem with
a simple solution, I
worry about there
being some
American team
who comes in and
saves things. It is
kind of crazy and
inappropriate to
think that we
would have any
decision making
roleI think we
can just observe
and make
suggestions. ET
Volunteer

I wanted to
suggest changes,
but often I
preferred not to
suggest them
because I did not
want to be too
controlling. I
decided to suggest
some of the
smaller changes,
but not bigger
oneswhich is
probably good.
Sarah, ER/ET
Volunteer, China

Sometimes people
will ask for your
advice based on
perceptions that
Westerners are
intelligent and
technologicallyskilled, rather than
based on any real
understanding of your particular strengths as an
individual. When youre asked to do
something, perform a self-assessment and think
149

and they have

concerns about how
significant a role
they will be able to
have in the actual
work at their posts.
Rightly or wrongly,
the presence of a
foreign volunteer
can have tangible
positive benefits for
organizations, like
increasing their level
of respect and
status in the
community or
bringing new
partnerships. These
benefits come at a
high cost, however,
by supporting
unfounded positive
beliefs about
Western prestige.

about whether you

are actually
You have to be
knowledgeable and
engaged in a critical
skilled enough to
dialogue, while
help. If your selfassessment reveals
recognizing that
that you arent
because of your race,
really able to
gender, class, sexual
effectively
orientation, education
contribute, then it is
level, or other form of
best to tactfully
privilege you most
decline or to make
likely have been
very limited
socialized by
suggestions. You
American culture to
want to avoid
feigning expertise,
expect to have all the
which could
answers. Paul Kivel,
reinforce
The Revolution Will Not
stereotypes that
Be Funded
disempower local
forms of knowledge and expertise.
Embodying Western Prestige
In most of the
communities where
VIA volunteers work,
There were several
there is a certain
times when Im pretty
amount of prestige
sure that I was
that is attached to
invited to meetings or
community events
foreign volunteers,
where my main role
and this prestige
was to just sit there
transfers to
and look white. ER
organizations who
Volunteer
host them. Hosting
volunteers from
Western countries
makes these organizations look professional
and internationally connected.

Real and
Perceived
Privilege
People are likely to
relate to you as a
very privileged and
wealthy person,
regardless of your
actual economic
status at home.
Foreigner pricing is
a reality in many
places, where locals
have a lower price
than foreigners.
This is usually
justified by noting

Some volunteers find themselves in a situation

where they suspect that their post requested a
volunteer partly in order to get this prestige,
150

International
volunteers are often
uncritically represented
as members of a
superior race and a
wealthy society. As
such, they are viewed
as bringing additional
resources, credibility,
and marketability to
host organizations,
regardless of the actual
value of hosted
volunteers. Though
host organizations are
sometimes aware of the
limits of these
widespread beliefs,
they nevertheless make
use of them in order to
market or sell their
services or products,
thus reinforcing and
perpetuating these
negative racial biases.
Volunteer and Service
Enquiry Southern Africa
(VOSESA), International
Voluntary Service in
Southern African
Development Community:
Host Organization
Perspectives from
Mozambique and
Tanzania

People assume
that because Im an
American that I am
rich and
privileged. ER
Volunteer

the U.S., which could have an innocent

motivation or a malevolent one. Some areas
where VIA volunteers work have strong
religious or cultural beliefs that can influence
local community members. It is best to be
aware of the local situation before you go. For
some volunteers, it may unfortunately be best
to adjust your behavior to minimize any
problems or issues that could arise.

that foreigners have

more money than locals,
and can pose difficulties
when you are trying to
live on a local-level
salary.

Remember, though, that

in some ways you
probably do have
privileges, for example, if you have a Western
passport. This affords immense privilege, even
just to cross borders when you need and/or
want to, which the members of the local
community are not likely to have.

Some of the situations can be quite difficult and

force volunteers to make hard choices. In many
of these situations, there is no clear-cut right or
wrong thing to do. If there is a positive element
to these situations, it is that they can lead to a
more complex and nuanced understanding of
the culture in your host country; they may even
lead to opportunities for you to break negative
stereotypes.

Volunteers have an umbilical cord of

privilege, that provides volunteers with an
escape if things get uncomfortable,

Gender

dangerous, or overwhelming; they can always

Unfortunately, female volunteers will need to

modify their behavior to combat sexist
stereotypes and avoid unwanted attention.
Behavior that might be cnsidered normal at
home may scandalous or even dangerous
overseas. Joseph Collins, Stefano DeZerega,
and Zahara Heckscher, How to Live Your Dream
of Volunteering Overseas

pull on the cord and bounce back to life at

home. Joseph Collins, Stefano DeZerega,
and Zahara Heckscher, How to Live Your Dream
of Volunteering Overseas

Issues of Gender, Race, Sexuality,

Nationality

I found it helpful to say that Im married (Im

not) to avoid the ubiquitous questions about
my relationship status. ER Volunteer

In addition to being faced with a high level of

power and status that they didnt earn, most
volunteers encounter situations where they
must navigate cultural expectations,
stereotypes, conflicts, and even dangers around
issues of gender, race, sexuality, and
nationality.

Women in my town do not go anywhere by

themselves. Whenever I run into a friend at the
market, even in broad daylight, the first thing
they ask is, Who did you come here with?
Youre alone, really!?!? ER Volunteer

Discrimination may occur, which in many cases

is related to fear of the unknown. People may
ask questions that would seem inappropriate in

For my first month at the post when I didnt

have any transportation yet, I ate dinner every
night with the other volunteer at my post, who
151

Westerner, that have either made disparaging

comments about Burmese people (Thats why
the volunteers at your organization got dengue
fever, because there are Burmese people
around) and I have personally witnessed them
be cold, rude, or even hostile to Burmese. I felt
the need to speak up but wasnt sure how to do
it or what it would really accomplish. ER
Volunteer

happened to be male (Im female). Later when I

started going out by myself, the restaurant staff
always asked me where my boyfriend was. I
realized they assumed that we were involved,
since we were a man and a woman out together
alone at night. ER Volunteer
Female volunteers are sometimes the victims
of stereotypes perpetuated by Baywatch
reruns and pornography broadcast even in
remote destinations. The good news is that
female volunteers have access to the secret
world of women overseasrituals, stories, and
friendship that are off limits to male
volunteers. Zahara Heckscher, quoted in
Sarah Fielding, Study Abroad Guide

Another volunteer and I were at a barbeque

with the parents of our students. They asked
what country I was from, and I said, America.
Then they asked what country the other
volunteer was from, and she said, America.
They asked us, How can you both come from
the same country when one of you is white and
the other is black? ER/ET Volunteer

Race
Discrimination in other countries can be even
more overt than in the United States. Reports
from past participants vary from those who felt
exhilarated by being free of the American
context of race relations, to those who
experienced different degrees of innocent
curiosity about their ethnicity, to those who felt
they met both familiar and new types of
ostracism and prejudice and had to learn new
coping strategies. Very few minority students
conclude that the racial or ethnic problems
which can be encountered in other countries
represent sufficient reasons for not going. On
the other hand, these students advise knowing
what you are getting into and preparing
yourself for it. Michigan State University,
quoted in Sarah Fielding, Study Abroad Guide

I have come to understand the deeper

implications of my standing as an Asian
American. Because of my experiences in both
cultures, I cannot feel completely comfortable
in either culture, but belong instead in the
interface between the two of them. Hung T.
Quan, quoted in Sarah Fielding, Study Abroad
Guide
Sexuality
Societal attitudes toward race and sexual
orientation are cultural constructs. Those
attitudes change considerably across cultures,
and students traveling abroad inevitably bump
into them. Those bumps can be jarring. You
may need to take a deep breath from time to
time and remind yourself that this is a learning
experience. University of Iowa, quoted in
Sarah Fielding, Study Abroad Guide

I am the first non-White American to volunteer

at my post. ER Volunteer

They said that there arent gay people in this

country, that it was introduced from the West.
ER/ET Volunteer

I have had difficulty reacting to the racism of

local people whom I trust and respect. There
have been several people I feel close to, who
have been extremely welcoming to me as a
152

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered

(GLBT) people experience oppression
everywhere in the world, though there are
different levels of acceptance in different
countries. Learn as much as possible about the
culture-specific norms of friendship and dating,
styles of behavior, and general attitudes.
University of Geulph (Canada), quoted in Sarah
Fielding, Study Abroad Guide

Critiques of International Volunteering

Many thoughtful observers of international
volunteeringand many international volunteers!
have noted that volunteers can have both positive and
negative impacts on the communities they serve.
These critiques of international volunteering offer
important insights and perspectives that volunteers
are well-advised to consider during and after their
volunteer term.

Nationality
The views from some other foreigners about
the host country conflict with mine; they see
this country as inferior. ET Volunteer

A Few of the Critiques

Some common critiques state that, despite going to
the host country with the desire to help, volunteers
can have the effect of disempowering local
communities, by taking jobs that a local person could
have filled, by encouraging dependency on foreign
income, by speaking for others without their consent,
by modeling consumerist Western values. Another
common critique is that volunteers are not wellequipped to help the places they serve, due to many
volunteers coming with limited professional
experience, lack of fluency in the local language, and
unfamiliarity with local culture and customs.

Be sure you want to come here, you dont

want to add to the population of
ignorant/discriminatory foreigners. ER
Volunteer

Ethical Dilemmas
These fall well beyond the realm of typical dayto-day volunteer challenges, although there
have been volunteers who unfortunately faced
some of the serious ethical dilemmas listed
below during their work at their posts.

The most biting critiques of international volunteering

say that volunteering is neo-colonialist, imperialist, and
paternalist. At the macro level, volunteering is linked
in with critiques of development aid in general, which
claim that such aid privileges so-called Global
North/developed/first-world interests under the guise
of providing help, while leaving intact structural
inequalities that ensure the reproduction of so-called
Global South/developing/third-world societies
domination by the Global North/developed/firstworld. At the micro level, Willy Oppenheim
summarizes this critique as: Efforts to do good can
become exercises of self-righteous arrogance that seek
to justify their own existence by portraying the poor

If you encounter any of these situations or

other serious issues in your post, it is essential
that you are in contact with your In-Country
Representative (ICR) and your Program Director
(PD) about the situation. Your ICR and PD can
listen to the situation, offer you an objective
point of view about the events that you are
facing, contact your post on your behalf, and
even help you in terminating the post if
necessary.
Financial Mismanagement
As an ER volunteer, you are likely to be in a
position to have access to your organizations
financial information in one form or another. If,
in the course of your work, you come across

153

as helpless, incompetent, and desperately in need of

helpeven if that help comes in the form of a nave
teenager with no relevant skills and no knowledge of
local histories and customs.

These same dynamics can be readily observed in many

Asian contexts as well, even though some of the
countries/localities where VIA volunteers work were
not formally colonized.

At stake here are crucial questions of

representation: are you letting people speak for
themselves? Put differently: does your burning
desire to help others allow you to actually listen to
them? Willy Oppenheim, Dont Be Like This Guy

Carlos M. Palacios, reflecting on his own experience as

a volunteer in Vietnam, noted that, Volunteering can
potentially be used to support intercultural learning
and solidarity but, at the same time, can equally
motivate problematic assumptions like they
[Westerners] know better than us [local staff].

While these critiques may seem harsh, they must be

considered thoughtfully in terms of our volunteer
service. As the oft-repeated refrain says, good
intentions are not enough.

These doubts are healthy, even vital: by trying to

remain open to critical feedback, we try to embrace
the complexities and hope to make sensitive and
well-informed decisions when charting a course
through the daily challenges that arise. We hope to
have an educational process through which
volunteers become more sensitive, more open to
difference, and more conscious of their own subtle
biases and intentions. Willy Oppenheim, Dont
Be Like This Guy

So, are Volunteers Tools of a Neo-Colonialist

Movement?
This is probably not a yes or no question, but rather a
matter of degree. Commentators and scholars of
volunteering note that it is probably impossible to
sever volunteering from the context of the history of
imperialism of the Global South/developing/thirdworld by the Global North/developed/first-world. As
the Volunteer and Service Enquiry Southern Africa
(VOSESA) found in its study of volunteer host
organizations in Mozambique and Tanzania,
international voluntary service is not an isolated
activity, but rather a process embedded within the
history of relations between the Western world and
the African continent. They found evidence of the
relevance of the colonial legacy in the pervasive
stereotyped beliefs and actions that treat Westerners
even young and inexperienced as competent and
skilled, and treat locals even older and experienced
as unresourceful or dependent.

Well, Then, What are We Supposed to Do About It?

Im glad you asked!
None of the commentators or scholars cited above
suggested that people should stay home, or that
volunteers have nothing to offer their host
communities. Instead, they said that volunteers
should go, but be sensitive and take measures to
minimize the likelihood that their presence will have
negative impacts and increase the likelihood of
positive impacts for their host communities.
You have decided to come as a volunteer because you
want to be a part of making things better, not worse.

154

- Stay long-term. Commentators and scholars on this

issue said that a long-term commitment of at least six
months is needed in order for volunteers to make a
positive contribution. As VIA volunteers who will stay
for one (or hopefully two!) years at your posts, youve
already got this one in the bag.

- Strive to empower locals. One of the most beneficial

impacts that you can hope to have as a volunteer is to
transfer your knowledge and skills to your local
colleagues. Building organizational capacity is also an
important contribution; it will be great for your host
community if you are able to help strengthen the
organizations ability to leverage its positive impacts
for the local area.

- Be informed and engaged. The commentators noted

that the most harmful volunteers waltz in, propose
solutions without knowing any of the risks or
resources, and then go back to the safety and comfort
of their home countries without a second glance.
When you take the time to learn first, your
contributions will be much more useful and involve
less risk for your local colleagues. Learn as much as
you can about your host country and local community,
the local language(s), and relevant social, political, and
environmental issues that impact the area where you
are working.

- Be conscious and intentional about your impact.

Remaining aware that as a volunteer, you represent
more than yourself, can help to guide you to making
positive impacts and avoiding negative ones. Even as
you make small decisions (and big ones), staying
mindful about your impact can help.
- Form networks and stay involved after you get back
home. Commentators noted that some of volunteers
most critical contributions come from using the
awareness they gained while abroad at home,
advocating for and supporting policies that will benefit
their host countries and helping to solve some of the
transnational challenges.

- Work with your post and your colleagues. VIAs got

you covered on this one, once again; all of the
volunteer placements were made at the request of
the posts, rather than imposed from outside. After
you arrive, you can also do your part by finding out
what your colleagues are doing and working to
support their initiatives, and by taking supervision
from the directors of your organization. Building
strong relationships and foundations of trust with
your colleagues is also important; they will respond
with mutual respect.

Host organizations overwhelmingly reported

benefits from hosting international volunteers.
There were examples of some international
volunteers who helped mobilize resources for the
organizations, while others provided much needed
assistance in the areas of monitoring and
evaluation, technology and system development.
Volunteer and Service Enquiry Southern Africa
(VOSESA), International Voluntary Service in
Southern African Development Community

- Have an open attitude and willingness to learn. Its

obviously not a good idea to ride into town on your
horse like youre John Wayne and immediately
proclaim that youre the new sheriff in town.

Acknowledge your own limitations in knowledge and

perspective, and that you dont have all the answers.
Let yourself off the hook for solving every problem
that you see, and instead just make yourself
responsible for learning from the people around you.

So, what concrete steps can you take as a volunteer to

maximize your positive impact?

155

Children and Other Vulnerable

Populations
Many of the posts where VIA volunteers work
include beneficiaries from vulnerable
populations, such as children, people with
disabilities, undocumented or stateless
individuals, victims of abuse, etc. Most of the
time these posts offer volunteers an
opportunity to use their talents in support of
very at-risk groups and to make an impact in an
area of intensive need.

evidence of financial irregularities in your post,

there could be many reasons for it. It could be
as simple as poor record-keeping and a low
level of capacity at your organization. Or, it
could be something bigger than this.
You may wish to try to tactfully look into the
matter on your own, but beware that this could
carry risks for your relationships at your post. If
the organization has an external financial audit,
the auditor is likely to investigate the
irregularities as part of his or her audit, and
these findings will be disclosed in the audit
report.

One thing about vulnerable populations,

though, is that they are vulnerable. Tragically,
its not unheard of anywhere in the world for
children, people with disabilities, victims of
abuse, or undocumented individuals to
experience harm at the hands of their so-called
protectors.

If its an innocent mistake or if the extent of the

mismanagement is unclear, you may be able to
try advocating for improved financial
management as a form of capacity building,
which will usually require help from outside of
the organization such as a consultant, partner
or donor organization, or even a volunteer with
qualifications in accounting, strategic planning,
etc. You may also try advocating for budget and
financial transparency within your organization,
such as reviewing and developing project
budgets with the direct project staff, developing
organization-wide financial reports on a
monthly or quarterly basis.

If you have suspicions about abuse or neglect of

a minor or vulnerable individual at your post,
try to safely determine what you can about the
situation. Sometimes what we initially think is a
dangerous situation, like allowing young
children to ride motorbikes with no helmet or
allowing them to play with firecrackers, is very
cultural and this activity is not considered risky
or out of the norm for children in the
community where you are working.

If you have credible evidence of fraud, theft, or

other serious financial mismanagement, then
you are in an unenviable position. Making
direct accusations or reporting the
mismanagement to your organizations funders
is likely to result in your estrangement from
your post. But then again, you probably will not
be interested in staying to keep writing grant
proposals for an organization that you believe
will misuse the funds. If you find yourself in this
situation, definitely consult with your PD about
your options.

Some things, though, are unambiguous. If you

find situations of abuse or neglect happening
within your organization or community, you
must find a way to take action that is safe for
you and for the children/individuals involved. If
reporting to a director within your organization
is an option, this might be a good starting place.
Before contacting police or other authorities,
think about the potential unintended
consequences; in some countries, if the victim
of the abuse is undocumented, you may put
him or her at risk for deportation or arrest.
156

VIA community. I tried to be creative and

proactive in finding solutions that work in my
situation. Sarah, ER/ET Volunteer, China

Absolutely talk the situation over with people

that you trust and with your PD, who can help
you find the right course of action to keep the
child/individual safe and to keep you safe as
well.

- Your ICR and PD are always available as a

source of support, in things big and small.

Other Situations
There are countless possibilities for ethical
problems that volunteers could encounter at
their posts, from the minor (organization
misrepresenting its successes in its public
relations materials) to the serious (sexual
harassment). For any of these situations, and
everything in between, be in regular contact
with your ICR and PD, who are there to provide
you with the support that you need.

- Your skills,
creativity, and
dedication do make
a difference in your
organizations, even
if its not visible
right away.
Do the best you
can! ET Volunteer

Word to the Wise

As volunteers, it is
natural to want to
see the concrete
results of your labor.
At times you do get
glimpses of the ways
in which you touch
other lives, but often
you dont see
immediate results.
Change can be slow
and is often
accompanied by
great struggle and
effort over
generations. Try not
to get discouraged
when your efforts as
a volunteer seem
small. Joseph
Collins, Stefano
DeZerega, and
Zahara Heckscher,
How to Live Your
Dream of

Here a few last things to keep in mind as you

address challenges in your post:
- You have a community and a team of
other VIA volunteers behind you to support
you.
Take time to vent to other VIA members or
your friends and family when you need to. Nol, ER Volunteer, Thailand
Im really glad to have the support network of
other VIA volunteers, and it helps to give good
perspective on my time here. Sarah, ER
Volunteer, Thailand
I feel that the other VIA volunteers have been
my life-line these last 6 months. ER
Volunteer
- Any issues that you are facing are also like
to be affecting other people; they are a
normal part of the experience.
Although I cited some problems at my post, I
think they are very normal challenges within the
157

Many host
organizations and
members of host
communities have
seen in the presence of
international
volunteers an
opportunity for mutual
development learning
and equitable
cooperation. Some
host organizations and
members of their
communities see
international
volunteers as: 1) being
proactive even within
a context of scarce
resources; 2)
contributing to the
strategic development
of their host
organizations; and 3)
advocating for the
interests of developing
countries in their
home country.
Volunteer and Service
Enquiry Southern
Africa (VOSESA)

Volunteering Overseas

The biggest reward for all of your work is

- Work is only part of your experience!

Dont just work enjoy your time. Get out
there and be in the community to really
experience your host country. This can be the
experience of a lifetime; make it everything that
you want and more.

living and working in a new country, a new

culture and with new friends. On the days
you feel frustrated, lonely, or homesick, rejoice
in the fact that you are not sitting in a cubicle
10 miles from your hometown. Katie
Kreuger, quoted in Sarah Fielding, Study Abroad
Guide

Despite all the challengeslanguage barriers,

red tape, health problems, culture clashes,
financial coststhe vast majority of the hundreds
of international volunteers we interviewed said
that, if given the opportunity, they would be glad
to do it again. Joseph Collins, Stefano DeZerega,
and Zahara Heckscher, How to Live Your Dream of
Volunteering Overseas

158

Doing Business in Japan. (2012). Available from:

http://www.rikkinyman.com/training/ja
panese_culture/communication.htm

References
AmeriCorps Georgia. (2012) AmeriCorps: The
Grant Review Process. PowerPoint
Presentation.

Enright, Kathleen P. (2004). Flexible

Frameworks for Organizational
Effectiveness. In Funding Effectiveness:
Lessons in Building Nonprofit Capacity
(27-51). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Barrett, Sue. (2012). Culture and

Communication. Available from:
http://www.smartcompany.com.au/sell
-like-a-woman/culture-andcommunication.html

Fielding, Sarah. (2012). Study Abroad Guide.

Available from:
http://www.marlboro.edu/academics/i
nternational/documents/sarah_fielding
s_sag

Bierria, Alisa. (2007). Pursuing a Radical AntiViolence Agenda Inside/Outside a NonProfit Structure. In INCITE! Women of
Color Against Violence (Ed.), The
Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond
the Non-Profit Industrial Complex.
Cambridge, MA: South End Press.

Geever, Jane C. (2007). The Foundation

Centers Guide to Proposal Writing (5th
Ed.). New York, NY: Foundation Center.

Burrowes, Nicole, Cousins, Morgan, Rojas, Paula

X., and Ude, Ije. (2007). On Our Own
Terms: Ten Years of Radical Community
Building with Sista II Sista. In INCITE!
Women of Color Against Violence (Ed.),
The Revolution Will Not Be Funded:
Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial
Complex. Cambridge, MA: South End
Press.

Hudson, Mike. (2005). Managing at the Leading

Edge: New Challenges in Managing
Nonprofit Organizations. San Francisco,
CA: Jossey-Bass.
Indirect Communication and Indirect Leadership
in Asia. (2012). Available from:
http://globthink.com/2009/06/24/indir
ect-communication-and-indirectleadership-in-asia/

Collins, Joseph, DeZerega, Stefano, and

Heckscher, Zahara. (2001). How to Live
Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas.
Washington, DC: Penguin Books.

Kachinske, Timothy, and Kachinske, Judith.

(2010). 90 Days to Success in Grant
Writing. Boston, MA: Course
Technology.

Culwell, Alexa Cortes, Sonsini, Lisa Sobrato, and

Speirn, Sterling K. (2004). Better Results
Through Supportive Engagement. In
Funding Effectiveness: Lessons in
Building Nonprofit Capacity (79-104).
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Kibbe, Barbara D. (2004). Investing in Nonprofit

Capacity. In Funding Effectiveness:
Lessons in Building Nonprofit Capacity
(1-26). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Kivel, Paul. (2007). Social Service or Social
Change? In INCITE! Women of Color
Against Violence (Ed.), The Revolution
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Profit Industrial Complex. In INCITE!

Women of Color Against Violence (Ed.),
The Revolution Will Not Be Funded:
Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial
Complex. Cambridge, MA: South End
Press.

Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the NonProfit Industrial Complex. Cambridge,

MA: South End Press.
Koch, Deborah S. (2009). How to Say It:
Grantwriting: Write Proposals that
Grantmakers Want to Fund. New York,
NY: Prentice Hall Press.

Rojas Durazo, Ana Clarisa. (2007). we were

never meant to survive: Fighting
Against Violence Against Women and
the Fourth World War. In INCITE!
Women of Color Against Violence (Ed.),
The Revolution Will Not Be Funded:
Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial
Complex. Cambridge, MA: South End
Press.

Lee, Janine E. (2004). Setting Clear Goals with

High Expectations. In Funding
Effectiveness: Lessons in Building
Nonprofit Capacity (53-78). San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Lewis University. (2012). International Student
Services Cross-Cultural. Available
from:
http://www.lewisu.edu/studentservices
/iss/crosscultural.htm

Shearer, Carrie. (2012). Indirectness as Seen

Through the Eyes of a Direct
Communicator. Available from:
http://rw-3.com/2012/05/indirectnessas-seen-through-the-eyes-of-a-directcommunicator/

Oppenheim, Willy. (2012). Dont Be Like This

Guy: Reflections of the Ethics and
Economics of International
Volunteering. Available from:
http://omprakash.org/volunteerstories/
Story/Dont-Be-Like-This-GuyReflections-on-the-Ethics-andEconomics-of-InternationalVolunteering

Smith, Andrea. (2007). Introduction: The

Revolution Will Not Be Funded. In
INCITE! Women of Color Against
Violence (Ed.), The Revolution Will Not
Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit
Industrial Complex. Cambridge, MA:
South End Press.

Palacios, Carlos M. (2010). Volunteer tourism,

development and education in a
postcolonial world: conceiving global
connections beyond aid. Journal of
Sustainable Tourism, 18(7), 861-878.
Available from:
http://wordpress.reilumatkailu.fi/wpcontent/uploads/2012/04/artikkeli43.p
df

Teitel, Martin. (2006). Thank You for

Submitting Your Proposal: A
Foundation Director Reveals What
Happens Next. Medfield, MA: Emerson
& Church Publishers.
Tuan, Melinda T. (2004). Cultivating a Culture of
Measurement. In Funding Effectiveness:
Lessons in Building Nonprofit Capacity
(105-142). San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass.

Prez, Amara H. (2007). Between Radical

Theory and Community Praxis:
Reflections on Organizing and the Non160

UNFPA. (2004). Programme Managers Planning

Monitoring & Evaluation Toolkit.
Available from:
http://www.unfpa.org/monitoring/tool
kit.htm
Volunteer and Service Enquiry Southern Africa
(VOSESA). (2011). International
Voluntary Service in Southern African
Development Community: Host
Organization Perspectives from
Mozambique and Tanzania. Available
from:
http://www.vosesa.org.za/reports/111
108%20VOSESA%20IVS%20report%20fi
nal.pdf
W. K. Kellogg Foundation. (2004). Evaluation
Handbook. Available from:
http://www.wkkf.org/knowledgecenter/resources/2010/W-K-KelloggFoundation-Evaluation-Handbook.aspx

161

important topics, prospecting grant

opportunities, building strong relationships with
your colleagues, and reporting/what to do after
the grant.

Appendix Annotated
Bibliography of Additional
Resources
In case 160 pages of information on these
topics wasnt enough for you, here are some
other places to find more resources,
information, perspectives, food for thought,
etc. This only a small sampling of whats out
there; a nearly infinite number of resources
exist, and youre encouraged to add to the list
with your own favorite resources!

Thank You for Submitting Your Proposal:

A Foundation Director Reveals What
Happens Next, by Marvin Teitel
This quick and easy-to-read guide includes
helpful tips to understand the behind-thescenes operations at foundations, and how to
avoid annoying the people who will be
reviewing your proposal.
-

Grant Writing

Websites

Books

The Foundation Center,

www.foundationcenter.org
The Foundation Center is a major resource for
grants and philanthropy in the U.S. and beyond.
Their website provides many useful guides and
links for writing letters of inquiry, grant
proposals, cover letters, doing research, etc.

How to Say It: Grantwriting, by Deborah S.

Koch
This book is an excellent guide to writing a
compelling and complete grant proposal. From
in-depth tips about writing styles and
connecting with readers to chapters that
describe the details of how to write each
section of the proposal, this is an incredibly
useful book for preparing proposals. There are
some sample materials throughout the book,
and a full sample proposal at the end.
-

Foundation Directory Online This is

a particularly useful database of
information about foundations that
provide grants, including detailed
information about each of them. The
Directory is only accessible through
paid subscription, or for free by going
to a Cooperating Collection (these
are located in public libraries and
universities throughout the US; in Asia
they are located in Chiang Mai,
Thailand; Vientiane, Lao PDR; Beijing,
China, Singapore; and Seoul, Korea
Find the specific locations at
http://grantspace.org/Find-Us).
- Deborah Kluge / ProposalWriter,
www.proposalwriter.com
Ms. Kluges website provides a treasure trove of
links to international funding agencies and
international development organizations, along
with a good deal of tips and advice for
preparing grant proposals. Information is

The Foundation Centers Guide to Proposal

Writing, by Jane C. Geever
This guide provides a helpful overview of the
parts of creating grant proposals, from the
central source of grants and fundraising
information. This book is particularly useful for
its many sample materials throughout the book,
with a full sample proposal at the end, and for
its chapter with many comments from
foundation representatives speaking out.
-

90 Days to Success in Grantwriting, by

Timothy and Judith Kachinske
This guide includes useful discussions of the
important processes related to grant-writing,
including conducting research to learn about
-

162

sorted by topic or by location, for easy access to

browse the numerous resources there.

This website is a centralized source of

information and resources about many
different aspects of capacity building in
international development.

- FundsForNGOs www.fundsforngos.com
This mega-site of international grants and
training opportunities is a good resource to find
out about some of the major grants in various
fields, as well as to learn about the big players
in international development. You can search
by topic or by country, and can sign up to
receive daily emails with new grant
opportunities. There is limited information
about capacity building, preparing proposals,
and the like.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the

United Nations (FAO) Capacity
Development Portal,
http://www.fao.org/capacitydevelopment/
en/
FAOs website provides a tremendous amount
of information and resources that can be used
for capacity building, including information
specific to issues such as climate change and
food security. They have links to information
with resources, best practices, and capacity
building models for organizations to use. They
also link to other major UN and international
development sites for capacity building.
-

Capacity Building
Books
Funding Effectiveness: Lessons in Building
Nonprofit Capacity, Edited by Grantmakers
for Effective Organizations (Various
Authors)
This book includes a listing of articles by
representatives of foundations chronicling their
experiences with supporting their grantees to
build capacity. The articles vary from
discussions of theory and definitions to more
practical on-the-ground approaches. Articles
include helpful models of capacity building and
some very detailed examples of successful
organizations in different locations throughout
the U.S.
-

GEO is an organization made up of foundations

that provide capacity building grants, so some
of the publications are not really geared toward
our needs. But, other publications are right on
the money in terms of strategies and ways to
implement capacity building, covering both
traditional and emergent perspectives of
capacity building.
OneWorld Capacity Building Guide,
http://uk.oneworld.net/guides/capacitybuil
ding/
This website provides a basic overview of the
field of capacity building in international
development, with some helpful links to outside
resources.

Managing at the Leading Edge: New

Challenges in Managing Nonprofit
Organizations, by Mike Hudson
This book provides helpful information about
capacity building strategies and definitions, as
well as specific focus on the funding landscape
surrounding performance measurement.
-

- IRIN Accountability Issues:

This series of articles discusses implementing
accountability to beneficiaries in humanitarian
organizations. Particularly useful are the article
on the difficulty of defining accountability

Websites
-

Grantmakers for Effective Organizations

(GEO), www.geofunders.org/publications

Capacity.org www.capacity.org

163

In addition to vast ways to be involved in

advocacy on issues affecting LGBT communities
worldwide, the site provides country-specific
information about the legal and on-the-ground
situations in countries around the world (and,
of course, in the Asia/Pacific region).

(http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95741/AIDPOLICY-Accountability-what-s-in-a-word) and on
ways to implement accountability measures
(http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95795/HowTo-Put-accountability-into-practice).

Effective International Volunteering

Culture Fatigue and Indirect

Communication

Book
- How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering
Overseas, by Joseph Collins, Stefano
DeZerega, and Zahara Heckscher
This book is an incredible guide for international
volunteers, particularly in discussing topics
related to being effective at your post and
thinking about issues of privilege and status.
Its an indispensable guide.

Websites

Websites

Lewis University, International Student

Services,
http://www.lewisu.edu/studentservices/iss
/crosscultural.htm
This site is designed for foreign students who
are coming to study in the U.S., but information
about culture fatigue is right on the money for
people in a variety of situations.

- Transitions Abroad,
http://www.transitionsabroad.com/
This website is a clearinghouse of information
for working, traveling, studying, and
volunteering abroad. There are some really
useful resources if you can manage to wade
through the extraneous information.

Culture and Communication,

http://www.smartcompany.com.au/selllike-a-woman/culture-andcommunication.html
This basic primer about direct and indirect
styles of communication is written with
business travelers in mind.

Journeywoman,
http://www.journeywoman.com/
This site is focused for women abroad. It
includes some helpful posts, many of them
country-specific, about the gender situation and
tips about appropriate behavior, dress, and
habits.

Indirectness as Seen Through the Eyes of a

Direct Communication, http://rw3.com/2012/05/indirectness-as-seenthrough-the-eyes-of-a-directcommunicator/
Another basic guide to indirect communication.

Critiques of International
Development and International
Volunteering

AllAbroad.us Diversity Issues:

http://allabroad.us/diversity_issue.php
Provides a useful list of resources for volunteers
of color. Although its geared toward study
abroad students, many of the resources are still
applicable for volunteers.
-

Websites
-

International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans

and Intersex Association (ILGA) 164

Omprakash.org Dont Be Like This Guy:

http://omprakash.org/volunteerstories/Stor
y/Dont-Be-Like-This-Guy-Reflections-onthe-Ethics-and-Economics-of-InternationalVolunteering

Dont forget that part of your anticipated role

may be to lend prestige to your
organization/school as a foreigner.

Omprakash.org is a website for people seeking

to be international volunteers, and this gives a
good overview of many different critiques of
international volunteering and voluntourism
that are worthwhile. It includes numerous links
to excellent resources, for both theoretical
considerations and on-the-ground approaches.

- Stuff White People Like:

Okay, so the list is long and we are not all white.
Nevertheless, the site can give us some
(hilarious) views into what we are getting out of
this experience, our motivations for coming,
and how we might be perceived by our
colleagues in VIA, locally, etc. If we cant poke a
bit of fun at ourselves.?

Lessons I Learned:
http://lessonsilearned.org/
This is the blog of Daniela Papi, volunteer, world
traveler, and founder of the NGO PEPY Ride in
Cambodia. The blog covers a great many
aspects of responsible volunteering and
avoiding imperialist attitudes in ways big and
small. There are insightful posts and links on
many, many topics.

My favorites:
- #120 Taking a Year Off
(http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2009/
01/11/120-taking-a-year-off/),
- #19 Travelling
(http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/
01/23/19-travelling/),
#12 Non-Profit Organizations
(http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/
01/21/12-non-profit-organizations/),
- #71 Being the Only White Person
Around
(http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/
02/20/71-being-the-only-white-personaround/),
#18 Awareness
(http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/
01/23/18-awareness/),
- Or you can check out the full list:
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/fulllist-of-stuff-white-people-like/
- Stuff White People Do:
This list is also long, but not so hilarious. Still,
understanding the impacts that we can have,
even when our intentions are good, is necessary
to being a responsible volunteer.

Good Intentions are Not Enough:

http://goodintents.org/
Provides a good deal of resources for
appropriate use of development aid, in terms of
both funds and volunteers. Check out the blog
for some good resources and links.
-

Global Econ 101:

http://www.globalexchange.org/resources/
econ101
Provides a basic primer on the dark side of
globalization and development aid, particularly
the Structural Adjustment Policies (SAPs) of the
IMF and World Bank that have harmed
developing/third-world/Global South countries,
as well as a critical look at free trade
agreements.

Some Humorous and Serious

Reflections on the Role of Foreigners

Selected ones:
- Represent America abroad
(http://stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.co
m/2009/08/represent-americaabroad.html);

Websites
-

Chinese companies rent white foreigners:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/06/2
9/china.rent.white.people/index.html

165

Think they have the right to go

wherever they like
(http://stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.co
m/2008/06/think-they-have-right-togo-wherever.html);
Travel to other countries in order to
experience peoples pain
(http://stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.co
m/2010/05/travel-to-other-countriesin-order-to.html);
- Travel to exotic locations, meet
adorable children, and shoot them
(http://stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.co
m/2009/07/travel-to-exotic-locationsmeet.html).
- The White Savior Industrial Complex:
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/
archive/2012/03/the-white-saviorindustrialcomplex/254843/1/?single_page=true
This article responding to the Kony2012 viral
video, hits hard with some very important
guidelines for how to help without hurting,
especially when were not the ones who live
with the consequences.

This blog post discusses some of the problems

behind inconsistent aid delivery, which are
deep-rooted and complex.

Capacity is development:
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/globaldevelopment/povertymatters/2011/dec/16/capacity-buildingdevelopment-aid-dependence)
This article discusses the issue of capacity in
international development aid, arguing that this
most elusive task is also the most basic in
building long-term change.

Aid Complications, Non-Sequitors, and

the Less-Than-Pretty Side of
International Development
The politics of humanitarian principle:
(http://www.irinnews.org/printreport.aspx?
reportid=94095)
This article focuses on the experience of
Doctors Without Borders / Medicines Sans
Frontiers (MSF) in their necessary dealings with
corrupt regimes and failed states, to show the
messiness and confusion of being faced with
conflicting principles in the delivery of
international aid.
-

The politics of aid delivery:

(http://blogs.worldbank.org/africacan/thepolitics-of-service-delivery)

166