You Run a Small or New Organization
Five steps to the basics a first serious funder will ask to see: legal standing, a working board, core policies and a short profile.
Step 1: Check your legal standing
Confirm your registration is current and that you know which filings are due each year and to whom.
- Registering an NGO (Guide)
- US Nonprofit Tax Exemption and Registration (Guide)
Step 2: Get the board working
Make sure board members know their duties, meet on a schedule and keep minutes.
Topic: Organization: Governance, People and OperationsStep 3: Put the core policies in place
Most due-diligence checks ask for finance, procurement, safeguarding, whistleblowing and a code of conduct. Adapt a template, then have your board approve it.
- Procurement Policy Template (Template)
- Safeguarding Policy Template (Template)
- Safeguarding and PSEAH Code of Conduct Template (Template)
- Conflict of Interest Policy Template (Template)
- Whistleblowing Policy Template (Template)
Step 4: Write your organizational profile
About one page on who you are, what you have done and what you can show for it. You will reuse it in every application.
Topic: Proposals and FundraisingStep 5: Aim for a first grant you can win
Start with small foundation or community grants, pooled funds where they exist, and partnerships with larger organizations rather than large institutional calls.
- Deciding Whether to Bid (Decision guide)
- How to write a concept note for funders (How-to)