How to Get Funding for Your Global Health Activity - Part 2
This is part two of a two-part post. You can find part one here.
Foundations are harder to access. People get all excited about Google.org and Gates, but Google.org doesn't do health any more, and the Gates Foundation rarely does small grants. Each foundation has its own guidelines for what kind of projects they fund, and for how much. I would suggest searching the internet for your area of interest, and trying to get a sense of what foundations are active. Compile a list, and then go to each individual foundation's website to find out their funding policies.
Only apply to foundations that actually fund projects like yours. It's a waste of everyone's time to do anything else. Foundations have strict rules about what they will fund, and they don't vary from that. Grant applications take time and energy to prepare, so don't burn yourself out going for impossible longshots. Spend your efforts on applications which may get funding.
The other way to get the money for your project is old-fashioned fundraising. I think that's the best way to fund a new project, or a young NGO. There is a limited pool of government and foundation funding available. Simply splitting that pool into even more pieces doesn't add much to global public health. If your project is less effective than something else which would have been funded, you may even be making things worse.
If you raise the money from donations or entrepreneurship, though, then you are adding to the world commitment to global health. Straightforward donations from individuals are the best way to start. Write up your case. Design a website. Create a brochure. Start asking your friends and family for money. For a small project, aim for micro donations - ten or fifteen dollars. Ask everyone you know for money. A few people will be enthusiastic about your cause; ask them to ask their friends. Ask you local rotary and Lions clubs if you can present to them to ask for donations.
To complement your asking, you can sell things at a premium. Overpriced M&Ms in boxes are traditional. You could also make and sell bumper stickers and t-shirts, as long as you're careful about keeping your profit margin big. Don't hold a charity event, whatever you do. They're very difficult to do successfully. They require an initial outlay of funds that can lead to actually losing money on your event. It happens all the time, even to long-established charities with experience in organizing events.
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