Meeting the donor

General rules All meetings with donors should respect the following rules : a) each meeting is well prepared in advance: you know exactly the message you want to get through, the questions you want to ask and what you want to achieve; b) after the meeting you rapidly write a report on your meeting and you classify the documents you collected; c) you always keep your promises;

Step 1 : The first meeting * The first meeting with a donor should never be a request for funding * Before contacting a donor for the first time, check if anyone in your environment knows them * If the donor is based far away from you, then use a telephone call as a first contact

Preparing the contact Knowing yourself * The “facts and figures” of your organisation * Your values * Your projects * What you want to achieve Knowing your interlocutor * the person you are going to meet * the organisation (its mission, interests, sensitive points…) * past or present relationship

The first meeting a. The tools to bring with you  your personal business card  your organisation’s « business card »  a few visual documents  the synthesis sheets of the projects

The first meeting b. Structure of the interview –Introduce yourself and thank your speaker –Introduce your organisation (generally and briefly) –Let the donor speak as soon as possible –Possibly present the project that could be the most appealing to the donor –Keep taking initiative –Ask for and collect all the documentation available

The first meeting * Create an atmosphere * Keep smiling, pay attention to your manners, your clothing * Show interest in your interlocutor and get them to talk * Appeal to the speaker when presenting the projects: respond to their interests The first meeting with a donor should take place well before you need money for your project!!

Step 2 : The presentation of a project Knowing your interlocutor : –What are the donor’s decision criteria? –What key words do they want to hear? –Which aspect of the project do you need to highlight?

The presentation of your project a. The tools to bring with you  a few visual documents about the project, maps,  past reports, statistics, feasibility or evaluation studies  someone who know very well the project !!! Tip : don’t leave the project document to the donor, as after your meeting you will probably have to adapt it to what you “discovered” during your conversation !

The presentation of your project b. Structure of the interview –Thank your speaker, recall your previous meeting –Introduce your project emphasising that it corresponds to your speaker’s mission or area of interest –Let the donor speak as soon as possible –Inform your speaker about the other donors you have acquired or may acquire

The presentation of your project Do not position yourself as someone who is asking for something, but rather as someone who has something to offer !! Do not leave before you know the next steps in the process Propose a visit to the project Send a thank you letter and the project ASAP !

Step 3 : a. the follow up Pursue the donor : neither too much nor too little –give the donor additional information –get more information –respond to criticisms –set yourself deadlines (and inform the donor about them) Help the file progress (react immediately !)

Step 3 : b. the project’s negotiation Try to understand the donor’s reasons Try to understand if there is a margin of negotiation Don’t say “no” to everything but don’t agree on everything either Don’t give final answers Try and see if there are any other more suitable solutions Always remember that every “operational” decision has an impact on the budget and vice-versa Send a revised proposal ASAP!!!