Meeting the donor
General rules
•All meetings with donors should respect thefollowing rules :
a) each meeting is well prepared in advance: youknow exactly the message you want to getthrough, the questions you want to ask and whatyou want to achieve;
b) after the meeting you rapidly write a report onyour meeting and you classify the documents youcollected;
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 andbriefly)
–Let the donor speak as soon as possible
–Possibly present the project that could be themost appealing to the donor
–Keep taking initiative
–Ask for and collect all the documentationavailable
The first meeting
* Create an atmosphere
* Keep smiling, pay attention to your manners, yourclothing
* Show interest in your interlocutor and get them totalk
* Appeal to the speaker when presenting theprojects: 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 tohighlight?
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 toadapt it to what you “discovered” during yourconversation !
The presentation of your project
b. Structure of the interview
–Thank your speaker, recall your previous meeting
–Introduce your project emphasising that itcorresponds to your speaker’s mission or area ofinterest
–Let the donor speak as soon as possible
–Inform your speaker about the other donors youhave acquired or may acquire
The presentation of your project
•Do not position yourself as someone who is
asking for something, but rather as someonewho has something to offer !!
•Do not leave before you know the nextsteps in the process
•Propose a visit to the project
•Send a thank you letter and the projectASAP !
Step 3 : a. the follow up
•Pursue the donor : neither too much nor toolittle
–give the donor additional information
–get more information
–respond to criticisms
–set yourself deadlines (and inform the donorabout 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 oneverything either
•Don’t give final answers
•Try and see if there are any other more suitablesolutions
•Always remember that every “operational” decisionhas an impact on the budget and vice-versa
•Send a revised proposal ASAP!!!