MatchMaker Solution Pack | Resource Mobilisation for Local Humanitarian NGO Networks

This resource package was developed as part of the Oxfam HST-LHL programme. Click on the button below to download the full report.

We welcome external contributions. Please feel free to use the “comment” function to share your thoughts with us or suggest additional solutions you would like us to feature.

LOCATION: Global

SECTOR: NGO Management, System Strengthening

DEMOGRAPHIC

• Primary target group: Executives, board members and senior managers of local NGO networks and their members

• Other possible target groups: Donors, alternative finance specialists, venture philanthropists.

• Welcome note

  This MatchMaker Resource Pack provides an overview of potential solutions to facilitate resource mobilisation in networks of local humanitarian NGOs. It has been commissioned by the Humanitarian System Transformation through Local Humanitarian Leadership (HST-LHL) programme facilitated by Oxfam in partnership with more than 30 local and national actors, and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. While this resource is primarily addressed to networks of local NGOs operating in humanitarian contexts, its contents should also be relevant to networks of civil society actors operating in the development space as well as large Clusters, NGO working groups, consortia, alliances and the like.

  This resource package contains a review of top solutions to a challenge that was identified and refined by key informant interviews and a desk research exercise undertaken by Response Innovation Lab (RIL), and selected as a priority by HST-LHL programme teams and partners operating in the seven program countries: Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar, South Sudan and Yemen. This Pack is meant to be an iterative resource, with solutions added and refined with the support of HST-LHL programme partners in an open-source manner, with curation from RIL. You can see the full synthesis of the research process that led to this challenge being selected here.

  It is important to note that this research specifically focused on internal operational risks and capacity gaps that local networks of humanitarian NGOs experienced and not on the broader challenges of humanitarian response systems (e.g., power dynamics between global and local actors).  Instead, this document focuses on suggesting solutions that can be directly investigated, assessed, trialled and adopted by local NGO networks and their members.  Partnership with international organisations in a risk sharing framework, however, is highly encouraged and may lead to more transformational results. A section dedicated to risk sharing suggestion is included in the document.

  Response Innovation Lab is a global collaboration between leading humanitarian non- governmental organisations (World Vision, Oxfam, Danish Refugee Council and Save the Children), and Civic (an international community social impact accelerator). RIL manages the largest network of response-based social innovation hubs, with a focus on strengthening the innovation ecosystem and scaling solutions through collaborative partnerships.

• How to use this guide

  The MatchMaker Solutions Pack is meant to be a guide that helps an organisation or network kickstart the process of identifying one or more solutions that can effectively address a particular type of challenge.  This process is meant to be internally driven, with or without external support and should include the following key steps:

  ·       An analysis of the specific gaps that the organisation or network faces in regard to the challenge highlighted in the specific MatchMaker Solutions Pack;

  ·       An assessment of the types of solutions presented in the document and their applicability to the specific needs of the organisation or network;

  ·       A decision to further explore one or more of the solution types and to identify providers available in, and adapted to, the organisation’s specific context;

  ·       Collecting information about the providers’ offerings and selecting the most suitable one(s) to pilot;

  ·       Testing this solution via a pilot project and using the evidence to make further decisions about further adapting and/or adopting the innovation.

  Throughout this process, outreach to peer organisations, networks and relevant knowledge hubs is highly encouraged to gather more specific insights into what solutions have succeeded and failed in the specific operational context.

  As you go through the contents of this MatchMaker Solutions Pack, please keep in mind the following:

  ·       The types of innovation provided are broad categories that include ideas that range from the simple to the highly disruptive, depending on the ambitions of the user. The same basic idea (for instance, enhanced professional training) can be applied in limited ways (assigning a one-off training course) or in a more transformative manner (developing a comprehensive digital staff training curriculum).

  ·       There may be barriers to some of the solutions presented and the user will need to assess whether these prohibit the use of an innovation type or whether they can be overcome through introducing an additional solution. For example, if poor connectivity prevents an organisation from accessing certain digital tools, it may be possible to introduce a new connectivity solution (such as an internet satellite subscription) that can be added to the pilot project.

  ·       This MatchMaker Solutions Pack was specifically designed for the Humanitarian System Transformation through Local Humanitarian Leadership programme and targets networks of local humanitarian organisations active in a wide range of operational settings (from highly fragile, low-income contexts to more stable, middle-income countries). It is possible that some solutions presented will not be considered innovative in some more economically advanced contexts. Conversely, some innovations suggested may not be as feasible in some of the more difficult operating environments.

  We hope that you enjoy reading this document and, more importantly, that you find enough inspiration in these pages to start a meaningful conversation about creating change in your organisation or network.  We wish you an exciting and fruitful innovation journey!

• Summary

  PROBLEM DESCRIPTION

  The issue of fundraising encompasses a number of facets that can enable or hamper the functioning of non-profit networks and standalone organisations.  The IASC Toolkit for Localisation in Humanitarian Coordination defines resource mobilisation as “identifying opportunities to build relationships with potential partners in order to influence decision-makers to contribute resources… to specific projects or programs[i].” In the current context of rapidly dwindling foreign aid contributions to humanitarian programmes, issues of fundraising are also inexorably linked to dependence on foreign sources of income, primarily grants and sub-grants issued by global donors, UN agencies and INGOs.

  Interviews and desk research identified several components to address, including:

  ·        Lack of strategic financial planning;

  ·        Absence of trained fundraising personnel;

  ·        Limited access to local and diaspora funding streams;

  ·        Over-dependence on (sub-)grant funding streams (often from foreign sources);

  ·        Difficulties in exploring new models on income;

  ·        Limited funds allocated for overhead costs and capital investments.

  Note that the challenge of visibility and communication, also a key component of resource mobilisation, will be addressed in a separate MatchMaker Solutions Pack. 

  The funding constraints of national and local NGOs is a well-documented and pervasive phenomena. In the survey administered to HST-LHL partners, the issue of resource mobilisation was voted #1 out of ten internal risks and capacity gaps by a wide margin. The issue is not only the mobilisation of sufficient funds to carry out the mission of the NGO or network but also the sustainability and reliability of these funds so that the organisation can escape the “boom-and-bust” cycle of funding that causes severe disruptions and prevent long-term strategic growth. Calls by local organisations for quality funding that comes with longer implementation horizons and more flexible budgeting remain largely unanswered.

  OBJECTIVES OF THE SOLUTION

  This MatchMaker Solutions Pack will focus on identifying innovations addressing the following key components of the above-described challenge:

  1)     Development of more predictable and sustainable income streams;

  2)     Lowering dependence on international grants-based sources of funds;

  3)     Capturing more flexible funding that can cover key running costs and be used for strategic investments;

  4)     Expanding the number of funding streams for added resilience to disruptions.

  Solutions are meant to provide options which local humanitarian NGO networks and their members can adapt, test and adopt, either through an internal process or in partnership with one or more external organisations. They are proposed separately but can be mixed and matched to fit the specific needs and contexts of the adopter.

  Scope

  This MatchMaker Solution Pack is meant to provide ideas for local humanitarian NGO networks and their members operating anywhere in the world.  As per the focus of the HST-LHL programme, special care has been taken to highlight solutions available to NGO networks operating in contexts ranging from low-resource settings (e.g. Yemen, South Sudan et al.)  to Middle Income Countries (e.g. Indonesia, Columbia, et al.). Additional solutions may be applicable to NGO networks operating in more advanced economies.

  CRITERIA FOR DESIRED SOLUTIONS

  The research focused on solutions that respond to the following criteria:

  ·        Feasibility: Solutions should be available in nearly any humanitarian context and based on applied research, market analyses or other evidence of effectiveness and impact;

  ·        Affordability: Solutions should be affordable to NGO networks under current funding parameters and able to be included in proposal budgets for project grants;

  ·        Scalability and Sustainability: Solutions should be able to expand and evolve from the pilot phase to become fully integrated parts of organisational resource mobilisation strategies. They should be replicable across organisations in the same network and can scale to capture as much potential funding as possible;

  ·        Impact: Solutions must be capable of producing significant positive change for the organisations adopting them. These improvements should be measurable and attributable to the solution though the full impact of adoption may take longer than the pilot phase to be assessed.

  CONTEXTUAL CONSIDERATIONS

  Adopters of solutions will need to account for the specific opportunities and limitations defined by their operating contexts. The description of solutions below will mention specific requirements and whether these might be a challenge in certain contexts.

  BUDGET AND TIME

  ·        It should be possible to adapt and pilot the solutions listed below at budgets ranging from US$10,000 to $25,000 and for a duration of 9-12 months.

  ·        Long-term costs of applying the solution at scale will vary.
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  [i] InterAgency Toolkit on Localisation in Humanitarian Coordination, Global Protection Cluster, 2021, https://globalprotectioncluster.org/sites/default/files/2022-12/localisation-humanitarian-action-toolkit-pilot-version.pdf

• Risk Sharing

  Resource mobilisaton is naturally at the core of relationship between international organisations channeling global funding into a particular country or response and the local organisations that implement the work.

  Constrained resource mobilisation capacities will principally impact two risk sharing categories:

  ·        Operationally, insufficient access to ICR or other sources of flexible funding can prevent local organisations and networks from investing in the upgrades of key operational systems, with impact on program quality, operational effectiveness and risk management;

  ·        Financially, the lack of resource mobilisation capacities can not only lead to smaller budgets but also to over-reliance on increasingly underfunded foreign donors.

  As the Grand Bargain made clear, local partners do not believe that this funding flow is being fairly distributed. In the past several years, several concrete proposals have been made to level this playing field, including:

  ·        Developing locally-management pooled funds where foreign resources are aggregated and allocation decisions are made by a local body;

  ·        Ensuring local partners receive the same amount of indirect cost recovery (overheads) as organisations through which the funds transit;

  ·        Donors developing criteria on what percentage of their funding should be assigned to local organisations;

  ·        International partners involving local organisations at an earlier stage in the proposal development process;

  Approving the purchase of equipment and resources that can be used beyond the lifespan of the project.

  Organisational leadership gaps can lead to a number of important risks for a structure or network.  Among them are safety and security concerns that can arise if the organisation is perceived to be partisan or to otherwise be distrusted by communities or relevant authorities.  Structures without clear ethical guidelines and a strong culture of accountability are also likely to foster irresponsible or malicious behavior by staff.  Altogether, underperforming leadership will invariably lead to reputational risks and loss of trust by donors, partners and communities.

  Taking a risk sharing approach would encourage international partners to engage more meaningfully with local leaders and provide opportunities for exchange, collaboration and cross-learning beyond the realm of individual projects and their grantor-grantee relationships, such as through:

  ·        Inviting local partner executives to join coordination bodies (Clusters, working groups, etc.);

  ·        Helping provide direct access to visiting and in-country donors;

  ·       Organising regular meetings between international leaders and LNGO executives and board members;

  ·       Extending invitations to leadership training opportunities managed by international organisations.

• Additional Resources

  ‍1.     Research-Report_Local-Giving-in-Africa.pdf

  2.     Report: Philanthropy & Innovative Financing in Asia and the MIddle East (PDF)

  3.     Philanthropy in the Arab region

  4.     NGOs and Socially Inclusive Businesses | ReVista (English and Spanish)

  5.     Guide Pratique sur les Modeles de Financement Alternatifs en Afrique – WACSI / Alternative Funding Models Guidebook for CSOs in Africa – WACSI

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Overview

There are straightforward solutions that can help local NGO and NGO networks improve their chances of securing grant funding from international donors. These would include investing in dedicated fundraising personnel (staff or consultants), purchasing subscriptions to quality Artificial Intelligence models and AI-based translation software to improve the quality of applications, or upgrading the organisation’s visibility through social media and website content development. While all of these can be considered best practices and should be applied as much as possible, they do not necessarily solve fundamental issues of financial sustainability, predictability and empowerment since they can be used to perpetuate the reliance on foreign sources of income. Instead, this Solutions Pack will present three broad types of solutions that NGOs around the world are using to become more agile and independent in their resource mobilisation. The solutions below do not need to replace fundraising for grants but can provide additional options for new sources of income.  

• Income Generating Activities (IGAs):  Ways to make use of the organisation’s existing capacity, infrastructure, network and visibility to develop new funding streams.

• Crowdfunding platforms:  An emergent family of pooled funding mechanisms aimed at collecting money directly from individuals or businesses and transferring these funds to charitable organisations.

• Local fundraising: Focused approach to engaging a range of national and local donors in order to secure funding and in-kind contributions.

The above solutions can be combined to generate hybrid innovations that leverage multiple benefits of each.