The Grant Proposal Writing & Donor Funding Training Workshop equips NGO professionals, non-profit leaders, project managers, fundraising officers and development practitioners with practical skills for identifying funding opportunities, developing competi

Course overview

The Grant Proposal Writing & Donor Funding Training Workshop equips NGO professionals, non-profit leaders, project managers, fundraising officers and development practitioners with practical skills for identifying funding opportunities, developing competitive grant proposals and securing financial support from institutional donors, foundations, governments, development agencies and corporate social responsibility programmes. The workshop covers donor research and mapping, funding opportunity analysis, concept note development, needs assessment, problem analysis, theory of change, logical frameworks, results-based budgeting, proposal writing, monitoring and evaluation plans, risk assessment, safeguarding, sustainability planning and donor compliance. Participants learn how to align funding proposals with donor priorities, demonstrate measurable development impact, construct realistic budgets and prepare persuasive funding applications.

Designed for NGOs, community-based organisations (CBOs), civil society organisations (CSOs), charitable institutions and development programmes in Kenya and across Africa, the course emphasises practical proposal development using realistic donor requirements and funding scenarios.

Course objectives

• Identify and assess suitable grant opportunities from bilateral and multilateral agencies, foundations, international NGOs, government programmes and corporate donors.
• Establish effective donor engagement, grant submission, follow-up and compliance processes to strengthen funding success and accountability.
• Prepare realistic project budgets, budget narratives, implementation plans, monitoring frameworks and risk management strategies.
• Design evidence-based projects using needs assessments, problem trees, theories of change, logical frameworks and measurable results.
• Develop compelling concept notes and full grant proposals aligned with donor priorities, eligibility requirements and evaluation criteria.

Who should attend

Course content

• Module 1: Introduction to Grant Funding and the Development Financing Landscape Principles of grant funding, differences between grants, loans, contracts and donations, types of institutional donors, bilateral and multilateral development financing, priva
• Module 2: Donor Research, Mapping and Funding Opportunity Identification Identifying suitable donors and funding institutions, researching donor priorities and geographic focus, analysing sector-specific funding programmes, identifying calls for proposals
• Module 3: Understanding Donor Guidelines and Calls for Proposals Interpreting requests for proposals and calls for applications, analysing donor strategic priorities, understanding application instructions and mandatory requirements, reviewing eligibility
• Module 4: Needs Assessment, Problem Analysis and Project Justification Conducting community needs assessments, identifying beneficiary priorities, collecting baseline and contextual data, analysing development challenges and root causes, constructing prob
• Module 5: Concept Note Development and Project Idea Formulation Purpose and structure of a grant concept note, developing a compelling project title and summary, describing the problem and target beneficiaries, defining project objectives and expected res
• Module 6: Grant Proposal Writing and Narrative Development Standard grant proposal structure, executive summaries and project abstracts, organisational background and institutional capacity, problem statements and evidence-based justification, project goa
• Module 7: Theory of Change, Logical Frameworks and Results-Based Management Developing a theory of change, mapping activities to outputs and outcomes, constructing impact pathways, preparing logical framework matrices, defining indicators and performance
• Module 8: Project Budgeting, Costing and Budget Narratives Principles of grant budgeting, estimating activity and implementation costs, personnel and consultancy costs, travel and fieldwork expenses, equipment and supplies, training and workshop costs, op
• Module 9: Project Implementation Planning and Work Plan Development Translating project objectives into activities, developing implementation schedules, preparing Gantt charts and activity matrices, defining deliverables and milestones, assigning responsi
• Module 10: Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning in Grant Proposals Developing a project monitoring and evaluation plan, defining output and outcome indicators, establishing baseline and target values, selecting appropriate data collection m
• Module 11: Risk Assessment, Safeguarding and Cross-Cutting Priorities Identifying financial, operational and contextual project risks, preparing project risk registers, developing mitigation measures, assessing political and environmental risks, safeguard
• Module 12: Organisational Capacity, Partnerships and Institutional Credibility Demonstrating organisational mission and track record, documenting previous project achievements, presenting relevant technical expertise, assessing institutional governance an
• Module 13: Donor Engagement, Fundraising Strategy and Relationship Management Developing a resource mobilisation strategy, building a donor prospect pipeline, preparing donor engagement plans, networking with funding agencies, communicating project ideas
• Module 14: Grant Application Submission, Review and Quality Assurance Preparing complete application packages, completing donor application forms, reviewing mandatory documentation, ensuring consistency between narrative and budget, verifying eligibility
• Module 15: Grant Award Management, Donor Compliance and Capstone Proposal Development Understanding grant agreements and award conditions, reviewing approved budgets and deliverables, establishing grant compliance calendars, managing reporting obligations
• 5. Training Tools and Software Participants will use Microsoft Word for concept notes and proposal narratives, Microsoft Excel for donor mapping, project budgets, budget justifications and grant trackers, Microsoft PowerPoint for donor presentations, and
• 6. Practical Exercises and Expected Outputs Participants will work through realistic funding scenarios involving NGOs and community development programmes. Exercises will include identifying suitable donors, analysing a call for proposals, deciding whethe

General notes

• Expected practical outputs include: - Donor mapping and funding opportunity database - Funding opportunity eligibility assessment checklist - Grant application go/no-go decision matrix - Project concept note - Full grant proposal narrative - Problem tree and objective tree - Theory of change diagram - Logical framework matrix - Detailed project budget and budget narrative - Project implementation work plan and Gantt chart - Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning plan - Project risk register and safeguarding checklist - Organisational capacity and due diligence checklist - Grant submission and document verification checklist - Donor engagement and resource mobilisation plan - Grant compliance calendar and reporting tracker
• The Grant Proposal Writing & Donor Funding Training Workshop equips NGO professionals, fundraising officers, project managers and development practitioners with practical skills in donor research, funding opportunity identification, concept note development, grant proposal writing, project budgeting, logical frameworks, monitoring and evaluation, and donor compliance. Designed for NGOs, civil society organisations, community-based organisations and non-profits in Kenya and across Africa, the workshop focuses on developing competitive funding applications, aligning projects with donor priorities, demonstrating measurable impact and strengthening long-term resource mobilisation.

Frequently asked questions

Schedule & fees