Your burning fundraising questions answered →

The fundraising season is about to begin. For many, fundraising remains one of the most persistent challenges, one that calls for constant adaptation, learning, and asking the right questions.

In this Reader, we turn to two colleagues who deal with the realities of fundraising every day: Resson Kantai-Duff, our Head of Portfolio Funding, and Carolyn Gilbert, our Senior Manager, Grants & Fundraising. Here, they answer some of the questions our conservation partners ask most often. We hope their answers offer useful insight into the questions you’ve been sitting with too.

Can you reignite an old funding relationship?

We had funders who used to give to our organization but stopped a few years ago. I’m a new Executive Director and want to approach them to re-evaluate the relationship. Is it worth it, and if yes, how do I do it well?

 Start by evaluating why they stopped.

If they gave you clear reasons and those reasons still apply, there is little point reaching out. But most of the time, funding relationships simply end because a cycle concluded and the relationship was not managed well enough for follow-on support to happen naturally. In those cases, yes: go back and reach out.

Have a conversation starter.

A piece of news about work they previously funded, a result you can share, a new strategy that speaks to their interests, a media article or visibility moment that builds on your reputation. Use these as the jump-off point for re-engagement rather than reaching out cold.

Think in terms of the 4Rs (Relationships, Resources, Results, Reputation).

What results can you share(your latest impact), what has strengthened your reputation recently (e.g. an award, recognition), what does the relationship itself give you to build on? If you have something genuine to say across even one of those dimensions, that is enough to open the door.

How do we get overheads funded?

We struggle to find funders who will contribute to our overhead. What are some tried and tested ways to get overheads funded?

It’s so frustrating that there are still donors out there who do not appreciate that investment in overhead is absolutely essential for programmatic impact. Fortunately, we are seeing the sector improve (slowly) in this space. In recent years, it’s great to see more and more donors are funding at least 15% of proposal budgets towards overhead. Until the sector improves to the point where all donors allow a nonprofit’s real overhead rate (usually 15%-30% of their costs), here are a few tips:

Build the real cost of delivery into every proposal.

Rather than adding “overhead” as a separate percentage at the end, work out what the organization actually spends to make the project possible (staff management, finance, MEL, technology, communications, leadership, fundraising) and allocate a fair share of those costs to the budget lines themselves.

For example, if the finance manager spends 20% of their time on a project, budget 20% of their salary as a project cost rather than separating it as an overhead cost. This shows funders what delivery really costs and makes these costs harder to cut.

Make the case for organizational capacity.

Some funders are more receptive to organizational-strengthening requests than to “overhead.” Connect investments in systems, people, leadership, and infrastructure to better program quality, resilience, and long-term impact.

Cultivate (and keep) unrestricted funders deliberately.

Look for foundations and donors that explicitly provide general operating support, multi-year funding, or flexible funding. Once you identify them, treat them as a distinct prospect pool rather than approaching every funder with the same request. These kinds of funders are extremely valuable! Treat stewardship and relationship development with utmost care.

Note: If your organization is one that automatically says “yes” to a funding opportunity or donor regardless of that donor’s overhead rate policy, keep in mind that every time you accept projectized/restricted funding that does not include overhead – or funds overhead at a percentage rate (for example 7% or 10%) that is lower than your organization’s real overhead rate (usually 15%+), you may be COSTING your organization resources instead of actually adding real value to your revenue and impact.

Where do I find new donors?

We keep going to the same funders in the conservation space and I’m feeling a bit of fatigue. How do we branch out and find new funders?

 Your current donors are your best source of new donors.

Your current funders are not strangers who have never heard of you, but instead are people who already know and believe in your work. Ask them: “We are trying to grow this part of our strategy and we know you care about this area of work. Do you know others who might want to support this?” Use the pool you already have to widen the pool available to you.

Your peers and partners are the second-best source.

If you are doing human-wildlife conflict work, land rights work, or restoration work, there are other organizations in similar landscapes doing similar things. Approach them with a mindset of abundance and ask who funds their work. Would they be open to making an introduction? This is one of the most underused pathways to new funders in our sector, and it requires only the willingness to ask and to reciprocate.

Also remember, if you help others, they are likely to help you too.

Should we join a funding consortium?

We have been approached to join funding consortiums and are never sure whether to say yes. What should we look out for before committing?

The first question to ask yourself is: what is the common purpose, and does this consortium advance my strategy?

If your work has a regional or landscape-level dimension that you cannot pursue alone, and you can see genuine complementarity with the other partners, a consortium may help you reach a level of impact and funding that would not be accessible individually. That is when it is worth pursuing.

Consortia can be messy, and some can be predatory.

How do I close the deal?

I am great at introducing our work and getting people excited, but I struggle with making the ask and closing. What are your top ideas?

One way in is to ask for advice rather than money, at least at first.

“Would this be something worth supporting? Do you think this approach makes sense?” Some donors will turn that opening directly into a gift.

 Just do it – but at the right time.

Some funders need a direct ask before they move. You have to read the person and play it by ear, and that means you will get it wrong sometimes. That is fine. Making the ‘ask’ is a muscle. You build it by using it, and you build it faster by failing a few times and learning from that. Remember that funders are people. If you approach them with genuine interest in developing a relationship and with curiosity about their interests, then you will have a better sense when the time is right to make the ask.

 In formal presentations, do not shy away from putting your numbers on the table.

A slide that shows your full budget, your funding gaps, or the scale of the opportunity you are pursuing gives donors something concrete to respond to, even if saying the number out loud still feels uncomfortable. You can frame it in gratitude: “Thanks to the support we have received, we have come this far. Here is what it would take to go further.” That is an ask, and it works.