The precarious nature of funding means that using it effectively is important for being able to scale. Therefore, it is important to link funding to capacity building, both in terms of using funding for capacity building endeavors, and in terms of using existing capacity to help secure funding.

Maria Deiana, an activist in Northern Ireland, noted that the group she was involved with received a small grant to organize a several-day strategic planning meeting, which allowed members to set aside time for re-invigorating the organization and engaging in a thoughtful planning process for its future. In her words: 

What was interesting about this meeting is that lots of different people who, it wasn't, it wasn't just the usual people who were meeting every month -  interestingly new people joined, and then we decided that, it was excellent, we kind of reset the priorities, we rediscussed what we wanted to achieve. You know, the principles and mission.

On the flip side of using funding to engage in initiatives aimed at strengthening and building capacity within organizations, having strong relationships and capacity within organizations and coalitions can also help sustain them when external funding runs short. Civil society activists Andy Pollack and Eamon Rafner note that much of the cross-community work in Northern Ireland dissipated when external (European Union) funding ran out; however, in those spaces where there were “genuine grassroots link-ups” that focused on building relationships, initiatives were “very successful because there were remarkable people involved.” In other words, those initiatives with the strongest relationships and leaders have been most successful in sustaining and scaling their work. 

Another important aspect of ensuring funding is being able to provide evidence of program success. Emma Thomas of Northern Ireland Youth Action emphasizes that being able to use evidence-based research to justify programs is critical. Training up internal monitoring and evaluation teams, or building out technology systems and tools to track program outcomes is an important use of existing funds. These efforts can address the need for building the internal capacity to measure and document program impact. 

Challenges you may encounter using this tool

• Fundraising of any type requires organizational leadership to build up sales, business development, grant writing, and reporting skill-sets. Thus, it’s essential that activists build capacity FOR fundraising and reporting - raising funds can feel like an insurmountable task if this capacity is not strengthened. 

• For community based groups without a clear leadership structure or registered status as an established organization, access to funding streams can be limited. Grantmakers will often support registered nonprofits or nongovernmental organizations, and some even require organizations to have full-time directors or presidents before they will award funding.