From May 6th to 12th the Alumni Program offered an advanced course on Program Planning, Project Design and Fundraising for those alumni who have the responsibility of obtaining funds for their organizations. The training was conducted at the ERS-B compound and was taught by ERI’s co-founders and directors Katie Redford and Ka Hsaw Wa. They enthusiastically shared their knowledge and own experience with the participants.

The objective of the training was for the participants to gain knowledge about the basic tools needed to fundraise. In order for participants to be able to effectively fundraise, they also learned about the importance of understanding their own organizations and how to carefully plan and analyze the projects they want to raise funds for. Moreover, the participants learned not only about proposal writing, but also about the ways to approach a funder, how to build a good relationship with them, how do they think and what do they usually expect. This training strived to assist participants to overcome the usual fears related to fundraising. The following were the main subjects taught:

1.  Your Organization: Importance of having a strong organization, with clear mission and strategies, excellent programs, plans, and staff in place to address an urgent or important need
2.  The Donor Organization: Clear understanding of the funding organization/donor, their priorities and restrictions, matching their programs to the ones of the applicant’s organization
3.  Proposal Narrative: Writing a strong proposal, following the guidelines precisely, and asking for support
4.  Accounting and Budgeting: clear and realistic budgets, with strong financial oversight and accountability mechanisms
5.  Donor meetings and communication: Establishing strong donor relationships; meeting donors, reporting, communicating, and maintaining relationships with funders.

The 10 alumni who attended the course participated actively and worked incredibly hard.  Even though this was an exceptionally challenging course they all completed it successfully and they were satisfied with this new achievement. Participants expressed their enthusiasm about returning back to their organizations and start applying for funds for their projects