Being awarded a grant takes more than an idea and a funding source. It takes an organization that is well managed, that understands its purpose, and uses its staff and board efficiently. A successful grant program requires the organization to identify its long- and short-term goals, the priorities of the proposed project, and the strengths and limitations of its staff and their procedures. Our engagement with Worman Aid, Inc was to help the nonprofit agency with funding and foundation alignment research & analysis not just to find them funding sources but also to provide them a model for to follow as they create their own strategic plan.
THE CHALLENGES
Women Aid, Inc. serves women and children victims of domestic violence. It needed additional shelters for women and children who had become homeless due to domestic violence, set up funds for legal aides for court cases, school placement for children, and vocational opportunities for women victims. However, the agency had experienced bottlenecks with research and methods, grant requirement compliances, grant management consolidation, and effective collaboration.
Amaka Consulting conducted preliminary research to understand the economic, political, and social dimensions of the grant funding landscapes involved to meet the communication and community integration needs of people with disabilities. With this data in hand, Amaka Consulting:
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Defined funding objectives, and used data from the preliminary research to search for grants that aligned with the program's strategic objectives.
- Analyzed available grant opportunities based on decision-criteria, and selected matching grants to pursue.
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Outlined and identified elements of responses, supports, and inputs from external outreach and internal needs assessments, and client participation.
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Developed support, cultivated partnerships, and acquired memorandums of agreements, and letters of support.
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Gathered data and information for gaps.
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Following inter-departmental participation, and several drafts, the Final Draft including needs assessment, goals & objectives, budget, methods, and evaluation outcomes were finalized and submitted.
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Finalized product and submission.
Extensive research is required when identifying local or international funding for sector-specific projects. Our team tracked, prioritized and recorded all contacts with the agency and funders. There were many important steps that we helped Women Aid, Inc to take both before submitting an application, during the application process and following the submission of a proposal.
Through our pro bono support, Woman Aid, Inc. acquired funding of $120,000 of international funding from the Open Society Foundation that included costs of renting multiple shelters, training, and legal aide among other over a 2 year period:
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Implemented a requirement that involved continuous contact with funders as well as scheduled progress updates to facilitate and sustain the relationship.
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Implemented reporting system that strengthens management of the grant and sustaining relationships.
Ellsy Mirrie, Senior Partner, Niarobi, Kenya
TACKLING LOCAL SOCIAL CHALLENGES THROUGH AMAKA CONSULTING-OWNED NONPROFITS
OTHER LOCAL NONPROFITS THAT WE SUPPORT
With the goal of helping individuals, schools, and communities to empower and lift economically disadvantaged children, Amaka provided volunteer recruitment and management training, and capacity development services to ACENY.
Working with clients to address societal challenges
Most of the clients that share similar corporate social responsibility goals as ours work together with us in addressing various community issues in settings. There are a number of community challenges, often involving complex human-environment systems, that are not fully understood and for which solutions are urgently required.
Project Design, Preparation
& Implementation Strategy
Through a series of pro bono engagements, Amaka Consulting designed a project for an Australian-based multinational nonprofit institution, the National Action Group (NAG) with offices in the United States and Europe. The project was centered on providing rehabilitative, counseling, and reintegration services to ex-fighters of the 14-year Liberian civil war.
FEATURED INITIATIVE
First Generation Concierge
by Amaka Consulting Inc.
Amaka Consulting's First Generation Conceirge (FGC) is an ongoing enduring efforts at assisiting first generation immigrants navigate the nested processes of settling in their new home in the United States. From assistance with job readiness, resume preparation to job interview coaching as well as applications for State and Federal assistance, and a free week of consultation and guidance for potential entrepreneurs, Amaka Consulting provided over 8,500 hours of free services during the peak of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 and helped over a thousand family heads.