Diversifying Support

One of the most common strategies used by development initiatives in order to become more self-sustainable is diversifying their sources of support. In fact, we could even call this a supra-strategy.

When development initiatives depend on merely one or a few sources of economic or political support (government, foundations, companies, other organizations, etc.), the fear of losing their backing makes it more difficult for the development project to put points of view, ways of working and priorities across and negotiate them equitably. This is why many initiatives make great efforts to diversify their sources of support as much as possible in order to negotiate their own interests with far less fear of losing backing.  

In addition, having more sources of support –which can take the form of voluntary contributions, viewpoints, online donations, local resources, etc.– usually means that more aspects of the development problem at hand can be covered, which allows an initiative to offer more comprehensive solutions that make the project more relevant to everyone involved and not just to a few. 

Some initiatives recruit and coordinate teams of volunteers to raise funds by canvassing the streets and getting sponsors for their projects. Others establish collaborations with other initiatives or integrate their programs amongst themselves so that they may share resources and knowledge. Some register legally as an NGO, a social enterprise, etc., to facilitate the acquisition of support. Others set up systems to receive online donations. Some invite the communities they work with to participate in providing feedback, knowledge, infrastructure or other locally available resources with participatory diagnoses, co-management dynamics and so forth. Others educate or train their different participants to gradually increase the knowledge resources they can count on. Still others seek public funds, launch entrepreneurship programs or take advantage of communication technologies to organize fundraising campaigns (crowdfunding, for instance). Some invest in staff dedicated specifically to raising resources, servicing collaborators and attracting new participants –furthermore, many devote special efforts to providing a sense of certainty to those who might be interested in supporting them, which often involves communicating the objectives and originality of their programs clearly and transparently, as well as efficiently explaining how the initiative manages resources and the impact each contribution could bring about.

Some initiatives make the most of their own resources to obtain more support: some use their knowledge or experience, for example, by selling consultancies; others use their good results to encourage the collaboration of volunteers and new donors; others take advantage of the political support they may have to advocate for the creation of laws and rules more favorable to their project’s cause; others multiply the value of the work of their communities or their own contributions with matching funds; some others organize bartering systems with alternative currencies, etc.