Summary
NORPRA came into being in 2005 and was formally established two years later. Their mission is 'to work for poverty reduction in northern Ghana through advocacy for quality education, good governance, environmental sustainability and civic responsibility.' In 2020 they decided to take the local fundraising course offered by Change the Game Academy partner WACSI. In this example they describe what they learned and how they used that to raise funds for a capacity building project for women farmers in Talensi.
Tips and lessons learned
Like most other organisations, NORPRA didn’t go without challenges. The discomfort in “asking” for resources to support social justice and development and the fear of community giving fatigue and the breakdown in trust greatly hindered the project advancement. High staff attrition within the organisation also contributed to its difficulties.
Exploring volunteering opportunities was a factor NORPRA needed to take into consideration while also working towards developing templates for various policies including financial, resource mobilisation and communication. WACSI would do check-in calls to help strengthen the effectiveness of their work.
Review by Wilde Ganzen Foundation
Change the Game Academy is an alliance of members in 16 different countries. In Ghana Change the Game Academy partner WACSI is offering classroom courses and subsequent coaching in local fundraising and advocacy for change, to civil society organisations (CSOs) wishing to improve their knowledge and skills. NORPRA took the local fundraising course and has been applying what they learned ever since. Have a special look at the 'Description of preparatory work' and see how meticulously they planned their fundraising campaign. Do you want to be able to do the same? Check out our online local fundraising course, offering lots of useful information completely free of charge.
Details
Short description of the organisation the funds were raised for
In December 2005, Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPRA) came into being in the Wa campus of the University for Development Studies (UDS). Influenced by their studies, 65 undergraduates met to reflect and discuss the structural causes of poverty in northern Ghana and to examine the effects of inequalities in the Ghanaian society. The discussions led to the formation of a northern Ghana youth group whose goal was to undertake advocacy as a contribution towards addressing the structural causes of poverty and inequalities in Ghana. In January 2007 the organisation changed its name to NORPRA and in February 2007 was registered with the Registrar-General’s Department in Accra.
Short description of the project or programme the funds were raised for
NORPRA contacted WACSI, Change the Game Academy partner in Ghana, and enrolled in a local fundraising course. After attending the training, NORPRA’s action plan for 2020 focused on engaging in an activity to enhance the capacity of women farmers in Talensi district thereby creating a platform for women’s voices to be heard.
Summary of fundraising action
As a result of the training, NORPRA carried out donor profiling and was able to identify two key stakeholders who eventually provided the Assembly Hall for their capacity building activities. Using the skills and knowledge acquired, they lobbied for support and received assistance from the Department of Agriculture who assisted in printing of documents and provided a projector for their activities. The media voluntarily assisted with coverage.
NORPRA also received donations of GHS 5,000.00 and GHS 7,000.00 from two Members of Parliament (MP), one from the Bongo Constituency and the other from Bolgatanga Central Constituency, which they used to purchase farm inputs including fertilizer to support farmers and saved GHS 3,000.00. In addition, a parliamentary candidate from the Bolgatanga constituency who is now the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly provided an excavator to help desilt water canals of the Irrigation Company of Upper Regions (ICOUR) in Vea, for easy flow of water to effectively irrigate the farm lands under dry season farming.
Objectives
1. To raise funds for an assembly hall and necessary equipment and materials, to train women farmers.
2. To raise funds to support women and youth farmers to acquire farm inputs.
3. To raise funds to desilt irrigation canals for easy flow of water for dry season farming.
Targeted donors
1. Talensi District Assembly
2. Department of Agriculture, Talensi
3. Member of Parliament, Bolgatanga
4. Member of Parliament, Bongo
5. NPP Parliamentary Candidate for 2020 Elections, Bolgatanga
6. Chief of Zaare Community
7. Media
Results
| Cost/benefit |
National currency (GHS |
Euro |
| Total amount raised |
25,000 |
3,460 |
| (-) Total amount invested |
1,150 |
159 |
| Net amount raised |
23,850 |
3,301 |
Accounting details
The costs remained limited to stationery, typing and printing of documents, fuel for transportation, phone credit for calls and a lunch for the fundraising team: GHS 1,150.00 in all.
Result comments
Non-financial results achieved:
1. Talensi District Assembly placed their Assembly Hall at our disposal, free of charge.
2. Department of Agriculture gave out their projector for training without charge.
3. NPP Parliamentary Candidate for Bolga hired an excavator to desilt water canals without cost to NORPRA.
4. Chief of Zaare community gave out a motorbike to be used for the local fundraising activities.
5. Media coverage for free.
Description of preparatory work
Our preparatory activities to embark on local fundraising (LFR) for our project began with a meeting for discussions on the need to develop an LFR Plan.
In developing the LFR Plan, the following were considered:
* Background information of the project was provided.
* The problem to be addressed through LFR was highlighted and a situational analysis made.
* The goal of the LFR was clearly stated and a Project Activity Implementation Plan drawn.
* Project Needs were identified and listed, funds required for each project need in cash, in-kind and volunteering estimated.
* Donor Profile & Fundraising Techniques (personal selling, friend raising, concept note, etc.) were also highlighted in the plan.
* Potential donors and their types (individual, group, company, etc.) were identified and profiled.
* The appropriate technique to be used to raise the fund from each potential donor, the amount expected from each donor, the donor story and NORPRA’s story were all clearly stated.
* The expenditure to be incurred in LFR was also estimated.
Description of implementation
With the LFR Plan in place, an LFR Team led by Bismark Adongo Ayorogo and Linda Nyaaba Anaba who benefitted from the LFR training by WACSI were in the front of the implementation of the plan to raise the needed funds.
The team was able to reach out to the targeted potential donors and was able to raise a cash amount of GHS 12,000.00 and in-kind support of GHS 10,000.00 for excavator service, GHS 1,000.00 for motorbike for transportation, GHS 1,500.00 for media coverage, GHS 450.00 for the conference hall and the projector of GHS 150.00.
Follow up: Donor appreciation and acknowledgement
Letters of acknowledgement and appreciation of the contributions of the donors were written and sent to them.
Plans to repeat the action
Yes, we will continue to do LFR for other projects. We have already started a process of LFR to support a needy girl who gained admission into Bolgatanga Midwifery Training College, to pay her admission fee and other needs.
