A humanitarian NGO rarely lives off a single donor. Knowing who funds what in your country comes first: this site's country pages show, for the current year, the donors present, the organizations they fund and the sectors covered.
1. Main families of donors
- Government donors: United States, Germany, the European Union (ECHO for emergencies, INTPA and NEAR for development), United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Japan, Canada, the Netherlands… They mostly fund UN agencies and international NGOs, and increasingly pooled funds.
- Pooled funds: CERF (global, for UN agencies only) and country-based pooled funds (CBPF), open directly to national and international NGOs.
- UN agencies: they pass a large share of their funds to NGO partners (partnership agreements with UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNFPA…).
- Foundations and private sector: Gates, national foundations, companies. Smaller but more flexible amounts.
2. Registrations to complete before any call
- UN Partner Portal: one profile to answer partnership calls from several UN agencies.
- European Union: a PIC number on the Funding & Tenders portal; for ECHO, the Humanitarian Partnership Certificate.
- United States: a UEI on SAM.gov, then a Grants.gov account.
- Country pooled fund: registration on OCHA's grant management system, then a capacity assessment (due diligence) that sets your risk level and how much you can apply for.
3. Get the organization ready
Donors first look at: statutes and legal registration, audited financial statements, policies (anti-fraud, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, child safeguarding, counter-terrorism), a monitoring and evaluation system, and proven experience in the area. An up-to-date institutional file saves weeks.
4. Spot the calls
Follow this site's Grants page, donors' official portals and the clusters in your country: pooled fund allocations are announced and discussed there. Attending cluster meetings is often the best way in.
5. Localization: an opportunity for national NGOs
Grand Bargain commitments aim to channel more funding directly to local actors. Pooled funds are the main channel. A fair partnership with an international NGO (overheads included, visibility, capacity sharing) is also a good springboard.