September 27, 2021

What funders say vs what they mean

Where is the lie though?

2 min read

1

What they say: “Our fund release process is completely automated.”

What they mean: “You will need a CRM expert, our home-grown SAP software installed in your server, and high-speed uninterrupted internet access.”

2

What they say: “We encourage organisations to make social media posts for the programmes we sponsor.”

What they mean: “Each post must be approved by our communications head. They will take up to 96 hours to get back to you, and when they do, they will have suggestions to recreate what you have made.” 

3

What they say: “The contract is binding on all aspects for both parties.”

What they mean: “Fund release is at the mercy of our accounts department who is above mundane things like contracts.”

an image of a cat with its eyes closed and mouth open-funders
Picture courtesy: Rawpixel

4

What they say: “Our employees are available for any volunteering opportunities with your organisation.”

What they mean: “You need to design a calendar for the year that lists down weekly volunteering opportunities. These opportunities are subject to a last-minute cancellation by us. The volunteering sites must be within 5 kilometres of our office, offer a range of activities, and have provisions for good photo opportunities.”

5

What they say: “We fund organisation overheads.”

What they mean: “This includes the overheads we incur while working with your organisation. And our overheads may exceed your overall project budget.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Sumathy Krishnan-Image
Sumathy Krishnan

Sumathy Krishnan is the executive director at a Bangalore based nonprofit, Technology Informatics Design Endeavour (TIDE). She wishes that fundraising should not be more complicated than the problems we use it to solve. She can be reached at [email protected].

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