French translation of: Resource mobilisation in civil society: time to think differently
Five key lessons from a learning exchange in Arusha, where education coalitions from across Africa came together to rethink how they fund their advocacy work.
Civil society coalitions working on education advocacy know the challenge well: funding is hard to come by, donor pools are limited, and the work of advocacy rarely produces the kind of immediate, visible results that attract grants. Add to that the recent disruptions to foreign aid, and the pressure on civil society to find new and more sustainable ways to finance their work has never been greater.
To address that challenge, education coalitions supported by Education Out Loud came together in Arusha, Tanzania, in June for a resource mobilisation training. The training sat within the organisational capacity pillar among Education Out Loud’s learning aspects: Organisational, Thematic and Advocacy Capacity, seeking to build a reliable and predictable resource framework for grantee organisations. What unfolded over five days was a deeper and more reflective journey than many expected — one that challenged assumptions and expanded understanding of what resource mobilisation really means.
Facilitated by MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation (MS TCDC), the participants moved between theory sessions unpacking the CSO funding landscape and exploring new fundraising strategies and practical sessions, in which they worked on authentic fundraising projects drawn from their own organisations’ contexts.
Mature organisations with more experience sat alongside organisations with newer structures and processes allowing interaction and learning exchange between them. This enabled grantees to co-create fundraising ideas in small groups based on interests, using their own experiences, an approach that enriched the final products. This created a useful foundation before they moved into virtual mentorship and began trying non-traditional approaches to funding.
Here are five key lessons from that exchange.
1. Resource mobilisation is a process — not just fundraising
The first reframe was also the most fundamental. Instead of looking at funding as the end goal, participants were encouraged to think about how organisations mobilise resources — people, ideas, partnerships, and finances — in a strategic and sustained way. One line captured it well: mobilise people first, resources second. It was a reminder that at the heart of every grant, partnership, or contribution is a relationship built on trust and shared purpose.
2. It must be intentional — not reactive
Resource mobilisation cannot be reactive. It needs to be embedded within organisational strategy, supported by clear roles, and guided by deliberate approaches — whether donor engagement, partnerships, communication, or digital outreach. The goal is to mobilise resources intentionally to deliver the strategic plan, rather than chasing funds for survival.
3. Look beyond traditional grant-seeking
The training helped unpack the complexity of the funding ecosystem — exploring how resources flow through bilateral and multilateral systems, private foundations, philanthropy, and corporate social responsibility. Linking this to global frameworks such as the Paris Declaration, the Accra Agenda for Action, and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda reinforced that resource mobilisation is not just technical work — it is shaped by global priorities, policies, and power dynamics. This opened a wide range of approaches: building consortia and communities of practice, engaging with private sector partners, developing social enterprise ideas, and tapping into local fundraising opportunities. What stood out was the emphasis on looking outward — scanning the environment, considering external perspectives, and exploring unexpected partners.
4. Consortia and collaboration open new doors
Forming consortia — coalitions coming together to apply for funding jointly rather than as single organisations — emerged as one of the most promising approaches. This broadens capacity, increases credibility, and improves chances with larger donors. Several participants left Arusha already in conversation about potential joint applications, with a shared sense of moving beyond constraints and beginning to think outside the box.
5. Strong proposals tell a clear, logical story
Proposals are often assessed quickly, reinforcing the need for precision and coherence from the outset. Strong proposals are not about saying everything — they are about communicating a clear and compelling story, backed by logic and credible evidence. Building a solid logic from activities to outputs, from outputs to outcomes, all the way to impact, gives proposals the clarity that reviewers are looking for.
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