01/Blog
Playbooks, insights, and field notes.
How African organizations are unlocking funding — practical lessons from grants offices, corporate CSR teams, and NGO leaders.
How to Write a Concept Note for Funding (with a Free Template)
A concept note decides whether a funder ever asks for your full proposal. Here is how to write one in a page: the seven questions it must answer, how to handle the budget, a self-check, and a free Word template, drawn from Dr. James Njagu's books.
Bid Writing for African NGOs: How to Write a Bid That Actually Wins
Competitive requests for proposals are judged in two rounds, and more than 40% of proposals never reach the second. Here is how bid writing differs from grant writing, and the process that gets a bid through.
Grant, Bid, Tender or EOI? What African NGOs Are Actually Responding To
Teams routinely respond to a tender as though it were a grant call, and lose on mechanics rather than merit. Here is what each funding instrument is, and how to tell them apart before you start writing.
Why grant proposals get rejected: the list, in the order it kills applications
Most proposals are eliminated on compliance before anyone reads the programme design. The full rejection list from 25 years of reviewing, stage by stage.
The #1 grant-proposal mistake costing African organizations millions
After reviewing 200+ proposals across East Africa, one pattern keeps costing NGOs funding — and it's not what most teams think.