Strengthen Your Grantees

MAMA HOPE provides organizational strengthening and capacity building services for foundations and other funders investing in locally-led organisations. Through tailored learning programs, we work alongside grantees to strengthen their strategies, systems and relationships, supporting sustainability, informed decision-making and continued impact beyond a single funding cycle.

INVEST BEYOND THE GRANT

A grant can fund important work; but the ability to sustain that work depends on more than funding alone.

Locally-led organisations bring deep community knowledge, trusted relationships and solutions shaped by lived experience. Yet the demands of delivering programs, managing resources, demonstrating results and meeting funder expectations can leave limited time and resources to strengthen the organisation itself.

Clear strategies, reliable financial systems, effective leadership, strong governance, meaningful evidence and sustainable funding approaches all shape an organisation’s ability to make decisions, manage change and plan for the future.

MAMA HOPE works alongside locally-led organisations to strengthen these foundations through a comprehensive curriculum that combines learning with practical implementation.

For funders, this means investing not only in the work their grantees deliver today, but in their ability to remain effective, adaptable and sustainable in the years ahead.

SUPPORT ACROSS THE FUNDING CYCLE

Whether you are identifying new partners, supporting an existing portfolio or preparing for the end of a funding relationship, investing in organizational development can create greater stability and more options for the organisations you work alongside.

BEFORE FUNDING
Build Readiness

Support prospective grantees to strengthen their organizational strategies, governance, financial management and operational systems before entering a funding relationship.

The Outcome: Organisations are better prepared to manage funding, communicate their priorities and enter partnerships with greater organizational clarity.

DURING FUNDING
Strengthen Grantees

Invest in the systems and practices that support your grantees as they deliver their programs. Adapt learning to their priorities, including leadership, finance, operations, monitoring and learning, communications and fundraising.

The Outcome: Grantees have stronger systems for managing resources, learning from their work, making decisions and sustaining their impact.

AS FUNDING ENDS
Plan Ahead

Work alongside grantees as they prepare for the next chapter of their organisation, whether that involves diversifying income, strengthening partnerships, reviewing strategy or preparing for changes in funding.

The Outcome: Organisations have greater clarity, stronger financial and operational practices, and more options for continuing their work beyond the grant.

GRANTEE CAPACITY BUILDING SERVICES

Invest in the Organisations You may Fund Next

Finding locally-led organisations whose priorities align with your funding strategy is only one part of building meaningful partnerships. Understanding their work, building relationships and investing in their organizational foundations can create a stronger starting point.

Through our nine-month Localization Development Accelerator (LDA), funders can sponsor a cohort of locally-led organisations working within a specific geography or thematic area.

MAMA HOPE coordinates recruitment and selection, facilitates the curriculum and works alongside participating organisations as they develop their leadership, strategies, systems and funding approaches.

Throughout the program, we share agreed learning and progress updates, providing funders with insight into the organizational development taking place.

The outcome: Locally-led organisations with stronger organizational foundations, and funders with a deeper understanding of potential partners and their priorities.

Potential engagement: Nine-month cohort sponsorship, with scope and reporting agreed jointly.

Strengthen the Organisations Already in your Portfolio

Your grantees are delivering important work. Investing in their organizational development creates opportunities to strengthen the systems, leadership and practices behind that work.

MAMA HOPE partners with funders to design and deliver tailored learning engagements for their grantees, drawing from our comprehensive organizational-strengthening curriculum.

We begin by understanding the priorities of participating organisations and identifying where focused learning and practical implementation can make the greatest difference.

Depending on those priorities, engagements can range from short workshops and bootcamps to longer learning programs covering multiple areas of organizational development.

The outcome: Grantees with stronger organizational practices, greater confidence in managing resources and clearer strategies for sustaining their work and navigating change.

Potential engagement: Tailored workshops, bootcamps or extended learning programs.

PLANNING A FUNDING TRANSITION?

Our Portfolio Accelerator can also be adapted for funders preparing to conclude a grant or shift their funding priorities.

We work alongside participating organisations to identify the strategies, financial practices, relationships and organizational systems they want to strengthen as they prepare for what comes next.

BUILT THROUGH PRACTICE
ADAPTED TO YOUR GRANTEES

MAMA HOPE’s curriculum brings together leadership development, strategy, operations, finance, monitoring and learning, communications and fundraising.

Developed and delivered by our team, it connects different areas of organizational development so that what organisations learn in one module can inform how they work in another.

Our approach combines structured learning with practical application. Participating organisations work on their own strategies, systems and practices, rather than completing exercises disconnected from their everyday work.

The curriculum continues to evolve through feedback from partners, learning across cohorts and the experience of our team as facilitators.

For funders, this means access to a comprehensive, adaptable learning approach grounded in years of working alongside locally-led organisations.

  • Leadership Development
  • Strategy
  • Operations & Finance
  • Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning
  • Branding & Communications
  • Fundraising & Donor Relationships

OUR PROCESS
HOW WE WORK TOGETHER

Every partnership begins with understanding the funder's priorities and the experiences and needs of the organisations taking part

We discuss your funding strategy, the organisations you work alongside, your desired outcomes and where organizational strengthening could add value.

We engage grantees to understand their priorities, existing strengths and the areas they want to develop.

 We agree on the relevant curriculum areas, format, duration, implementation expectations and ways to assess progress

Our team delivers the learning and works alongside participating organisations as they apply it within their own operations.

We assess progress against agreed outcomes, share appropriate findings and identify opportunities for continued organizational development.

FISCAL SPONSORSHIP
CONNECT FUNDING WITH LOCALLY-LED ORGANISATIONS

Funders may identify locally-led organisations whose work aligns with their priorities but face administrative or structural barriers to providing funding directly.

MAMA HOPE offers fiscal sponsorship arrangements for eligible locally-led organisations whose work aligns with our mission and values. Through an established due diligence process, we assess potential partnerships and the requirements for administering funds responsibly.

Our team works with interested funders and organisations to explore whether fiscal sponsorship is an appropriate way to support their funding relationship.

Note: Fiscal sponsorship is a separate service from the accelerator programs. Eligibility, due diligence requirements and applicable processing fees should be discussed before an arrangement is confirmed.

ENQUIRE HERE

WHAT OUR FUNDER PARTNERS ARE SAYING

“I am very appreciative of the work completed with our partners in Tanzania and having the opportunity to collaborate with you and your team. One of the partners sent me an unsolicited email on behalf of partners raving about how helpful MAMA HOPE has been to their work, especially as they plan for the future.” 

Nicholas Banovetz, Executive Director | Better Way Foundation.

“I can’t thank you all enough for your work with our Partners;  I’ve heard from several who are beaming about the training and all the actionable information they walked away with.  I also did a quick read through on the report and I deeply appreciate the level of detail and overall insights.  Thank you!” 

Rachel K Richards, Executive Director |  Arthur B. Schultz Foundation.