5 Obstacles on Your Way to Fundraising Success and How to Overcome Them

Grow your fundraising today so you can grow your impact tomorrow!

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Grow your fundraising today so you can grow your impact tomorrow!

Are you fundraising for an organization but your job feels much harder than it should? Do you constantly worry about how your organization will continue its work and the challenge of securing vital grants? Does it feel like most energy goes into getting the funds instead of actually doing the work your organization is focused on? Then this course is for you!

No matter the size of your organization or how much experience you have in the field – this course will help you to develop a more effective and efficient fundraising strategy, and amplify the reach and impact of your work.

This online course covers all areas of fundraising, from the development of a strategy to proposal writing and donor engagement. Our experienced instructors have identified the five main obstacles to fundraising success that many professionals run into and systematically addressed them in this course, showing you how to overcome them.

Join us to break down the obstacles in your way!

What will you learn?

5 Obstacles on Your Way to Fundraising Success and How to Overcome Them” is a certificate course about international fundraising and the challenges you encounter.

The course consists of:

  • 5 Modules covering all the important aspects of the fundraising and grant-seeking process
  • 5 videos in which experts share their experience and insights, giving you the inside scoop
  • Over 70 pages of supporting materials
  • Cheat sheets for every module, summarizing the key points on a single page
  • More than 10 samples of successful proposals and concept notes
  • More than 20 templates for documents involved in the fundraising process
  • Quizzes at the end of each module (80% needed to pass)
  • Assignments that will help you to apply the gained knowledge to your project
  • A copy of the E-book “The NGO Guide to Proposal Writing: A Complete ‘How To’ For Everything Proposal Related”

At the end of the course, you will receive a completion certificate from Philantropia.

If you follow the modules and do the coursework, by the end of the course you will have all the practical tools and skills you need to boost your fundraising at your fingertips.

By the end of the 5-week course, you will have:

  • A holistic strategy for your fundraising efforts
  • A donor map with at least 10 potential donors to contact
  • A networking strategy that will help you open doors
  • A first draft of a proposal that will win future donors over
  • A certificate of completion

Who should take the course?

  • NGO managers and executive directors
  • Fundraising and development professionals for local and international NGOs
  • Non-profit consultants and consulting firms
  • Fundraisers for local NGOs and aid organizations
  • Fundraisers for a cause close to their heart
  • Students

Philantropia is an Approved Provider for Continuing Education in Fundraising. Full participation in “The 5 obstacles on your way to fundraising success and how to overcome them” is applicable for 5.5 points in Category 1. B – Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification. CFRE is an independent certification for fundraising professionals that aims to set standards in philanthropy through a valid and reliable certification process for fundraising professionals.

Participation in this program may assist you in learning or reviewing concepts covered on the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) examination as detailed on the Test Content Outline provided by CFRE International. CFRE International does not sponsor or endorse any educational programs and the (educational program title) was not developed in conjunction with CFRE International.


"I’m almost at the end of modules. I can confess that all 5 modules are extremely interesting and informative. I have learned a lot and can realize that I and my team were following the wrong way. Now we have to change completely the way we were doing things. Thank you a lot. It is a great resource to go back to. Again thank you."

- Togola Abou, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture

Being a co-founder of a non-profit organization myself I guarantee that this course has helped me a lot to develop a fundraising strategy. I am glad that I joined this course. The comprehensive course is meant to make the fundraising task easier. I learned to identify the hurdles and mistakes that I have been making in my strategy and now, I precisely got the knowledge on overcoming them. The online session was great. I enjoyed it and wish to share it with my colleague as well.

- Kalpana Bhandari, Co-Founder, Healing Hands

It was an excellent course, with all the information that you need, especially if you are just starting with fundraising. It was what I was looking for. The best takeaway from the course for me was the importance of developing a fundraising strategy and donor mapping. I think everybody that has or works in an NGO should follow this course. Also, it is great to follow on social media because there are up-to-date relevant informations.

-Alexandra Hoeneisen, FUNDACIÓN TANGARÉ

Course Curriculum


  Introduction
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  Module 1: Developing a Fundraising Strategy
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  Module 2: Donor Research
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  Module 3: Donor Networking
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  Module 4: The question of eligibility
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  Module 5: Proposal Writing
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  Congratulations!
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Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a self-paced online course - you can finish whenever you want to. After registration, every week another module gets unlocked - so you can finish the course in 5 weeks. If you have a busy schedule, you can take longer though - no pressure!
How long do I have access to the course?
How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like - across any and all devices you own.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.

If you are frustrated with your current fundraising successes and want to learn more, come with us on this journey! When finishing this course, you will have a deep understanding of the fundraising cycle and its implications for your entire project and organization. If you follow through on the exercises and work through the workbook, you will also have a solid strategy and a first version of your proposal at hand! Start your successful fundraising for your organization today and join us! We are sure, this course will be a total gamechanger for you!

Get started now!