Fundraising and Donor Relations | ZMINA:Resilience Capacity Building

Aims

This capacity building session introduced fundraising as a strategic organisational practice — not a reactive scramble for money, but a deliberate, mission-aligned process that shapes how cultural organisations grow, sustain themselves, and build long-term relationships with funders. Designed for cultural professionals working in or aspiring to international projects, the session aimed to move participants beyond familiar funding sources and towards a more systemic, structured approach to donor research and engagement.

The session aimed to help participants:

• Understand what makes fundraising strategic rather than ad hoc, and why alignment with organisational vision and mission is essential
• Navigate the European fundraising landscape: public funders, private foundations, corporate sponsors, and individual donors
• Identify the criteria for a good fit between an organisation and a donor
• Develop a practical fundraising plan — a living database of prioritised funding sources tailored to their strategic goals
• Understand the key components of a successful grant application and the most common writing mistakes to avoid
• Build and maintain meaningful relationships with donors before, during, and after the application process
• Recognise the structural challenge of operational funding and identify funders that support organisational sustainability
• Practise pitching — communicating their work compellingly in a short, time-limited window

Trainer

Fairooz Tamimi is a cultural sector professional with over 30 years of experience in fundraising, organisational development, and international project management. At the time of this webinar, she was serving as Executive Director of Action For Hope, a Belgian organisation. Prior to that, she was Strategic Development Director at Trans Europe Halles, the European network of cultural centres, where she was responsible for fundraising strategy and implementation. She has written numerous applications to EU programmes and major private foundations, and draws on that experience to offer participants a grounded, insider perspective on the realities of the funding landscape.

Content

The webinar was structured as a practical walkthrough of the full fundraising journey — from defining what strategic fundraising means and mapping the European funding landscape, through the fundraising cycle and grant writing, to building and maintaining donor relationships. The session combined conceptual frameworks with live exercises, including a fundraising plan developed in breakout groups and a pitching practice session with direct feedback from the trainer.

1. What is Strategic Fundraising?
2. The Funding Landscape and Donor Fit
3. Donor Mapping and Prioritising Funding Sources
4. The Fundraising Cycle: Research, Connect, Apply, Maintain
5. The Fundraising Plan, Operational Funding, and Heritage Funders
6. Pitching: Communicating Your Work in 30 Seconds

The session was held on April 1, 2026 in English.