A NEW ATTITUDE FOR NON-PROFIT FUNDRAISING.
We won't create the new "Trust Based Philanthropy" ecosystems we need if we use outdated rules for setting out funder - grantee relationships.
It takes change to make change.
Hi! I'm
Anna Bruni Sabhaney
I believe your Non-Profit deserves quality funding and agency in your funding relationships with donors.
It is high time we shift Power Dynamics In philanthropy to put Non-Profits back in the driving seat.
I founded Confluencers to help Non-Profit Leaders navigate unhelpful power dynamics in philanthropy and build agency in donor relationships.
We do this through our FREE Community, Impact Narratives and a new attitude Relational Impact Based Fundraising.
Join Our Free Non-Profit Leaders Community Today
- We stand for restoring a balance and shifting power dynamics in grant giver - grantee relationships
- Join a growing tribe of a "Confluencers" and hack fundraising!
- You'll be part of the group of bold assertive charity leaders that are free to decide how to allocate their funding and work with collaborative and trusting funders.
Download 5 Ideas for Your Perfect Grant
Our Work Is Also Trusted By...
What Non-Profit Leaders We Have Worked With Are Saying...
About Their Results
Laureen Van Breen, Managing Director,
Wikirate, Germany
"Fundraising is no longer stressful because I am no longer just throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. Our fundraising activities were intertwined with networking, making it hard to gauge what was/wasn't effective and how we could move from the 'waves' to having a more steady stream of funding. I am now more targeted in my approach, I know what I want to achieve, what works and what doesn’t. I am no longer shooting in the dark. I know when I have done enough outreach and have started listening to funders and letting them ask the questions. Connecting with funders is a lot easier than one thinks!"
Penny Wilson,
CEO,
Getting On Board, UK
"I wanted to increase the grant income. The programme made me realise that we needed to partner with grant-makers to achieve our objectives and that we had it in our power to reset the rules. Our income has almost tripled in 18 months. The Confluencers showed us the power of demonstrating our impact, and gave us the freedom to do things our way. It also opened my eyes to the uncomfortable power dynamics between applicant/grantee and funder - and showed me that we could shift those by behaving differently. I've just come off a call with a large funder asking them what they are doing to improve board diversity in our sector. 18 months ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of doing that!"
Esi Kagale Agyemano Gillo, Co-Founder,
DIFFvelopment, USA
"Working with Anna was a dream! She is the most thorough, passionate and committed consultant we have ever come across and she provides a priceless product.People are "getting" us now very quickly, We do a lot less explaining and a lot more building. We have tons of interest calls every week. Funders are interviewing us, local organizations want to partner with us and people are signing up for our programs on a daily basis. All and all we have so much more organic activity than we ever had, and it really has everything to do with the new messaging "
Dr. Sarika Kulkarni, Founder, RAAH Foundation, India
"It has been a phenomenal journey and we are sure we will work together again. Your contribution to making us think beyond what we were doing and have more clarity on some of the most basic questions is immense. It was both a growth oriented and an immensely enjoyable journey."
Gavin Thompson, Ex-Chairman, The Happold Foundation, UK
"Anna brings clear analytical thinking to problem solving, infectious enthusiasm, creativity and drive to see things through. Her intellect and winning smile, which is much more than skin deep, removes even the most stubborn inertia and produces excellent results. She has forged links with institutions and NGO’s and contributed to the development of events and programmes which have yielded significant improvement."
Phrang Roy, Ex-Assistant Secretary General in UN & Founder TIP, India
"Your help was incredible and this is just to say thank you for everything"
Maybe you can relate..
Many Non-Profits Experience These Challenges...
- Spending 50-60% of time fundraising without the results you want
- Frustrated that you can't do the work you most want to do
- Having to let go of amazing, awesome, passionate staff because of funding cuts
- Not knowing why you are getting a "no" from a funder that was "the perfect fit".
- Getting told that your operating costs "just can't be more than 15%" while thinking "wait a second that's my staff's salary there, are you saying you think their input is worth only 15% of the project's value?"
- Never having the luxury of time to think
- Trying everything and wishing there was a new easier process you could use instead.
I get it. I've been frustrated with tens of funders I've spoken to who didn't appreciate the value and expertise non-profit's bring to the table. I also know what it's like to be anxious about funding. So much so that I have missed important family Christmas dinners worrying. But I decided that someone out there must have found better ways, so I rolled my sleeves up got training, reading and testing different approaches. The "Roadmap to Self-Reliance" community is a place where I share all the approaches that have worked for me, and where I invite others to do the same.
Ready To Access A Free Taster Of "Roadmap To Self-Reliance"?
My Story
I 2010, when I first worked with a non-profit in Pabal, a small village in India, I was blown away by the resilience, knowledge and expertise of the charity leaders I met. 8 years later I was raising up to $5.5m for a single community project as a Civil Engineer in the UK. I was serving on the Board of Trustees of The Happold Foundation, when I found out that only 0.2% of international funding was going to national or local charities.
That changed everything for me. I quit my job at the time, moved to India and founded The Confluencers. The name came from the idea of rivers meeting at a Confluence, converging to become stronger together.
That's how I see donor and grantees: as two separate communities that need to come together AS EQUALS so that they can be stronger than each of them individually to achieve even greater things.
I decided (after speaking to hundreds of non-profits) that a good place to start would be by serving charities first. So that's what I've been up to since.
The Full Story
In 2018 I put on hold my 10-year career in Civil Engineering to found The Confluencers with the mission of getting Non-Profits the recognition and agency they deserve.
Very soon after, I got my first Non-Profit clients (Pic below!)
Since then I've worked with tens of Non-Profit leaders to help them double and triple their funding, build strong trusting collaborations with funders and show up as the bold assertive experts in their fields that they are.
We've implemented ways for them to save time, fund new permanent staff roles, get recognised in awards and attract more respectful and interested funders to them. (Quality matters as well as quantity!)
I think it's high time we shift the balance of control between grant givers and grantees towards more equitable and long-term partnerships that focus on finding creative ways of reaching collective goals faster.
So far I've had the pleasure of working across the world - Europe, US, India, Africa, UAE - for Private and Public Sector clients, delivering social impact programmes from concept to completion.
I have a particular interest in climate risk, complex systems, rural livelihoods, inequality and flood security.
I am also a Mom and have been a Charity Board Member, a speaker, a moderator, a Member of the Global Alliance for Urban Crises and an industry mentor.
I also fundraise for causes I love and am a life long learner. A good two decades ago, I studied Civil Engineering at the University of Bristol and more recently Entrepreneurship at MIT.
We use a different framework...
Relational Impact Based Fundraising
Find out what makes it so effective...
Do you know how sometimes fundraisers face resistance when they ask for long-term unrestricted funding and that makes it hard to pay for staff salaries? Often this happens because non-profits are being undervalued.
All I do to change that, is help non-profit CEOs, founders and fundraisers explain the value of their work and set up different, more human ways, of connecting with funders so that they can confidently and predictably increase the amount of funding, the consistency of the funding and the quality of their donor relationships.
It focuses on these key steps:
- Eliminate the risk with compelling impact communication.
- Reduce residual risk by getting non-profits in continuous honest conversation with funders.
- Accept some funders will still misunderstand and plan to steer clear of them.
- Communicate not only the money that’s needed but also the terms needed to succeed.
Non-Profit Power
Content Hub
Why your NGO is dependent on donors: the vicious cycle and how to fight it
Thursday, October 27, 2022
3 things fundraisers should never forget when building new funding relationships
Thursday, October 13, 2022
Get To Know ANNA BRUNI SABHANEY
