Train your team to say no

I have recently had the opportunity to meet with development expert Ezra Mbogori, the former Executive Director of the Akiba Uhaki Foundation, or East African Human Rights and Social Justice Fund, based in Nairobi, Kenya. Ezra is also a Mason Fellow of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and an alumnus of the Kellogg International Leadership Program. He has already contributed to this blog here.

Here is a short summary of our conversation on how African organisations like Akiba Uhaki can and should engage international donors differently to hold them accountable for the aid they promise.

I omit to mention the specific identity of these donors for confidentiality reasons, however the main message speaks to most nonprofit organisations, especially smaller ones, having to manage donor relations.

Ezra, you have extensive development and human rights experience in Kenya spanning over four decades. How have you engaged with donors and what have you learned along the way?

I had the distinct privilege of running different organisations in Nairobi in the 1980s-1990s, most of which were funded by several private donors as well as major donor governments. Amongst roles we played, we incubated other organisations and nurtured their growth. Among them, we accommodated a grassroots LGBTQI organisation. This raised a myriad of questions from our donors. Halfway into the grant cycle, one major donor stopped funding us. I stood by my position [defending this organisation’s work] and even took legal action against their decision, but it didn’t work. I ended up having to close down my own organisation and thereafter, went on to work for another international NGO to survive.

Dealing with this situation was damaging. I felt abused by this kind of donor and started treating them differently. In the early 1990s, I was working on a project addressing the issue of urban poverty – more commonly referred to as the challenge of ‘street children’ – when a respected intergovernmental agency came forward with a request to visit one of our project sites in view of a potential donation.

This time around, instead of immediately granting the request, I agreed to allow the visit on the condition that the Agency would make a concrete donation to our work first. It was a bold move that did not go unnoticed. Other organisations and partners started paying attention to my strategy. The visit took place and the donor representative was blown away by what she saw. We then started a real partnership on new terms. On more equal terms.

So the basic idea behind this story is: train your team to say no. From the outset, you need to develop what I call the “donor retirement scheme”. At the end of a grant, we do not automatically ask for an extension but assess the situation jointly with the donor.

How did donors react to this approach?

Most donors were (and still are) surprised that I won’t automatically accept more funding. By doing so, I introduce an element of control as the aid recipient. One day I will write this model down! Bottom line, we need to start interrogating traditional funding models. We need to ask ourselves basic questions, such as: what are the challenges we must overcome now? How do we create sustainability? How do we work ourselves out of a job?

Diversifying the donor base can greatly help achieve sustainability. But this strategy can also be tricky. For example, while working for the international NGO, I found myself managing 17 different donors. It was a crazy situation to be in. Eventually, the clear signs of ‘burn out’ drove me to leave the organisation.

What else do you recommend locally led organisations do to hold their donors to account?

Most donors want to look good to their people, their constituents. Being aware of this motivation is important as we monitor how international NGOs and intergovernmental organisations manage their own donor funding. They may not handle it responsibly. 

What are you working on these days?

In recent years, I have been more interested in partnering with the private sector on innovative agricultural products, such as organic fertilizers.

This kind of partnership is based on a different business model, where the most important elements are how good your original idea is and the return on your investment. I am very excited about the potential ahead of us.

Cover photo credit: AP/Khalil Senosai