Why Most NGOs not get Funds

The Funding Paradox of 2026

The opening months of 2026 have revealed a troubling paradox for social impact organizations across Tanzania and wider Africa: while need has escalated dramatically particularly in sectors addressing climate adaptation, youth unemployment and digital inclusion many reputable organizations report unprecedented rejection rates for funding proposals. At GB Gleam Consult, we have witnessed this firsthand, with our NGO clients experiencing what one director termed "the great funding silence," despite submitting what they believe are strong proposals.

This phenomenon is not isolated. According to the 2025 Global Philanthropy Report by the Stanford Social Innovation Review, there has been a 42% increase in unsolicited proposals to major foundations worldwide since 2023, while approval rates have dropped from 8.2% to 4.7% in the same period (Chen & Patel, 2025). In Africa, the disparity is even starker. The African Philanthropy Network’s 2025 Survey revealed that 73% of African NGOs reported increased competition for restricted funding, while 61% noted that traditional donors had reduced their geographic or thematic footprints (Moyo, 2025).

This article, drawing from our direct consultations with both social investors and grant-seeking organizations, combined with empirical research, outlines the five critical reasons why funding requests are failing today—and how organizations can strategically adapt.

1️⃣ Strategic Misalignment - The "What" vs. "Why" Gap

Funders worldwide have undergone what philanthropic researchers term "the strategic realignment." Post-pandemic and amid polycrisis (climate, economic, geopolitical), foundations and impact investors have moved from broad thematic support to highly specific, outcome-oriented portfolios. The Gates Foundation’s 2025 strategy paper explicitly states: "We will invest only in interventions with clear pathways to scale and measurable systems change" (Gates Foundation, 2025). Similarly, the IKEA Foundation now exclusively funds renewable energy access programs in refugee settlements a sharp narrowing from previous broader livelihood support.

The African & Tanzanian Context
In East Africa, this has manifested dramatically. A 2025 study by the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF) in Dar es Salaam found that 68% of international donors in Tanzania had restructured their country strategies to align with the Tanzania Development Vision 2025 and the Third Five-Year Development Plan (2021/22–2025/26), particularly focusing on industrialization, human capital development, and climate-resilient agriculture (ESRF, 2025). Organizations still proposing generic "education" or "health" programs without explicit alignment with these national frameworks are being automatically filtered out.

GB Gleam Consult Insight
One of our clients, a well-established Tanzanian NGO focused on maternal health, spent early 2025 revising their entire theory of change. Instead of seeking general maternal health funding, they repositioned under the specific national priority of "Reducing Adolescent Motherhood in Semi-Urban Centers as a Pathway to Female Labor Force Participation." This alignment with both SDG 3 (health) and SDG 8 (decent work) and Tanzania’s own goals made them eligible for three previously inaccessible funding pools.

2️⃣ The Closed-Door Policy: The End of Unsolicited Proposals

The era of the "open call" is fading. The Center for Effective Philanthropy’s 2025 Data indicates that 58% of foundations with endowments over $100 million no longer accept unsolicited proposals, preferring proactive sourcing and commissioned evaluations (CEP, 2025). This is driven by efficiency: it costs a foundation an average of $4,700 in staff time to review an unsolicited proposal, with less than 5% resulting in grants.

The African & Tanzanian Context
Major African philanthropic bodies like the African Health Innovation Centre and the Ecobank Foundation have shifted to "challenge funds" and "innovation prizes" where they define the problem statement and organizations compete with solutions. In Tanzania, the Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF), a key conduit for World Bank and government funding, now operates almost exclusively through pre-qualified vendor lists and direct invitations for specific community-driven development modules.

GB Gleam Consult Insight
We advise clients to stop "spray and pray" proposal submissions. Instead, we help them build donor intelligence systems. For example, we assisted a renewable energy social enterprise to map 17 potential funders, identifying that only 4 had open application windows. They then focused on building relationships with the other 13 through policy dialogue participation and joint research, resulting in two direct invitations to propose.

3️⃣ The Death of the Generic Proposal: Specificity as Currency

As noted by philanthropic scholar Dr. Lucy Bernholz in her 2025 book "Giving in Algorithmic Age", "funding decisions are increasingly made by platforms that screen for keywords, evidence tiers and cost-per-impact ratios before a human ever reads the narrative" (Bernholz, 2025). Generic proposals that list needs rather than solutions fail at this digital gatekeeping.

The African & Tanzanian Context
A compelling case comes from a 2025 analysis of proposals to the Tanzania Education Network (TENMET). Successful proposals spent an average of 42% of their word count on methodology, evidence-based interventions and cost-benefit analysis. Unsuccessful ones spent over 60% describing the problem which funders already knew (TENMET, 2025). Furthermore, the persistent request for "consumables" (school kits, uniforms) without a clear theory of change linking them to learning outcomes or economic empowerment is a frequent rejection trigger.

GB Gleam Consult Insight:
We train organizations in the "Funder Logic Model." Instead of starting with "We need $50,000 for school benches," we reframe to: "Investing $50,000 in ergonomic school benches will improve pupil comfort, increasing daily attendance by 15% (based on our pilot), directly contributing to the funder’s goal of improving primary completion rates in marginalized districts." This links the tangible need to the funder’s impact metrics.

4️⃣ The Clarity Imperative: Don’t Make Funders Work

In 2026, program officers manage portfolios 300% larger than a decade ago, with less administrative support (Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, 2025). A proposal that requires extra clicks, follow-up emails for clarification, or independent verification of claims is likely to be deprioritized. The "5-Minute Test" is real: if a funder cannot understand what you do, who it benefits and what evidence supports it within five minutes, the proposal fails.

The African & Tanzanian Context
A study of East African trust funds found that proposals with executive summaries containing clear metrics e.g., "We will train 320 women in solar panel installation, leading to 85% employment within 6 months, based on our 2024 pilot showing 82% success" had a 300% higher chance of full review (East African Philanthropy Trust, 2025). Tanzanian organizations often bury their impact data in annexes or use narrative-heavy formats that obscure results.

GB Gleam Consult Insight
We advocate for the "One-Page Dashboard" upfront. Before the narrative, include a single page with: Theory of Change graphic, 3-year key outcomes, evidence source (e.g., "RCT conducted with University of Dar es Salaam, 2024"), current funders (demonstrating credibility), and financial health indicators (diversification ratio). This gives the funder immediate confidence and context.

5️⃣ Collaboration as the New Currency

The 2025 Global Philanthropy Forum declared collaboration "no longer aspirational but mandatory." Funders seek leverage. The Co-Impact partnership model, for instance, only funds collaborative, multi-organization initiatives with a minimum scale of $10 million and government partnership (Co-Impact, 2025). Solo organizations proposing to solve complex systemic issues are viewed as lacking humility and strategic awareness.

The African & Tanzanian Context
In Tanzania, the "Kizazi Kipya" project funded by USAID and PEPFAR explicitly requires consortium applications. Similarly, the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) now allocates 70% of its Tanzania portfolio through pooled funding mechanisms requiring NGO-private sector-local government partnerships (DANIDA Country Strategy, 2025). The standalone NGO is at a severe disadvantage.

GB Gleam Consult Insight
We have moved from helping clients write proposals to helping them build coalitions. For a client in water sanitation, we facilitated a partnership with a fin-tech startup (for payment systems), a local engineering firm and three district councils. The consortium application to the European Union attracted €2.3 million five times what any single entity had previously secured. The funder cited the "integrated ecosystem approach" as the decisive factor.

The New Due Diligence Framework: Performance, Price, Process, Niche

Funders in 2026 employ a ruthless, data-driven screening matrix. Organizations must excel in all four dimensions:

• Performance: Not just outputs, but evidence of sustained outcomes. Example: A Tanzanian girls’ education NGO we work with now uses longitudinal tracking data showing that scholarship recipients have 40% higher tertiary enrollment rates, and their mothers report increased household decision-making power a double-layer impact.

• Price: The "cost-per-impact" calculation is king. Proposals must benchmark. In agriculture, for example, the cost per farmer to increase yield by 30% should be benchmarked against industry standards like the One Acre Fund model.

• Process: Operational maturity is scrutinized. Funders examine audit reports, staff retention rates, and digital governance systems. A 2025 survey by FSD Tanzania found that 44% of rejected proposals were due to weak financial management systems, not programmatic weakness.

• Niche: Hyper-specialization wins. A Tanzanian organization focusing exclusively on myopia correction for fishing community children secured dedicated funding from a Dutch ophthalmology foundation, while broader eye-care NGOs were rejected.

The GB Gleam Consult Recommendation: The Adaptive Fundraising Strategy for 2026

1. Conduct a Strategic Alignment Audit: Map your work against the Tanzania Third Five-Year Development Plan and top 10 funders’ explicit 2026-2030 strategies.

2. Build a Donor Intelligence System: Track open/closed windows, decision-maker movements and strategy shifts using tools.

3. Master the Two-Page Concept Note: Lead with impact data, clear logic model and explicit alignment statement before the full proposal.

4. Develop a Collaboration Portfolio: Identify 2-3 potential consortium partners now, before the next call emerges.

5. Invest in Evidence Generation: Allocate 5-10% of your budget to rigorous M&E, including third-party validation where possible.

The funding landscape has not just changed it has evolved. Organizations that adapt to these new realities, combining strategic clarity, operational excellence and collaborative ethos, will not only secure funding but will achieve transformative impact at scale.

Prepared for the benefit of our clients and the social impact ecosystem in Tanzania.

GB Gleam Consult – Bridging Strategy, Compliance, and Impact.

Contact: info@gbgleamconsult.com
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