Step 8: Mobilising Resources

You are going to need resources to conduct your advocacy efforts. These resources might be human—staff and volunteers—or money, but it is going to require an investment. Seeking support through fundraising is one means to offset the costs of the additional work.

When your union selects universal access as a central aim of its advocacy it is indicating a willingness to become part of the solution to a national problem. A problem that has already attracted the attention of international donors—so there is little need to convince them of the worthiness of the cause. What you need to demonstrate is how specifically your union intends to be part of the national solution.

By going through the steps you have already completed a great deal of the work you would also need to do if you were developing a fundraising proposal. You have done this by taking stock of your organisation’s position in the policy environment and assessing the programme and funding priorities in your country. You have identified gaps where labour can help fill the void. You have developed a plan of work that sets clear objectives, a programme of activities and means of verifying progress against indicators.

What this means is that in some cases all you may need to do is to take the substance and content of your work and organise it a bit differently to fit the formats that particular donors expect in their fundraising applications.

Step 8 describes how mobilising donor resources parallels the advocacy planning process itself – as it involves setting realistic goals, targeting audiences, and developing persuasive messages – and suggests stages of a process for your fundraising.

See Step 8: