Areas of Concern

Module 5 * Part 1

As your audience member - who are likely funders and investors - listen to your pitch, they will likely have all kinds of questions. Here are some areas of concern for them.

Effectiveness

The most important area of concern is effectiveness. Assuming that the problem that you have identified is something worth dealing with (which it might not, so justification to your problem is also important), then the next question is whether your proposal actually solves the problem or alleviates the situation. Hence, you need to be prepared to discuss in detail how your solution has addressed the problems.

Sustainability

The next area of concern is sustainability. Funders and investors in general do not like to fund a one-off project, so they will almost always ask how the project will continue assuming that the funding runs out. Sustainability can refer to a number of things:

  • In terms of finance
  • In terms of products / services provided
  • In terms of human resources and training
  • In terms of maintenance

    Liabilities

    Another area of concern for funders / investors is liabilities. A "liability" is something in which you (or your organization) is legally responsible for, which often ends up costing money. For example, if your project requires new equipment, that piece of equipment requires maintenance and servicing. This becomes a liability because if you do not maintain it properly, the equipment might break, and it can cause damage to others, for which you would be liable. So be sure to know how you would cover these liabilities.

    Logistics

    Logistics refer to how exactly will the proposal be carried out. Even if you have all the necessarily funding and equipment, you still need a plan to operate the proposal. So, you need to know exactly how your resources are being distributed throughout the entire operation.

    Costs

    While costs is mostly measured in money, other resources, such as time and space, are also considered. Funders tend not to worry about the surface value of the cost. Rather, they look at whether the funding you are asking for is justified. Thus, you will need to have at least some preliminary costs ready for discussion. You may also want to research on the costs of other proposals to get a rough idea of what funders / investors are looking for with a given amount of money.

    Expertise

    Finally, funders and investors are most concerned with expertise. It is not enough that you have a good idea. They want to know who will be executing the idea. If the project is done by someone who has no relevant expertise, then they will be hesitant to fund the project. So, you want to at least have a plan on how to hire or contract out or cooperate with relevant experts to enable funders to have confidence in your project.