Define a simple, defensible fundraising strategy for South Africa including prospect research method, a qualification checklist, and a realistic income mix and outline immediate next steps we can implement in-house.

Sweet Life is a 10-year-old NPO and SA’s largest online diabetes community

Our business model has changed several times over the years.

At first, we were more of a marketing agency for pharmaceuticals in the diabetes space with our offering tailored marketing campaigns to our community that were values-aligned and connected with lived experience. As pharma has less and less marketing budget, we’ve moved to two big campaigns a year: one on stigma in May, one on diabetes awareness in November. But we need foundational funding to keep us running between those.

We had funding from the T1D Community Fund for the past 3 years, but that has now come to an end. We’re looking to raise 30-60 k USD.

We’ve been applying for grants but haven’t had much success.

We've tried: national sponsorship events, print ads, digital campaigns, small crowdfunding, micro-donations ; none of which to great success nor sustainability.

Pain-points: limited grant hits, no consistent donor pipeline, heavy time cost. 

We have PBO status which allows tax-deductible donations but it is under-utilised.

We're looking to raise 30–60K USD.

A clear, funder-friendly plan will give us peace of mind about our financial future, reduce time spent on low-yield grant chasing, and attract partners by showing a credible roadmap for sustainability.