About one in five funding organizations in Switzerland actively seeks out projects to fund rather than waiting for applications. Spheriq helps you find suitable project partners, even outside your existing network.
Finding Instead of Waiting
In scouting, funding organizations actively seek out projects that align with their funding goals. This approach is more targeted than an open call for proposals and broadens their perspective beyond their own “bubble.” Spheriq guides you through this process in three steps: find, select together, and invite specifically.
Projects waiting for funders: the “Scouting” status
Nonprofits can assign the “Scouting” status to their projects on Spheriq. This indicates that they are seeking funding partners for that project. Only logged-in funding organizations can view these projects; other nonprofits and the general public cannot.
For you, this means: By using the “Scouting” project status filter in the project search, you can see exactly which projects are actively seeking funding. Combine this filter with subject area and field of activity, and in just a few clicks you’ll have a selection that matches your funding objectives. There’s hardly a better way to get started with scouting.
Finding Suitable Project Organizers
Search and Filters: In the Spheriq search, you can search for organizations, projects, or both. You can narrow down your search by topic area, target group, type of impact, area of impact, and project status. The result is a list of organizations and projects that match your selection.
Tag Search: Many topics are more specific than the filters. To search for them, enter a term in the global search bar at the top of Spheriq. You’ll then see all organizations, projects, and people associated with that topic.
You can try out the search with a free account. You can use it without limits starting with the Starter plan.
Collect results and select them together
You can save interesting organizations and projects to lists directly from the search results or from a profile. You can share these lists with your foundation board or your team. Members can comment on the entries and vote on their favorites. This turns your research into a transparent decision.
You can save and share lists starting with the Starter plan.
Targeted invitations: Applications by invitation
Once you have found a suitable project, invite the organization to submit an application directly. To do this, select “Application Form by Invitation” on your application form and send the link to the selected organization. This way, you open the application process only for projects that you have previously selected yourself.
You can combine both processes: For one funding priority, you accept open applications; for another, only applications by invitation. Your profile will indicate which process applies.
Applications by invitation are part of the application management system, which is available starting at the Partner level.
A real-world example
A cultural foundation in the Basel area is looking to fund a new project. The person in charge uses Spheriq to filter for projects with the status “Scouting” in the field of art that are to be implemented in the canton of Basel-Stadt. She compiles a list of the most promising projects and shares it with the foundation’s board. The board members review the projects and vote on them. The project with the most votes receives an invitation to submit a grant application.
Beyond their own network
Actively shaping networks and forging new ones is a key task in the foundation sector. “The art of project sourcing lies not only in finding innovative and sustainable projects,” says Patrizia Rezzoli, Executive Director of the Seedling Foundation, “but also in discovering new partners outside of your existing network.” That’s exactly where Scouting with Spheriq comes in.
You can see which tier is right for you in the overview of prices and tiers.
