The Funding Code
Why good work goes unfunded — and how to change that
Funders don't fund projects. They fund alignment.
A book for anyone raising funding for impact — nonprofit leaders, social entrepreneurs, impact investors, and changemakers across Nigeria and Africa who are doing real work, and are tired of watching it go unfunded.
The argument
Most organisations think they have a funding problem. They don't — they have an alignment problem.
The most common reason funding proposals get rejected isn't poor writing or weak budgets. It's that the proposal doesn't align with what the funder is actually trying to achieve. Funders decide within the first few minutes of reading whether they're going to fund something — not after deliberating in committee. In those opening moments, they've already answered one question: can this person help me achieve what I'm trying to achieve?
The Funding Code is built on Sheila's years sitting on both sides of that table — as someone who has raised funding, and as someone who now decides where it goes. It breaks down exactly how funders think, what they're really asking at each stage of a pitch or proposal, and how to build the kind of alignment that makes funding feel inevitable rather than persuaded.
Who this book is for
The nonprofit leader, social entrepreneur, or impact-focused founder who is doing genuinely good work, applying to the right funders, and still hearing no — and wants to understand what's actually happening on the other side of the table.
The programme officer, grantmaker, or impact investor who wants the organisations and ventures they support to show up with real alignment, so funding decisions are easier to make and easier to defend.
"The organisations that consistently attract support are not always the loudest or the most visible. They are often the ones that understand how to communicate their value clearly, demonstrate measurable impact, and build genuine partnerships rooted in shared goals."Olapeju IbekweCEO, Sterling One Foundation
Nine women, nine vantage points
Sheila reached out to nine remarkable women navigating the funding landscape from every angle — funders, consultants, and founders — and asked them to share their thinking, unedited, in their own words. Their answers sit throughout the book, sometimes confirming her argument, sometimes challenging it, always adding a perspective the book couldn't have without them.
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