Building a Sustainable Fundraising Strategy for Biodiversity in Cape Verde

This summer, I had the privilege of joining Associação de Conservação da Biodiversidade – Biflores, a local NGO dedicated to protecting the rich biodiversity of Brava Island in Cape Verde. What makes Biflores unique is not only its commitment to marine and terrestrial conservation, but also its close ties with the local community. Working alongside its leadership and board members, I supported the organisation in shaping a long-term vision for financial sustainability.

My main task was to design a 3-year Fundraising Strategy Blueprint (2025–2027) that would diversify and strengthen Biflores’ funding base. This involved:

• Fundraising landscape assessment: Mapping current funding sources, analysing financial structures, and benchmarking best practices from similar NGOs.
• Donor segmentation & targeting: Creating personas for key audiences such as local communities, diaspora networks, institutional donors, and corporate partners, with tailored outreach strategies for each.
• Fundraising strategy blueprint: Outlining an actionable roadmap across grants, individual giving, events, crowdfunding, CSR partnerships, and regranting mechanisms, complete with KPIs, budgets, and staffing needs.
• Implementation toolkit: Preparing templates for proposals, pitch decks, reports, and donor communications, while also recommending systems for donor management and training the local team in fundraising best practices.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned was how resource-constrained organisations in small-island contexts can still unlock high-leverage opportunities by prioritising the right fundraising streams. For instance, large institutional grants will remain Biflores’ anchor funding, but regranting schemes and diaspora engagement emerged as promising, high-return avenues.

Equally memorable was the process of co-creating the strategy with the local team, ensuring that it was not just a consulting document, but a practical roadmap they felt ownership over. This collaboration showed me the  importance of combining technical skills with empathy, listening, and adaptability.  

Overall, this internship reminded me why I came to INSEAD: to apply business tools in ways that expand the impact of mission-driven organisations, while learning from diverse contexts and communities.

I leave Brava inspired by the resilience of the Biflores team and optimistic about the role that thoughtful fundraising can play in conserving biodiversity and strengthening local livelihoods.

This internship experience was supported by the INSEAD Hoffmann Institute Impact Internship Stipend.