11/02/2026
8 YEARS, 0 GRANTS. INFINITE IMPACT
“We have never received external funding." People are always shocked when I tell them this. Since 2017 everything we have done at Choose Life Ghana has been built on personal savings, family donations and pure resourcefulness. It has not been an easy ride. After 8 years as Founder/Executive Director, I have learnt that you do not wait for a grant to make an impact, you start with what you have. While you keep applying for grants, a lot of them, here are five tips for founders in same boat;
Leverage free resources: I used to stress over perfect designs until I realised that what may look as bad design is better than no design. Utilize free tools like Canva for design and social media for marketing. These two remain your best friends for digital growth
Build partnerships: How will you grow without collaborating?Our partnerships with local and international organizations over the years have driven our initiatives annually. Huge thanks to everyone who has joined our journey on organizing our retreats, goal line gatherings, documentaries etc.
Focus on impact: Prioritize activities that directly serve the community you serve. To produce tangible results, we focus on our retreats, mini documentaries, workshops, training and wellness support. Channel your energy on what serves your community, even small actions like a single post create a ripple effect. Check Echoes From Faraday
Bootstrap creatively: Be resourceful with what you have. repurpose, DIY, and negotiate with service providers. With no resources, a venue to host our goal line gathering in our aim to normalize mental health conversations among our football community, we host in our living rooms and study rooms.
Community support: For the past 8 years, we have heavily thrived on volunteer work, skills sharing and small donations to keep the organization running. It really takes a village!
Every individual deserves access to professional mental health support. The above tips have shaped us as an organization. If you are a founder looking to partner with grassroots organizations that knows how to make magic out of ‘available resources’ kindly shoot me a DM.
~ Fumey Kafui
