Since 2025, the donor landscape has experienced major shifts leading to financial instability for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that traditionally relied on institutional donors for funding. By securing alternative revenue sources, non-profits can become more resilient, and applying for tenders will help them to achieve exactly that.
Last year, the donor funding landscape faced major changes with the USAID stop work orders, the 90-day U.S. aid freeze, and aid budget cuts from EU countries being just a few examples. This trend has forced NGOs to find alternative sources of funding.
According to international development experts, revenue streams such as service delivery fees and competitive tendering can help non-profits to achieve a more resilient financing model.
In this article, we explore the main differences between traditional grants and tendering, followed by a closer look at how NGOs can seamlessly integrate tenders into their fundraising efforts.
What are tenders in the development sector?
Tenders are calls for proposals that are issued as part of a procurement process that aid organizations and agencies use to find stakeholders able to fulfil a specific need, such as certain services, goods, or works. According to our previous market analysis, most tenders in the development sector seek consulting services, followed by the provision of goods. Works and non-consulting services are two other target categories for tenders, but there is usually considerably less demand for these.
Can NGOs bid on tenders?
While not all tenders are suitable for applications from non-profits, many are. For instance, the Asian Development Bank, one of the largest investors in Asia with an overall portfolio of more than US$110 billion, incentivizes NGOs and civil society organizations (CSOs) to apply for their tenders in order to support the implementation of approved projects. In fact, NGOs are regularly shortlisted by ADB.
Sometimes CSOs will be eligible to participate in tenders providing they partner with the private sector or academia, and identifying an appropriate partner can be achieved via the exclusive Partnership menu on DevelopmentAid.org. Using this tool, CSOs can post Calls for Partners and track other non-profits that have been shortlisted and/or awarded by donors. Examples range from improving rural water supply and sanitation in Cambodia, where BORDA (a German NGO) and Athena Infonomics (a consultancy from India) were shortlisted, to the development of a WASH behavior change strategy in Mongolia, where Emory University and World Vision were awarded a contract by the ADB.
Tenders vs traditional grants: what are the key differences?
While grants are a more traditional and familiar source of funding for non-profit organizations, tenders are also a reliable way to implement impactful projects. Grants and tenders have clearly different purposes. Grants involve proposing and implementing an entirely new project that aligns with donor priorities, while tenders seek to obtain services or products for the implementation of a project that has already been approved.
Despite this key difference, they both require the preparation of detailed proposals, the budgets are similar, and competition is high. However, grant opportunities are scarcer and more exposed to donor budget cuts.
Thus, participating in competitive tendering can be an interesting route for NGOs to raise funds with the added benefit of actively contributing to external, impactful projects.
Read also: Understanding the bidding process in international development projects: A step-by-step guide.
Table I – Key differences between tenders and grants.
* Data retrieved from the DevelopmentAid tenders and grants databases on 28 January 2026.
Which tenders can non-profits apply for?
Non-profits usually have specialized knowledge and a team of experts in the field, enabling them to provide consulting services. These consulting services can relate to many different fields and involve specific skills, from environmental expertise to digital marketing strategy. Our previous analysis on tenders in international development revealed five sectors that led procurement demand and NGOs will definitely be able to find tenders they can bid on within at least three of those sectors – Environment, Research, and Education & Training.
Table II – Five tenders eligible for applications to nonprofit organizations that were open or forecasted at the time of writing.
How can NGOs find tender information?
DevelopmentAid works as an intelligence broker for international aid, covering everything from the latest funding opportunities to global aid news, editorials, and industry trends. Our tender database is the largest in the world, with +4,900 tenders now accepting proposals, +30,000 forecasted calls, and 40,000+ notices at the early intelligence stage.
NGOs can leverage our advanced filters to quickly identify open tenders in the sectors and locations most relevant to them.
What’s the next step?
Bidding for tenders is quite similar to submitting grant proposals, with both processes usually developing through 4 stages:
Stage 1: Opportunity identification and monitoring (DevelopmentAid membership is vital for this)
Stage 2: Bid preparation and team assembling (if relevant)
Stage 3: Proposal writing and submission
Stage 4: Post-submission and follow-up
The next logical step for non-profits interested in participating in competitive tendering is therefore to select the relevant tenders and start to prepare their bids.
Secure a DevelopmentAid membership for your NGO today to explore all the available tendering opportunities and diversify your funding sources.
Read also: How to write winning funding proposals: a guide for non-profits and consultancies
