Investor question
Who pays, when, and with what risk?
Funding field guide
Private and philanthropic finance: match the provider to the need.
An investor needs a credible return and risk proposition. A philanthropic funder needs a clear fit with its mission and grant-making rules. Build the right conversation for each.
Start here
Is this a plausible route?
Reviewed 26 September 2026
Private finance may suit investments with a viable business model and an acceptable risk allocation. Philanthropic support may suit mission-aligned public benefits, evidence, experimentation or capacity. These roles can complement one another, but they are not interchangeable.
Philanthropic question
Why does this advance the funder’s mission?
Common requirement
Credible team, governance and evidence
Access
Who takes the proposal forward?
Define the use of funds
Separate preparation, implementation, working capital and long-term operating needs. Identify which costs create public versus commercial value.
Screen the provider
Check mandate, geography, stage, size, instrument and whether unsolicited approaches are accepted.
Prepare the right brief
For investors: business model, cash flow, risk and exit/repayment. For grant-makers: mission fit, intended change, learning and accountability.
Negotiate and deliver
Agree conditions, governance, reporting and use of funds. Confirm how any grant and commercial financing interact.
Start with IFC — how to apply for financing.
Preparation
What to prepare before a full proposal
Evidence of demand
Show the customer or payer, realistic pricing, adoption barriers and alternatives. Climate benefit does not substitute for a viable business model.
Team and governance
Explain ownership, decision rights, conflicts, financial controls and delivery experience relevant to the proposed work.
Impact and financial discipline
Define the climate outcome and measurement plan alongside the financing case. Separate supported evidence from forecasts and aspirations.
A justified role for subsidy
If concessional capital is needed, identify the barrier, the minimum support needed and why it will attract rather than displace other finance.
Make a simple readiness list: for each item, record the evidence available, the unresolved question, the responsible person and the next decision. This is an advisory checklist, not an official application form.
Provider fit
Build two different cases when combining capital
One project, distinct provider decisions
- Commercial casePayer, demand, margins, cash flow, repayment or exit, downside risks and governance.
- Public-benefit caseMission fit, underserved needs, intended climate change, additionality and learning.
- Connection between themWhich specific barrier does non-commercial support remove, and what evidence makes subsequent investment plausible?
- Terms and accountabilityUse of funds, decision rights, reporting, loss allocation and conditions for further funding.
For concessional structures, IFC’s principles emphasise additionality, minimum concessionality and commercial sustainability. They are a discipline for design, not a promise of support. IFC — blended concessional finance principles
Access must be checked before an approach: ClimateWorks Foundation explicitly does not accept unsolicited grant proposals. ClimateWorks Foundation — contact and grant-proposal policy
Put it into practice
Preparation support for a resilient service model
Illustrative example · This explains preparation choices; it is not an approved or available funding offer.
A grant might fund a specific feasibility or evidence gap, while a later investment finances operations. State the handover conditions: what the study will resolve, who could invest, and what happens if the model proves unviable. A future investment should not be presented as committed without evidence.
Common questions
Questions worth resolving early
Can I send the same grant pitch to every climate foundation?
Check access first. ClimateWorks Foundation, for example, explicitly does not accept unsolicited grant proposals. A thematic match does not override a provider’s submission policy.
Does blended finance mean a standard grant percentage?
No. The concessional element should address a documented barrier and be proportionate. IFC’s principles emphasise additionality, minimum concessionality and commercial sustainability.
Can the grant repay investors regardless of performance?
That depends on the legal and financing structure. Make risk allocation and permitted uses explicit; do not imply a guarantee or loss protection that has not been agreed.
Official sources
Read the guidance for the decision you are making
Reviewed 26 September 2026. The notes distinguish retrieved documents from official indexed extracts and unresolved details. Our diagrams and examples explain preparation choices; they are not official approval charts.
- IFC — how to apply for financing
Project criteria and investment-proposal outline reviewed; IFC does not directly lend to micro/small/medium enterprises or individual entrepreneurs.
- IFC — blended concessional finance principles
Minimum concessionality, additionality, market development, sustainability and standards; explanatory principles, not an open application window.
- ClimateWorks Foundation — contact and grant-proposal policy
Official page says unsolicited grant proposals are not accepted. Included as a concrete access limitation, not an opportunity recommendation.
Work with the practice
Turn the guide into a useful next step
Start with a non-confidential description of the country, project owner, climate problem and decision needed. We can help organise the evidence and compare preparation options; the fund or financier decides access and approval.
