Inside the Funder's Mind

Get a seat at the decision-maker’s table and discover what funders actually look out for when your application gets into the room.

Our speaker is a seasoned professional with 15 years of philanthropic expertise across five continents. He has stewarded over $250 million in funding and has directly supported grant-making in developing countries.

What You Will Learn:

• Understand the funder's decision-making process, from initial review to multi-year relationship.
• Identify the key signals that funders use to distinguish between organizations that are grant-dependent and those that are grant-ready.
• Discover why some strong proposals still get rejected, and how to avoid common red flags.
• Gain practical steps to strengthen your positioning before your next application or funder conversation.
• Learn how to shift from transactional grant-seeking to relationship-based funding.

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Meet the Experts Behind the Insights

Learn directly from the people who understand what it truly takes to stand out, secure funding, and drive meaningful impact.

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Sean Callahan​
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Sean Callahan is a global health expert with more than 13 years’ experience working with government funders and private philanthropic donors to successfully develop and execute grantmaking and capacity building projects that support local community-based and private sector organizations to improve access to health care in low- and middle-income countries. His grantmaking work has reached over 70 organizations in more than 35 countries, working in areas such as Type 1 Diabetes, HIV, family planning, and health facility electrification. As part of these efforts, he has also overseen the delivery of capacity strengthening programs that aim to address gaps in operational, administrative, and strategic areas to improve the efficiency and sustainability of grantees and their programs.
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Florence Tembo​
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Florence Tembo is the Executive Director of Young Women in Action (YWA), a Zambian organization advancing gender equality, youth leadership, and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). She holds a Bachelor of Development Studies with Gender Studies from the University of Zambia and brings extensive experience in program design, policy advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and grant writing.