Abstract
Access to funds by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) continues to be a major problem for many NGOs in Tanzania. The study from which this paper is based examined the sources of funds for NGOs, analyzed trends of fund for NGOs and challenges and opportunities related to funding for NGOs. Cross-sectional study design was adopted whereby 348 respondents were interviewed. Descriptive statistical data analysis was done with the aid of IBM SPSS Version 20 and Microsoft Office Excel 2007. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic content analysis with constant comparison techniques. The study found that international donations, grants and in-kind donations were the most common sources of funds for NGOs. Funding trends were deteriorating in all NGOs amidst several opportunities for NGOs to access fund. Irregular patterns and delays of fund disbursement affected NGOs services delivery. The study recommends to NGOs to diversify their source of fund by focusing on internal sources of funds and to diversify their service delivery activities though incorporating income generating activities. The local government authorities should create an enabling legal and policy framework environment to enable NGOs to venture into both businesses focused service delivery alongside traditional focus on charity service provision models.