I am hoping that maybe someone can share her/his wisdom with me. I am currently doing an internship in Hambug, Germany for a small consulting firm / think tank. I am currently researching for a knowledge project concerned with NGOs. We have no budget for this project - not for salaries or expenses. I was recently assigned the role of fundraiser but have come to find the my initial concerns were not unfounded - fundraising is undoubtedly a professional job.

Our project is intended to provide NGOs with a better understanding of how they function and can develop. However, I'm not sure which funders/sponsors I should be targeting. I recognise the following 2 complications with trying to fund such a study:

1. I'm trying to secure funding from outside of Germany (though the participating NGOs will also be based in the UK)
2. We are in fact a consulting firm rather than an NGO (though only a small team of freelancers with no budget for the project)

Am I right to be feeling pessimistic (though I'm still optimistc!)? Is it possible, or rather, is it reasonable to expect to obtain funding for such a project?

Any help or advice would be very much appreciated.