Ideal Funders, LLC

Step 1: Identify Your Ideal Funders

Most nonprofits fail at fundraising not because people don’t care… but because they’re asking the wrong people.
If you’ve ever sent out letters, applied for grants, or pitched donors and heard crickets—it’s not because your mission isn’t worthy. It’s because you weren’t targeting the right funders in the right way.
This step fixes that.

The Goal of Step 1

To clearly identify and profile the people, businesses, and organizations most aligned with your mission so you stop wasting time chasing those who will never say yes.

The 8 Categories of Ideal Funders

Every nonprofit’s ideal funders can be found in these 8 categories:

1. People, Businesses & Organizations Who Benefit from Your Mission
(E.g., local businesses benefiting from your community program).

2. People & Entities Aligned with Your Mission
(Those already supporting similar causes or values).

3. People & Entities with a Giving History
(Individuals, businesses, or foundations that already give to related causes).

4. People & Entities Who Have Triumphed Over the Need
(Those who overcame the challenge your nonprofit solves and want to give back).

5. People & Entities Interested in Solving the Need
(Stakeholders or partners passionate about addressing the same issue).

6. People & Entities with Influence
(Community leaders, influencers, or business owners who can fund and open doors).

7. Government, Foundations, & Grantors
(Structured funding opportunities tied to your mission).

8. People & Entities with Relationships to Your Mission or Beneficiaries
(Anyone already connected to the people you serve).

Written Text Part 1 (Explanation)Written Text Part 2 (Explanation)

How to Use This

👉 Your job is to map each category and start listing names of potential funders. Don’t worry about being perfect—just brainstorm.
👉 Then, narrow down your top 20–50 prospects you can start building relationships with.

Shortcut with AI

You don’t have to do this alone. I’ve created AI prompts to help you:

  • Generate a list of potential funders based on your mission.
  • Profile and categorize them into the 8 groups above.
  • Get clarity on where to start building your list.
Relationship Mapping Form and Email Template

Your Action Items

  • Watch the video training for Step 1 (above).
  • Use the 8 categories to brainstorm potential funders.
  • Run the AI prompts to generate your initial funder list.
  • Move to Step 2 once you’re confident you know WHO you should be approaching.

Remember: If you don’t know who your funders are, everything else in fundraising becomes harder.
This step is the foundation of your fundraising system—build it strong, and the rest becomes simple.