To get funding, be fundable. And findable.

It’s not fundraising that attracts the money.

So stop chasing donations and do this instead:

🤑 BE FUNDABLE

Tackle a specific problem.
Serve a discrete people group.
Focus the mission and intervention.
Measure a few outputs and outcomes.
Make your vision powerful and tangible.

Get the right team in the right seats.
Select 3-year, annual, quarterly priorities.
Back those goals with rhythms and routines.

Being fundable means knowing why you exist, what you do, where you’re going, who will do it, and how to get there.

That’s your theory of change and strategic plan (your brand).

And that attracts the money.

🔍 BE FINDABLE

Locate gaps in your market landscape.
Determine what makes you unique.
Decide which audiences to target.
Communicate value propositions.
Show off a daring brand personality.

Develop bold messaging and storytelling.
Execute a consistent marketing comms plan.
Ensure your website and channels are optimized.
Partner with corporates to amplify your work via CSR.

Being findable means occupying a distinct space in the minds of your audience, plus routinely communicating these brand promises.

That’s your positioning strategy and marketing communications (your brand).

And that also attracts the money.

So here lies the secret. 👇🏽

A nonprofit doesn’t maximize funding by just hiring more development staff, filling out more grant applications, applying for more awards, seeking more foundation meetings, and creating more donor prospect lists.

That’s your fundraising.
It’s execution, not strategy.
It’s fuel, not the engine.
And it comes later.

Because without a bold brand, fundraising is always pitching — constantly guessing at the correct fit.

❌ You chase money.

❌ Little is known or in your control.

❌ You’re stuck in the nonprofit starvation cycle.

But with a solid nonprofit brand in place, fundraising merely delivers a known message to a known donor audience.

✓ You have conversations, not presentations.

✓ You only need the numbers: leads and conversions.

✓ Money comes to you via inbound referrals and reputation.

So if funding has stalled — if you’re stuck at $500k or even $5M per year in size — stop what you’re doing.

Stop the fundraising chase.

Gather your leadership team. And don’t leave the room until you figure out how to be fundable and findable — before anything else.

Brand first, funding second.

Break the cycle.

💪🏽💛

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The Daily Bonus

Even an expert fundraiser admits:

The first step in fundraising isn’t fundraising.

Instead, it boils down to three brand pillars.

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