Build Your Nonprofit's Internal Fundraising System

If you are passionate about your mission and are struggling to raise money, please read to the very end.

This article will transform the way you approach fundraising and determine the financial sustainability of your organization.

Why Your Nonprofit Struggles to Raise Money And How to Fix It

If you’re running a nonprofit, you know the struggle. You pour your heart into your mission, you show up day in and day out, yet when it comes to raising money, silence. Emails go unanswered. Grant applications vanish into a black hole. Donors politely say no. And your board? Mostly silent.

It’s frustrating. It’s exhausting. And if you’re honest, it’s starting to feel hopeless.

I get it because I’ve lived it. I started my own nonprofit and failed at fundraising. It was painful. I remember sitting at my desk, staring at grant applications that went nowhere, emails that never got replies, and donors who said no. I felt stuck, frustrated, and honestly, a little broken.

But that struggle became my greatest teacher. I studied everything I could about what really works in nonprofit fundraising and started helping other nonprofits overcome their fundraising struggle. Later, I worked with a consulting firm to create strategies and fundraising materials that helped raise over $5 million. That’s when I realized my gift isn’t just in asking for money. My gift is in building systems and strategies nonprofits can follow to raise money consistently, without begging, without burnout, and without chasing random donors.

Today, I help nonprofit founders build fundraising systems that guarantee the financial sustainability of their work. I know what it feels like to struggle, and I also know the strategies that make fundraising scalable and sustainable. My job is to bridge that gap for you.

And here’s the truth: when it comes to your fundraising, it’s not your passion that’s the problem; it's not your mission either. It’s your approach.

Most nonprofit founders struggle to raise money for three main reasons.

And once you understand these, you can start fixing them, fast.

Reason #1: You Don’t Know Who Your Ideal Funders and Donors Are

If you’re reaching out to anyone and everyone, hoping someone bites, you’re wasting your time. Not every donor is a fit for your mission. Not every foundation wants to fund your programs. And not every business will align with your cause.

How this plays out:

• You send generic emails to a long list of prospects and hear nothing back.
• You apply for grants you’re not really aligned with, only to get rejected.
• You feel invisible, despite all the effort.

The Solution: Identify the individuals, businesses, grantors, foundations, and government agencies that already have an established reason to give to your cause so that you only have to tap into those reasons rather than beg, convince, or over-explain. These are people and entities that have the propensity, capacity, and affinity to support your mission.

• Propensity – they’re already motivated to give in your sector (e.g., a real estate company funding a homeless nonprofit).
• Capacity – they have the money, resources, or influence to contribute meaningfully.
• Affinity – they care about your cause because it aligns with their values, mission, or personal experience.

Example: Real estate agents and companies are ideal funders of organizations fighting homelessness. Because when these homeless people are empowered, the real estate agents and companies are the very people and entities they go back to rent/buy homes. 

The benefit category is just one category of ideal funders; there are 7 other categories your organization can tap into to build a robust list of ideal funders you can start reaching out to raise money immediately.

Targeting these ideal supporters makes fundraising far easier than blasting generic asks to everyone in their email database.

Reason #2: You Depend on Emotional Appeals Instead of Irresistible Offers

Many nonprofits still rely on emotional storytelling and generic “Donate Now” messages. While stories can move hearts, they rarely move people to act consistently. Hoping for generosity alone is not a strategy; it’s luck.

How this plays out:

• You tell a moving story about a child in need, and maybe a donor gives once, then disappears.
• You launch a campaign, only to find engagement is low and funds are minimal.
• You feel stuck, thinking: “If only I could get more donors, I’d be fine.”

The Solution: Build Irresistible Fundraising Offers that people can’t say no to.

• Step 1: Create a Value Offer — a product or service your supporters actually want that also helps you further your cause.
• Step 2: Develop an Impact Offer — a clear transformation that a donation with a fixed price will make possible.
• Step 3: Combine them into a Double-Impact Fundraising Offer, so your donors get value AND impact.

Example:
A nonprofit working with underserved children could:

• Sell a $15 guide for parents to guide their kids to make better career choices.
• Every guide purchased supports books for kids in low-income schools.
• Or create an impact offer: “Every $100 donation provides one underserved child with the resources and support they need to have a successful school year. 
• Combined as a Double-Impact Fundraising Offer™: “When you donate $100, you provide a child with the resources and support they need to have a successful school year AND receive our guide to help your kids make better career choices.
• Or for a grantor/corporate partner, it can be phrased as, for a grant/sponsorship of $100,000, you empower 1,000 underserved kids with the resources and support they need to have a successful school year and 10,000 parents with the tools they need to guide their kids to make better career choices.

You see how that offer amplifies the impact for the very same donation you'd ask for? This is what the Double-Impact Fundraising Offer does.

Donors feel excited. Supporters feel proud. And your nonprofit raises money sustainably.

Reason #3: You Don’t Have a Fundraising System

You might think fundraising is about trying a little of everything: chasing grants, posting online, and hoping for a miracle.

The reality? Without a system, nothing sticks.

How this plays out:

• You reach out with your hands out, hoping to raise money from your very first contact.
• You run campaigns sporadically, hoping donors show up.
• You try to do everything and raise money all by yourself.
• You struggle to involve your board or volunteers effectively.
• You burn out, feeling like you’re running in circles.
• Your fundraising stumbles because you do not execute a repeatable process consistently enough to begin to see results.

The Solution: Build a Fundraising System, a repeatable, step-by-step process that ensures financial sustainability.

Your system should include:

• A Fundraising Plan – a step-by-step roadmap for raising money that gets your ideal funders to know, like, and trust you before making the ask using your fundraising offer.
• A Fundraising Team – even a small team of 2–3 people, volunteers, or board members, trained to support your mission.
• Fundraising Materials – the offers, emails, and collateral needed to engage your supporters.
• A Consistent Campaign Launch – fundraising momentum comes from consistency, not one-off pushes.

Real-World Example
A nonprofit running youth programs set up a 90-day campaign. They:

• Mapped out their donors.
• Crafted a Double-Impact Offer.
• Equipped their small volunteer team and board to reach out personally.
• Launched weekly emails and social posts.

Within 60 days, they exceeded their annual fundraising goal. That’s the power of a system in action.

The Path Forward: Take Action

Now that you know what’s wrong and how to fix it, the next step is simple: take action.

• Identify your ideal funders.
• Develop your irresistible fundraising offers.
• Create your fundraising roadmap.
• Build and equip your fundraising team.
• Launch your consistent fundraising campaign.

This is the only way forward if you want to stop struggling and start seeing real, predictable results.

The interesting part is that you can do this all by yourself; you may only need some training or hands-on support. 

In short, it is essential that you go through this process yourself, rather than having a consultant do it for you. This way, you build the understanding and execution muscle to replicate this process repeatedly as you grow in your nonprofit journey.

This is what our brand, Ideal Funders, LLC, is all about. Empowering you to take charge of your mission.

Because the same consultants you seek all went through this process.

The good part is that you don't have to do it by trial and error. With us, you receive the training, tools, and support you need to execute with clarity and precision, enabling you to build an internal fundraising system that ensures the sustainability of your mission.

How We Can Help You Right Now

You don’t have to guess, struggle, or hope fundraising “just works out.” I’ve built two clear paths so you can stop chasing money and finally build the system that funds your mission consistently.

 
Option 1: The Fundraising System Toolkit – DIY ($97)

This is for founders who want to take the driver’s seat and move step by step with a clear roadmap, detailed instructions, and all the tools you need to execute with confidence.

Inside the toolkit, you’ll get:

• Identify Ideal Funders – training + tools to build your first list of ideal donors and funders (plus instructions to grow that list into the thousands).
• Create Irresistible Offers – step-by-step instructions to build your value offer and impact offer, and how to fuse them into Double-Impact Offers™ that people can’t say no to.
  Fundraising Plan – a repeatable roadmap that gets donors to know, like, and trust you before you make the ask.
• Fundraising Team – instructions and templates to build and equip a small team that raises money with you.
• Fundraising Campaign Launch – step-by-step execution playbook for launching consistent campaigns, following up with those who don’t give, and stewarding donors into recurring givers.

Start today for just $97 and walk away with the system, tools, and templates to raise money predictably.

Option 2: Fundraising System – Do With You Execution ($1,997)

This is for founders who don’t just want to learn, but want me in the trenches with them for 5 weeks, building and launching their fundraising system step by step.

Here’s how it works:

• Week 1 – Identify Ideal Funders: together, we’ll build your first list of aligned donors and funders.
• Week 2 – Create Irresistible Offers: we’ll craft your Value + Impact offers and fuse them into your first Double-Impact Offer™.
• Week 3 – Build Your Fundraising Plan: I’ll help design your roadmap so you know exactly how to move donors from interest to “yes.”
• Week 4 – Build & Equip Your Team: I’ll guide you in recruiting and equipping a fundraising team that works alongside you.
• Week 5 – Launch Your Campaign: together, we’ll launch your first campaign, create your follow-up flow, and set up stewardship for recurring donations.

By the end of 5 weeks, you won’t just “know what to do”, you’ll have a functioning fundraising system up and running.

To get started, book your Fundraising Execution Planning Call, where we’ll work together to map out your execution plan and get started.

The Cost of Doing Nothing

Every week you delay building your fundraising system, here’s what happens:

• You keep chasing grants and donors who don’t reply.
• You stay dependent on one-off gifts instead of consistent revenue.
• You burn out, carrying the financial weight of the mission on your own.
• Donors lose confidence because they don’t see structure or sustainability.
• Opportunities pass you by, while other nonprofits with systems grow and scale.

The truth is simple: without a system, your fundraising will always feel like a gamble. With a system, you get predictable, repeatable results that sustain your mission for the long run.

Your mission is too important to stay stuck in survival mode.

Start today with the Fundraising Systems DIY Toolkit ($97) or let’s build it together in 5 weeks ($1,997).