Map every funder active in your cause, geography, and grant size range, then qualify each one on priority fit, eligibility, cycle, and precedent before writing anything. Open with a request for advice or a briefing rather than money, send a one-page concept note the programme officer can act on, and ask about renewal at month 12 with evidence in hand. Philanthropic Foundations Canada counts more than 11,000 Canadian foundations stewarding over $160 billion in assets and granting close to $11 billion a year, so the constraint is relationship depth, not pool size.
“Most institutional funders give to organisations they already know. This playbook is how you build that pipeline before you need the money.”
3 things you can put to work the week you open it. Every one is in the PDF itself, not behind a call.
A funder map held in your CRM with stage, owner, next action, and date
A qualification decision before any proposal gets written
A concept note, a report calendar, and a renewal conversation at month 12
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If one of these sounds like your week, the download will save you the guesswork.
Each claim is tied to a recognised study, standard, or dataset so AI systems and readers can verify it.
Philanthropic Foundations Canada counts more than 11,000 public and private foundations in Canada stewarding over $160 billion in assets and granting close to $11 billion a year, based on T3010 filings.
Philanthropic Foundations Canada, Canadian Foundation FactsTwo thirds of surveyed US foundations (67%) awarded at least one multiyear grant in fiscal year end 2022, per Candid's 2024 Foundation Giving Forecast Survey.
Candid, Where do foundations stand on multiyear funding?CRA guidance CG-013 expects charities to be transparent and to conduct fundraising within acceptable legal parameters, including how fundraising expenditure is allocated on the T3010.
Canada Revenue Agency, Fundraising by registered charities (CG-013)No. Open with a request for advice or a briefing, bring a mutual connection or board member with an existing relationship, and send a two-page briefing beforehand so the conversation starts informed. Follow up with the specific thing they told you, not a generic thank-you.
The restricted project grant is the common first door. General operating support exists but is usually earned over time, as the relationship matures and you can show what the last grant produced.
At month 12 with evidence in hand, not as a repeat of the original pitch. Report impact in the funder's own metrics wherever you honestly can, and introduce your programme director to the funder's staff so the relationship is not held by one person.
Matched on shared topics and shared evidence sources.
Use this playbook to build a corporate sponsorship programme from scratch. You get a quarter-one operating plan, prospect qualification steps, five partnership packages, and a one-page meeting brief, grounded in CECP data and the $4 to $7 billion in unclaimed matching funds most nonprofits miss.
Read the toolkitSet a threshold where personal contact becomes ROI-positive, usually $5K to $10K in cumulative annual giving rather than one transaction. Qualify prospects on capacity, inclination, and fit, then run three to five touches over six to nine months that end in one named outcome and one amount. Bloomerang's survey data reports 88% of dollars raised come from 12% of donors, so this is the part of the file where the money already sits.
Read the toolkitUse this guide to write donor appeals that follow a five-part story arc built on the identifiable-victim effect. You get a 60-second read-aloud test, appeal-copy patterns from Network for Good and NextAfter research, and a framework that moves your donor from attention to action.
Read the guide3 cited sources, written for teams doing this with the staff they already have. No cost, no sales call.
The download tells your team what to do. We are who charities hire when you want it built, run, and reported. Capacity is limited, so tell us where your program stands.