What do funders really want? It’s time to start thinking like an impact investor 

If you’ve ever wondered why a promising grant application didn’t land or why funder relationships stall out, it may be time to reframe how your organization measures and communicates success. 

In our recent webinar, What do funders really want?, Michelle DiSabato, president and founder of Community Impact Consultants, Inc., helped nonprofit leaders explore how funders are evolving from traditional philanthropists into impact investors and what that shift means for you. 

If you missed the live session (or just want a refresher), here are the biggest takeaways and next steps to align your funding strategy for success. 

Funders aren’t donors. They’re investors looking for social ROI. 

Today’s funders, especially corporate and institutional grantmakers, aren’t just checking boxes. They’re asking a critical question: “What are we buying with this grant and will it drive real change?” 

Michelle emphasized that many funders now think like investors. That means they want measurable, lasting returns on their giving in the form of social outcomes. To attract and keep those funders, nonprofits need to move beyond outputs like meals served or hours volunteered and instead show impact; the deeper change your work makes possible. 

“To fund is to bestow… [Funders are asking] what are we buying? What are the chances that you, as a service provider, will get the results from this program that you’re stating? And is this the best use of our funds?” 

—Michelle DiSabato President and Founder, Community Impact Consultants, Inc. 

Move from activity to impact: Embrace KBIs 

So how can nonprofits demonstrate the kind of impact funders value? 

Start with Key Behavioral Indicators (KBIs): the specific behaviors or conditions that change your program participants’ experience over time. 

Rather than saying, “We ran 10 job training classes,” a KBI-focused approach would say, “70% of participants obtained and retained a living wage job within 3 months of training.” That’s the kind of metric funders can use to gauge ROI, and it tells a more compelling story. 

Michelle shared examples of how to identify and track KBIs using a simple three-step continuum of change: 

1. Connect: Initial engagement or behavior (e.g., skills assessment) 
2. Improve: Demonstrated growth (e.g., job training completed) 
3. Change: Long-term achievement (e.g., sustained employment) 

Adopt a “for-impact” mindset 

Michelle urged nonprofits to shift from a nonprofit identity to a for-impact mindset. That doesn’t mean abandoning your mission; it means thinking about results, scalability, and investment value. 

This mindset also helps you: 

• Build stronger funder relationships based on transparency and shared goals. 
• Gain internal clarity around what success looks like. 
• Advocate for investment in tools (like case management software) that support measurement. 

The message was clear: funders want to partner with organizations that know what’s working, why it’s working, and how it drives long-term change. 

Key takeaways you can act on today 

• Start speaking the same language as funders. Use KBIs to tell your impact story with both data and heart. 
• Be transparent. Include operating and measurement costs in your grant proposals to show you take performance seriously. 
• Collaborate for bigger results. Measurement can open doors to shared funding, partnerships, and collective impact. 
• Invest in tools that support performance. Case management solutions like Bonterra Apricot help streamline data collection and reporting, so you can spend more time delivering results. 

Watch the full webinar on demand 

Whether you’re ready to revamp your measurement framework or just beginning to explore impact reporting, this session is packed with real-world strategies to help you succeed. 

Let’s stop reporting what we’re doing and start showing why it matters.