Purpose
Produce a structured map of who funds a given social issue area — the major foundations and funding vehicles, their typical grant sizes and priorities, where dollars are flowing and shrinking, and the specific white space where a new program or organization could win support. Replaces weeks of scattered prospect research with a decision-ready landscape brief and prioritized funder target list.
When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Map who funds a specific cause, issue, or population
- Research foundations and funders active in an issue area before a campaign
- Size the funding opportunity for a new program or initiative
- Build or refresh a prospect list for major-gift or institutional fundraising
- Identify underfunded gaps or white space a program could occupy
- Understand funding trends before writing a strategic or fundraising plan
Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- Issue area: The specific social issue, cause, or population (e.g., "youth mental health," "rural food access," "workforce reentry")
- Geography: Where the work happens or funders are based — local, state, national, or international
- Organization profile: Type, size (annual budget), and stage of the org seeking funding
- Funding goal: Approximate dollar amount and time horizon they're trying to raise
- Funding types of interest: General operating, program/project, capacity, capital, multi-year — or open
- Existing funders or relationships: Any funders already supporting them, to avoid or leverage
- Angle/differentiator: What makes their approach distinct (optional but sharpens white space analysis)
If organization profile or funding goal is missing, assume a mid-sized nonprofit ($1M–$5M budget) seeking program funding and note the assumption.
Instructions
Step 1: Define the Funding Ecosystem
Establish the boundaries and structure of the landscape before profiling funders.
- Segment the funder types active in this issue area: private foundations, community foundations, corporate giving/CSR, government (federal/state/local), donor-advised funds, high-net-worth individuals, and intermediary/pooled funds
- Map the sub-issues: Break the issue area into 3–5 fundable sub-themes (e.g., "youth mental health" → school-based programs, crisis intervention, prevention/awareness, family support, workforce/clinician pipeline). Funders often organize by sub-theme, not the broad category
- Set the geographic frame: Distinguish funders who fund only within a region vs. nationally, and note whether the issue attracts place-based vs. issue-based giving
Step 2: Profile the Major Funders (8–12 funders)
For each significant funder in the landscape, provide a structured profile:
- Funder name and type (foundation, corporate, government, etc.)
- Stated priorities relevant to this issue area
- Typical grant size range and whether they fund general operating vs. restricted
- Grant cycle / access model: Open application, invitation-only, rolling, or LOI-first
- Signal of fit: Low / Medium / High for the specific organization profile, with one sentence of reasoning
- Access note: How an org typically gets on their radar (RFP, relationship, referral, published guidelines)
Order profiles by strategic relevance to the org, not by size or fame.
Step 3: Analyze Grant Size and Structure Norms
Characterize what funding actually looks like in this space:
- Typical grant size distribution: What the small ($10K–$50K), mid ($50K–$250K), and major ($250K+) tiers look like in this issue area
- Restricted vs. unrestricted norms: Whether this field tends to fund programs, operations, or capacity
- Multi-year availability: Whether multi-year commitments are common or rare here
- Match/leverage expectations: Whether funders in this space commonly expect matching funds or co-funding
Step 4: Identify Funding Trends
Assess where the money is moving:
- Growing areas: Sub-themes or approaches attracting increasing funder attention (name the driver — policy shift, public event, evidence base, equity focus)
- Declining or saturated areas: Where funding is contracting or heavily crowded
- Emerging funder behaviors: Trust-based philanthropy, participatory grantmaking, general operating shifts, place-based collaboratives, or issue-specific pooled funds
- Timing signals: Any known cyclical or event-driven funding windows relevant to the issue
Ground each trend in a plausible, sector-realistic explanation — not speculation.
Step 5: Map the White Space
Identify where an org can stand out rather than compete:
- Underfunded sub-themes: Sub-issues within the area receiving disproportionately little funding relative to need
- Underserved populations or geographies: Groups or regions funders in this space tend to overlook
- Approach gaps: Methods, models, or collaborations few funders are backing yet
- Positioning opportunity: For each white space, name the type of funder most likely to be receptive and why
Prioritize white space that aligns with the org's stated differentiator when provided.
Step 6: Build the Prioritized Funder Target List
Synthesize into an action-ready shortlist:
- Tier 1 (pursue now): 3–5 funders with strong fit and accessible entry points
- Tier 2 (build toward): 3–5 funders worth cultivating over 6–18 months
- Tier 3 (watch/aspirational): 2–4 funders that require significant relationship-building or scale For each Tier 1 funder, include a one-line positioning angle — how the org should frame its work to match that funder's priorities.
Output Format
- Structure: Six labeled sections following the instruction steps; funder profiles as structured bullets; target list as a three-tier ranked list
- Length: 1,300–1,800 words
- Format: Structured brief — scannable headers, bulleted funder profiles, and a clearly tiered target list (table acceptable for the target list)
- Sections: Funding Ecosystem Overview → Major Funder Profiles → Grant Size & Structure Norms → Funding Trends → White Space Map → Prioritized Funder Target List
- Tone: Development strategist — analytical, candid about fit and difficulty, oriented toward action rather than encouragement
Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] 8–12 major funders are profiled, each with all six profile elements present
- [ ] Every funder profile includes a specific grant size range and access model — not "varies"
- [ ] Fit signals (Low/Medium/High) include one sentence of reasoning, not a bare label
- [ ] At least 3 distinct white space opportunities are named, each with a matched funder type
- [ ] The target list is organized into three tiers with the correct counts, and every Tier 1 funder has a positioning angle
- [ ] Trends are explained with a stated driver, not asserted without cause
Notes
- Funder names and figures should reflect realistic sector norms for the issue area; flag any funder detail the org must verify against current guidelines before outreach, since priorities and cycles change frequently
- White space is often the highest-value output — a fundable gap is worth more than a crowded list of well-known funders
- When the issue area is broad, the sub-theme breakdown in Step 1 is what makes the rest of the analysis specific; resist analyzing the umbrella category as a single market
- Re-run this skill per issue area or per geography rather than trying to cover multiple at once — the landscape shifts meaningfully across both
How to use this skill
This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.
Installing in Claude Code:
~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)<your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)
Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.
Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:
- Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
- Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits
For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills