Funding for Scale: The Roadmap – How to Win Unrestricted Funding.

The Roadmap: How to Win Unrestricted Funding provides a practical framework to help social impact organisations build a credible case for unrestricted (flexible) philanthropic funding. It recognises that while restricted grants support projects, unrestricted funding enables organisations to strengthen core capabilities, test and refine models, and scale impact sustainably.

The Roadmap is grounded in funder perspectives and focuses on the signals funders assess over time rather than one-off results. It helps organisations understand where they currently stand and what is needed to progress toward funder readiness.

Funders evaluate organisations across six key areas: Impact Potential, Cost-Effectiveness, Pathway to Scale, Doer and Payer at Scale, Organisational Readiness, and Leadership and Culture. Each area is described through three stages—Early Signs, Strong Signs, and a Clear Case—allowing organisations to assess maturity and plan intentional growth.

To make a strong case, organisations must demonstrate credible outcome data, evidence that impact can be replicated beyond a single context, and a clear pathway to scale that identifies who will deliver the model and who will ultimately pay for it. Equally important are strong governance, financial discipline, scalable systems, and leadership capable of stewarding flexible capital responsibly.

Overall, the Roadmap positions unrestricted funding as an investment in organisational strength and long-term impact, offering a clear guide for organisations seeking to move from promise to sustainable scale.