Under development · Last updated April 22, 2026 · Prepared for Impact Builder
Impact Builder

the framework

Most nonprofits are either effective or attractive. Rarely both. You need both to be successful — impactful and well funded.

Both effective and attractive.

The Impact Builder Framework packages the six steps that the most successful organizations share into two integrated cycles.

Highly Effective

More impact per dollar with every iteration.

Theory of
Change
Strategic
Plan
M&E
Process
1.
Theory of Change
Why it works
2.
Strategic Plan
What you'll do
3.
M&E Process
How you'll prove it
Irresistibly Attractive

More funds per dollar with every iteration.

Fund
Strategy
Brand
Strategy
Market
Strategy
4.
Fund Strategy
Who gives and why
5.
Brand Strategy
What you say
6.
Market Strategy
Where you say it

Both wheels must turn.

One wheel alone won't get you far.

Case Study

IFI + Frontier Commons

47 years of ministry. Now, a plan to prove it works.

The Problem
1.13M
international students in the US
75%
never invited into an American home (ISI est.)
~80%
disconnect from church after return (practitioner est.)

No structured support after graduation. No faith community. No mentor.

"My concern is not with closed doors; my concern is with the doors that are open which we do not enter." Ralph Winter
47
years
53
campuses
131
countries
1,168
volunteers
67%
from persecuted nations
Open Doors Watch List
41%
from unreached nations
Joshua Project data

This is not a hospitality program. It is a frontier missions strategy on American campuses — reaching nations where traditional missionaries cannot go.

The nations didn't wait for us to go. They came.

Across 36 US metros, 111 unreached people groups are already present — 5.7M people, including 2.66M at 0.0% evangelical.

111
Unreached groups
5.7M
People
0.0%
Evangelical (32 groups)

Explore the Peoples Map →

"Every year students come from around the globe to study in the US. As we develop friendships with these future leaders and executives, we have an opportunity to reach our world for Christ." Billy Graham
"Before IFI, I had been in America for two years and never once been invited into an American's home." Student from East Asia
One Mission. Three Metrics.

Connect international students with the Church, invite them into genuine friendship with believers, and equip them to return home as influential leaders who integrate faith into their work.

Welcomed
connected to the Church
Empowered
equipped through discipleship
Sent
leading in their home country
The Pipeline
Recruit
Welcome
Empower
Sustain
Multiply
IFIFrontier Commons
FY25
Year 3
1,500→
11,000
students welcomed
250→
1,500
students empowered
$250K→
$1M
org revenue
0→
5+
faith & work hubs
What We Know — and What We Don't
Current Pipeline (FY25)
3,934
reached
→ 38%
1,500
welcomed
→ 37%
549
engaged
→ 45%
250
empowered

6.4% reach-to-empower rate. Individual student tracking starts Fall 2026.

Evidence State

We tested all 8 Theory of Change assumptions against 245 sources and 238 million words of missions research. None are empirically validated — not because they're wrong, but because nobody in the field has done the studies.

Year 1 changes that. Four tests, four decisions.

Year 1 Tests
Faith retention: Survey 100–200 alumni. Is it really ~80%?
Volunteer quality: Compare outcomes at 3 volunteer-led vs. 3 staff-led sites
Church sustainability: Do churches keep doing ISM after 6 months?
Hub viability: 10 members in 6 months or we pause expansion
$150K
Welcome Pipeline
$100K
Faith & Work Integration
$100K
Faith & Work Hubs

$75 welcomes a student. $465 equips a leader. $100K launches a hub in a home country.

ECFA Member· GuideStar Platinum· Charity Navigator Rated· Audited Financials (3 years)
Full strategy document available with detailed implementation plans.
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IB Framework