AI Logic Model Builder& Impact Planning Tool
Use this impact planning tool to describe your programme inputs, activities, stakeholders, and expected changes. FundRobin generates a professional, funder-ready logic model and theory of change framework with assumptions, external factors, and measurable outcomes in seconds.
What Is an Impact Planning Tool?
An impact planning tool helps you move from a good idea to a credible, evidence-based plan for change. It connects the people you serve, the resources you have, the activities you deliver, and the outcomes you expect funders to measure. A logic model builder is one of the most practical ways to create that plan because it turns strategy into a structured, testable chain from inputs to impact.
Logic models are now a standard requirement for many grant applications — particularly from government agencies, foundations focused on evidence-based programming, and major institutional funders like the National Lottery Community Fund, NIHR, NSF, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Even when not explicitly required, including a logic model shows strategic thinking and evaluation readiness.
Our free logic model builder guides you through the key components: inputs (what you invest), activities (what you do), outputs (what you produce), short-term outcomes (immediate changes), medium-term outcomes (intermediate changes), and long-term outcomes (ultimate impact). The result is a structured logic model you can include directly in your grant application or programme planning documents.
How the FundRobin Logic Model Builder Works
Define the resources
Enter staff, funding, partnerships, volunteers, facilities, and other inputs.
Map activities
Describe the workshops, services, mentoring, research, or interventions you will deliver.
Clarify outputs
Capture direct products such as sessions delivered, people reached, or resources produced.
Show outcomes
Use AI suggestions to articulate short, medium, and long-term changes that answer the funder's "so what?" question.
The 5 Pillars of a Strong Impact Plan
Stakeholder Analysis and Impact Measurement
A funder-ready impact plan should identify who benefits, who influences delivery, and who needs evidence after the project is funded. Start by mapping stakeholders by interest and influence: beneficiaries, referral partners, funders, trustees, staff, volunteers, local authorities, and community groups. The strongest logic models show how each stakeholder connects to a measurable outcome.
Measurement should separate outputs from outcomes. Outputs are direct counts: sessions delivered, participants reached, or resources created. Outcomes are changes: improved wellbeing, stronger skills, reduced isolation, better employment prospects, or increased confidence. FundRobin helps translate both into indicators that can be tracked during delivery and reported after award.
UK vs US Funder Expectations
UK funders
UK grantmakers such as the National Lottery Community Fund and NIHR often use theory of change language and expect clear beneficiary need, outcome measures, evidence quality, and realistic delivery assumptions.
US funders
US funders such as W.K. Kellogg Foundation, NSF, NIH, and federal agencies frequently ask for logic models, evaluation plans, measurable objectives, and evidence that the programme design is feasible and data-grounded.
Logic Models vs Theory of Change: What's the Difference?
These terms are often used interchangeably, but there's a meaningful distinction. A logic model is typically a visual, structured table that maps inputs through to outcomes — it's concise, standardised, and often required in a specific format by funders. A Theory of Change is broader: it's a narrative explanation of how and why you believe change happens, including your assumptions about causal mechanisms and the conditions required for success.
Think of a Theory of Change as the story and the logic model as the diagram. Strong grant applications often include both: the Theory of Change explains the "why" behind your approach, while the logic model maps the "what" in a structured, evaluable format. Together they show funders that you've thought rigorously about how your work produces change.
If a funder asks specifically for a logic model, use this tool. If they ask for a Theory of Change, use our Theory of Change builder. If they want both — as many larger funders do — both tools work together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a logic model builder?
A logic model builder is a digital tool that guides you through mapping a programme's inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, assumptions, and external factors. Unlike a static PDF template, FundRobin's AI builder helps turn rough notes into a structured, funder-ready model that can be reused in grant applications and internal planning.
How do I conduct a stakeholder analysis for my impact plan?
List everyone affected by or able to influence the project, then group them by interest and influence. Beneficiaries, delivery partners, trustees, funders, referral agencies, and local authorities often need different evidence. Your impact plan should explain which outcomes matter to each group and how those outcomes will be measured.
Can I use this impact planning tool for internal strategy?
Yes. The same framework that strengthens grant applications also helps teams agree priorities, choose KPIs, and spot weak assumptions before delivery starts. Many organisations use their logic model as an internal planning artefact before adapting it for specific funder formats.
Do I need a logic model for every grant application?
Not always, but having one ready is good practice even when it's not required. Many medium and larger funders require a logic model or similar programme theory framework. For smaller grants (under £10,000), it may not be asked for, but the thinking behind a logic model will strengthen your answers to standard questions about activities, outputs, and outcomes. Consider your logic model as a planning tool as much as a compliance document.
How detailed should a logic model be?
A logic model should be concise enough to fit on one page while capturing the essential logic of your programme. Avoid listing every minor activity or output — focus on the most significant ones. If your programme has multiple distinct components, you may need separate logic models for each strand or a higher-level model that covers the programme as a whole. The goal is clarity, not comprehensiveness.
What's the difference between outputs and outcomes?
Outputs are the direct, countable products of your activities — the number of sessions delivered, participants reached, meals served, or resources produced. Outcomes are the changes that result from those outputs — improvements in wellbeing, new skills developed, changed behaviours, or reduced isolation. Many inexperienced grant writers describe outputs when funders are asking for outcomes. If you can count it directly and immediately, it's probably an output. If it represents a change in someone's knowledge, behaviour, or circumstances, it's an outcome.
How do I know if my logic model is realistic?
Sense-check your logic model by asking: Are the activities sufficient to produce the stated outputs? Are the outputs sufficient to lead to the short-term outcomes? Is the causal chain between activities and long-term outcomes credible, or are there too many assumptions required? If there are large logical jumps between steps, your model may be too ambitious or may need to be explicit about the intermediary factors required. Peer review from colleagues outside your programme can surface assumptions you've taken for granted.
Can I use a logic model for internal planning, not just grant applications?
Absolutely — and many practitioners argue this is a logic model's most valuable use. A well-constructed logic model aligns your team around what you're trying to achieve and how. It surfaces disagreements about programme theory before they become operational problems. It guides monitoring and evaluation design. And it helps you make decisions about what to continue, change, or stop based on which links in the chain are and aren't working as expected.