Using data helps your organization focus on the right donors, improve retention, identify new supporters, and make more informed decisions. It also enables personalized outreach, stronger stewardship, and better measurement of your fundraising impact. Following these nine roadmap steps will help your nonprofit become more successful in achieving its mission.

1. Identify the data your nonprofit needs to track, and why

Start by deciding which donor data answers your key fundraising questions. This data shows what is working, what is not, and where to focus next.

Essential donor data includes:

• Donation history: Tracks giving patterns, donor lifetime value, and retention trends.
• Engagement levels: Shows which donors respond to emails, events, or volunteering opportunities.
• Affinity and demographics: Reveals why donors connect to your mission and how to group them by shared traits.
• Communication preferences: Indicates the best message, channel, and timing for outreach.

When you collect the right data, your team is able to analyze fundraising performance across campaigns and activities using fundraising analytics. The same data also supports tracking essential fundraising KPIs, which helps teams evaluate progress, identify gaps, and improve fundraising decisions.

2. Get leadership buy-in

Getting buy-in from leadership requires showing a clear return on investment (ROI) from data-driven fundraising tools. Leadership support grows when data investments are tied to measurable fundraising results.

Modern fundraising software and analytics tools reduce manual work, improve donor segmentation, and help teams focus on the donors and campaigns that matter most. These efficiencies help nonprofits raise more funds with the staff and resources they already have.

Data also answers core fundraising questions, such as which donors are most likely to give again and which campaigns improve donor retention. When leaders see and understand these results, they’re more likely to approve budgets for customer relationship management (CRM) systems and analytics tools. Framing data tools as an investment in smarter decision-making aligns leadership with long-term fundraising growth. 

3. Build a modern data infrastructure

Building a modern data infrastructure starts with understanding your organization’s data needs. You need a clear plan for how you collect, store, organize, and share donor information across teams.

This includes choosing software and tools that support both your current fundraising goals and future growth. Our top-tier fundraising CRM, Ascend, works seamlessly with Salesforce to centralize donor data. This gives nonprofits a flexible foundation for managing fundraising, reporting, and long-term engagement.

4. Cultivate a data-driven culture

Building a data-driven culture starts with a clear strategy and measurable goals. Equip your team with training and resources to improve data literacy and use of insights to guide decisions. Consistently communicate the value of data across your organization to reinforce its importance.

5. Make data-informed decisions

Data-informed decisions use insights from your systems to guide fundraising, program, and marketing actions. Analyze donor trends, giving patterns, and engagement data to decide where to focus time and resources. Acting on facts instead of assumptions helps your team get better results. 

Tip: For more on making data-informed decisions, check out our ebook, The ultimate guide to data-led fundraising.

6. Apply data to donor cultivation, acquisition, and retention

Applying data across donor cultivation, acquisition, and retention gives your nonprofit a clear competitive edge. It replaces guesswork with evidence and helps your teams focus on the supporters who are most likely to engage, give again, or increase their support. Using data, your team will be able to:

• Focus on high-propensity donors to increase recurring gifts and maximize ROI on outreach.
• Tailor communications based on affinity to deepen engagement and improve response rates.
• Prioritize donors with capacity for major or planned gifts to strengthen long-term funding.
• Segment donors by behavior and interests to deliver personalized campaigns that improve retention.

By analyzing donor behavior, interests, and capacity, nonprofits are able to prioritize outreach, personalize engagement, and allocate resources more effectively. This approach strengthens the donor pipeline and improves results across every stage of the donor lifecycle. 

Key donor data points for donor cultivation

Data-driven organizations evaluate donors using three core data points: propensity, affinity, and capacity. These points are readily available through leading prospect research software like iWave:

• Propensity reflects a donor’s past charitable giving behavior, including donation history, frequency, and support for similar organizations. This data predicts how likely someone is to give again.
• Affinity measures how closely a donor aligns with your mission or cause. Understanding this connection helps guide messaging, engagement strategies, and event invitations.
• Capacity assesses a donor’s financial ability to make larger or long-term contributions, including major or planned gifts. This helps prioritize high-impact donors for targeted campaigns, stewardship opportunities, and planned giving programs.

Using data to improve donor acquisition

Data helps improve donor acquisition by identifying prospects most likely to support your mission. By analyzing giving patterns and interests, you’ll target the most promising new supporters. When paired with proven donor acquisition strategies, this approach builds a stronger, more sustainable donor pipeline. 

Using data to improve donor retention 

Using data helps your nonprofit improve donor retention rate by revealing patterns in giving behavior and engagement. Segmenting donors based on interests, giving frequency, and interaction history allows your team to tailor outreach and maintain meaningful connections. Applying these insights alongside proven donor retention strategies encourages long-term support and deepens relationships.

7. Apply data to maximize fundraising efficiency

Data-driven fundraising lets nonprofits strengthen relationships and maximize impact without relying on large, costly events. Using donor insights strategically ensures every fundraising effort delivers measurable results.

Practical ways to apply data efficiently include:

• Host small, focused gatherings: Smaller events cost less than big galas and allow staff to connect personally with donors more often. Frequent, meaningful interactions help build stronger relationships and increase donor affinity.
• Target donors strategically: Use data, including RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) models, to prioritize supporters most likely to give. Donor intel helps your team focus outreach on high-potential prospects across all giving levels.
• Prioritize thoughtfully: Consider giving behavior across organizations and over time, not just gift size. A first-time $100 gift may indicate high potential if the donor gives generously elsewhere. Use insights into recent giving patterns of a lapsed major donor to decide if re-engagement is worthwhile.
• Don’t overlook small or mid-tier donors: A donor’s wealth doesn’t always predict generosity. What matters is their share of wallet, meaning how much of their giving goes to causes like yours. Targeting engaged mid-tier supporters often uncovers hidden gems who have the potential to give more consistently or upgrade over time.
• Follow up with insight: Analyze engagement and giving patterns after events and campaigns. This helps tailor outreach, reignite lapsed supporters, and refine messaging for each segment.

These strategies help nonprofits reduce costs, improve donor engagement, and increase fundraising efficiency by focusing effort where it will have the greatest impact. 

8. Maintain data quality

When donor data is inaccurate, outdated, or duplicated, nonprofits waste time, miss opportunities, and potentially lose 15 to 25 percent of fundraising revenue. Strong data quality ensures your team is able to trust the information they use to engage donors, process gifts, and make decisions. 

What “data quality” really means

Data quality refers to how reliable and usable your donor data is. It’s made up of five core dimensions:

1. Accuracy: Information is correct and reflects reality, such as the right name, address, and donation amounts.
2. Consistency: The same data is expressed identically across all systems. 
3. Completeness: All of the required fields are filled in, so records are usable. 
4. Timeliness: Data is up to date and reflects recent donations and interactions.
5. Uniqueness: Each donor appears once, without duplicate records.

Strong data quality reduces staff time spent fixing errors and increases time building donor relationships.

Using automation to protect data quality

Modern fundraising systems maintain data quality through automation. Instead of relying on manual updates, you simply set business rules that keep records accurate and consistent as data changes. 

For example:

• If a spouse is marked as deceased, the system will automatically update the marital status of the surviving spouse. 
• When a degree is added to the record, the system automatically applies an “Alumni” designation to the constituent’s record.

These automations reduce human error and prevent small issues from becoming long-term data problems. 

Maintain data quality with simple rules

Nonprofits enforce data quality using built-in system settings that don’t require complex coding. Common business rules include: 

• Required fields: These ensure key information is entered before a record is saved.

Example: A donor record can’t be created without a first name, last name, and email address.

• Validation rules: Prevents incorrect or poorly formatted data.

Example: Phone numbers must contain the correct number of digits.

• Flows: Automatically applies rules when records are created or updated.

Example: If a donor has multiple addresses, the system ensures one is always marked as “preferred.”

These rules make data quality easier to maintain without adding work for your staff.

Managing nonprofit donor data during integrations

Data issues often arise when nonprofits import data from outside systems. Without safeguards, integrations create duplicates or overwrite accurate records with outdated information. Ascendaddresses this challenge by using “Interims” and “Review Transactions” to stage incoming data before it enters the CRM, giving your teams control and visibility.

Interims: Biographic data review

Interims acts as a review space for donor and organization information coming from external sources. Data is checked before it merges into existing records.

This allows teams to:

• Identify possible duplicates
• Review questionable data
• Confirm accuracy before records are updated

By catching issues early, you’ll prevent bad data from spreading across your system.

Review Transactions: Protecting gift and payment data

Review Transactions helps nonprofits protect the accuracy of gift, pledge, and payment data before it enters their system. Incoming transactions are reviewed before they’re finalized. If a donor record isn’t found, the system creates a new interim record so the gift is not lost or misapplied.

This helps teams:

• Confirm gift and payment details are correct
• Ensure donations are applied to the right donor
• Flag issues for review before they affect reporting or acknowledgments

9. Integrate data-containing systems

Nonprofits often use multiple systems to manage donors, track gifts, and run campaigns. Core systems, like CRMs and giving platforms, store essential donor information. Supporting tools, like event management and prospect research software, help improve donor engagement.

Managing these systems separately creates data silos, slows teams down, and wastes resources. CRMs like Ascend are integrated with most of these tools. It gives all departments a single platform to view every donor, track gifts, and make smarter fundraising decisions. 

Ascend is built on Salesforce and was made specifically to serve advancement and enterprise fundraising teams. iWave enriches donor data to improve each ask. 

Together, they can give your team a complete view of how donors engage across channels. They allow teams to spend less time managing systems and more time focused on stewardship, retention, and stronger donor relationships.

Unlock the power of data for fundraising

Data-driven fundraising strategies transform the way nonprofits engage donors and make decisions. By collecting the right information, analyzing trends, and applying insights, your team will focus on high-impact donors, improve retention, and increase giving efficiently.

Building a modern data infrastructure, cultivating a data-driven culture, and leveraging connected tools like Ascend and iWave sets your organization up for long-term success. Using data strategically will help your nonprofit raise more, deepen donor relationships, and achieve its mission with smarter, informed actions.

Contributor:

Tina Duong

Tina Duong is the Founder of ImpactPro Tech, which provides tools that help fundraisers find the right donors and craft winning pitches so they can focus on what really matters: social impact.

Linkedin

The post Nonprofit data-driven fundraising roadmap appeared first on Kindsight.

But the more meaningful question isn’t who did it,  it’s what it reveals about how giving now works.

This moment isn’t about a single platform. 

Charity Navigator, Facebook, and dozens of other intermediaries do something similar every day: they create donation channels on behalf of organizations using publicly available data that may not always be current. They advertise directly to donors, ask for tips or donations for themselves, and have varying processes for data accuracy. For many nonprofits, that means a donor might give through an outdated profile, complete with retired leaders, old addresses, or even incorrect financial information.

The problem is deeper than a single data error, it’s about the growing distance between the giver, the gift, and the good that’s done.

The disintermediation of giving

Researchers at Rogare: The Fundraising Think Tank, call this the disintermediation of giving (MacQuillin, Kottasz, Locilento, & Gallaiford, 2024). It’s a big word for a simple idea: the layers between a person who wants to help and the people or causes they want to support are shrinking and sometimes shifting in unexpected ways.

Before nonprofits existed, generosity flowed person to person. Eventually, institutions emerged to solve a logistical challenge: how to channel individual compassion into organized impact. Giving evolved from individual → institution → community. Donors entrusted organizations to translate their resources into meals, scholarships, and care.

Now, as trust in institutions declines, crowdfunding and peer-to-peer giving have made generosity feel personal again. But ironically, these gifts are still mediated. Only this time, by a digital intermediary. The nonprofit is no longer the bridge; the platform is.

We call this “disintermediation,” but really it’s re-intermediation: one middle layer has been replaced by another.

Platform power and nonprofit control

Traditionally, nonprofits owned their brand, data, and donor relationships. That’s no longer entirely true.

Some control has been willingly delegated: organizations choose to use third-party processors, payment gateways, and social campaigns. But some control has simply drifted away. Algorithms determine visibility. Platform policies define fees. Donation pages can appear without approval.

This shift raises serious governance and risk questions. Nonprofits must now think not only about what they do but about who represents them digitally and under what terms. The old assumption, that your brand lives wherever you publish it,  no longer holds. In many ways, it lives wherever the internet decides it does.

Donor trust in a fragmented giving world

This is the heart of the matter.

Donors are navigating an increasingly crowded giving landscape, one filled with different sites, fees, and forms. Most can’t tell which platforms are official, which take a cut, or which actually send funds efficiently. In an age of online scams and identity theft, that confusion creates hesitation.

Behavioral science shows that even minor uncertainty activates the brain’s risk-avoidance network, dampening the warm, rewarding glow of generosity. Donors begin to ask, “Is this safe? Is this real? Will my money actually reach anyone?”

When that cognitive friction arises, giving pauses and often never resumes. In short: the more complex the giving experience, the less generous people feel.

The hidden cost of stale data

One of the most revealing aspects of the recent controversy was the use of the IRS Master File, a database that is often incomplete or outdated. It contains everything from active charities to dissolved entities and organizations that were never intended to receive donations, such as homeowners’ associations.

But elsewhere when donors encounter old addresses, inactive leadership, or “website not found” warnings, their trust erodes. Even if the nonprofit is thriving, the digital representation says otherwise.

From a behavioral standpoint, those inconsistencies create cognitive dissonance. The brain interprets it as risk, and risk interrupts generosity. Data errors aren’t just clerical, they’re emotional. They change how generosity feels.

And these intermediated systems often optimize for only one kind of trust,  the kind that secures the transaction. They’re not designed to support the relational kind of trust: the reassurance that gifts are used as intended, gratitude is expressed, and promises are fulfilled. When funds are delivered months later, donor data is fragmented, or acknowledgment loops disappear entirely, we’ve optimized for the wrong kind of trust.

The economics of intermediation

The recent spotlight on platform “tips” revealed a deeper tension. Donors felt misled; nonprofits felt commodified. This reflects a broader tipping-culture fatigue across the economy: the sense that every interaction now demands an extra contribution. When giving feels like one more payment prompt, the emotional satisfaction that neuroscience associates with generosity begins to fade.

Every added layer of monetization turns generosity into a transaction and the brain knows the difference.

Relationships in the New Era

Perhaps the most important question is relational: Who owns the donor relationship?

Platforms often assume that all money is good money. But nonprofits know that what sustains them isn’t the one-time gift, it’s the long-term relationship.

When a donor gives through a platform and never hears from the organization again, the relationship belongs to the intermediary, not the mission. From a neuroscience lens, that’s a serious loss: enduring generosity depends on memory, recognition, and emotional reinforcement. When those feedback loops break, giving becomes a fleeting impulse rather than a lasting identity.

A better path forward

We don’t need fewer intermediaries; we need better ones: tools that amplify trust rather than absorb it, that offer clarity instead of confusion, and that allow organizations to control their data, story, and stewardship.

That means:

• Building digital tools that strengthen direct connection between givers and the people or programs they support.
• Keeping donor data current, transparent, and governed by clear consent.
• Designing experiences that activate empathy and reinforce shared agency:  the “we did this together” feeling that neuroscience proves sustains generosity.
• Auditing online presence regularly, not from fear of rogue pages but to ensure the story the internet tells about an organization is accurate, credible, and human.
  

A call to conversation

This isn’t merely a single platform issue, it’s a cultural one.

As technology continues to reshape generosity, the sector must ask harder questions:

• How do we preserve authentic connection in a digital world?
• What responsibilities do intermediaries, from platforms to evaluators, have for data accuracy and ethical transparency?
• How can nonprofits, funders, and technologists work together to narrow the distance between generosity and impact?

The disintermediation of giving isn’t a passing buzzword. It’s a lens for understanding what happens when technology, trust, and human empathy intersect and sometimes collide.

The real story isn’t about pages being created or deleted. It’s about how we ensure that, no matter the medium, the giver, the gift, and the good remain connected.

References:
MacQuillin, I., Kottasz, R., Locilento, J., & Gallaiford, N. (2024). A typology of disintermediated giving and asking in the nonprofit sector. Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing. Advance online publication. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/nvsm.1820
See also Rogare’s overview: https://www.rogare.net/disintermediation

The post When technology stands between the giver and the gift: Rethinking intermediaries in the age of digital generosity appeared first on Kindsight.

Whether you experienced the action up close or missed the festivities, here’s a look at the transformative themes that defined the conference. These are the conversations that will shape how we connect with donors, leverage technology, and drive generosity forward.

So buckle up! Here are five key takeaways from KindCon 2025 to help your mission soar.

1. AI is redefining philanthropy

The integration of artificial intelligence is no longer a far-off concept; it’s a present-day reality transforming how we approach fundraising.

 “What used to feel like some distant future, like the Terminator or Tron or something like that, has now woven into our everyday lives. And those of us in philanthropy, that means donor expectations, behaviors, and the tools we use to engage them are evolving so, so rapidly. Yet, at the same time, donors are telling us that they want some sort of human connection, not less,” explained Kindsight’s Cherian Koshy. 

In his “Intersection of Innovation and Impact” panel discussion with Vanderbilt University’s Jill Baltz and Hoag Hospital Foundation’s Alyce De La Cruz, a sentiment was clear: AI is a powerful ally in our mission to do more good—when it’s used properly.

The discussion centered on how AI can enhance, not replace, the human element of fundraising. By automating data analysis and personalizing outreach at scale, AI frees up fundraisers to focus on what they do best: building meaningful relationships. You can now harness vast amounts of data to understand donor motivations in real time, allowing for more precise and timely engagement. The key is to utilize AI as a tool that provides the insights needed to act with greater confidence and make every interaction count.

See the full conversation here:

2. Understanding donor psychology unlocks generosity

Why do people give? Kindsight VP Cherian Koshy asked that question in his session, “Unlocking Generosity: The Neuroscience Behind Donor Decision-Making”, based on his upcoming book, Neurogiving: The Science of Donor Decision-Making. Looking into the minds of donors, Koshy revealed that giving is often an emotional decision, rooted in deep-seated psychological triggers. Understanding these drivers is critical to crafting messages that truly resonate.

The session explored how concepts like empathy, social connection, and a sense of personal impact influence a donor’s decision to contribute. By aligning your fundraising appeals with these core human motivators, you can create a more powerful and compelling case for support. It’s a reminder that behind every data point is a person. When you connect with them on a human level and show them the tangible difference their generosity can make, you inspire them to become dedicated partners in your cause.

3. Data is the foundation of modern fundraising strategy

Gut feelings have their place, but sustainable fundraising success is built on a foundation of data. Mattie Snell and Chris Speier from Texas A&M Foundation drove this point home. Their session, The Art and Science of Portfolio Strategy, demonstrated how a data-informed approach to portfolio management leads to more effective and efficient fundraising.

By analyzing donor data, you can identify hidden gems in your database, prioritize prospects with the highest potential, and tailor your cultivation strategies. This isn’t just about looking at past giving. It’s about understanding the full picture: a donor’s capacity, their affinities, and their engagement history. When you combine the “art” of relationship-building with the “science” of data analysis, you empower your team to focus their efforts where they will have the greatest impact, ultimately driving better results for your organization.

This sentiment was echoed in Kindsight CEO Ross Beattie’s opening remarks during the KindCon keynote. “There are individuals primed to give to your organizations, but they’re hidden. They’re hidden behind stale records, poor targeting, lack of personalization, fragmented workflows, and disconnected systems,” he says. 

“We call this the fundraising blind spot. That is absolutely an internal challenge today in most fundraising organizations. Data needs to be powering your success, not hindering it.”

4. Tech adoption and CRM success require a human-centered plan

Are you seeing a (human-centric) theme here? Another KindCon takeaway is that technology is only as good as the people and processes that support it. Echoed through the KindCon halls was the importance of a thoughtful approach to implementing and managing new systems; in other words, simply launching a new CRM isn’t the finish line; it’s the starting block.

True success comes from strong leadership, clear communication, and a commitment to user adoption. The “After the Confetti: Stabilization Strategies for CRM Success” panel, featuring Jeff Baynham of NC State University, Kate Maloney of Northwestern University, and Shalonda Martin of Pomona College, and moderated by Kindsight’s Caroline Chang, highlighted that stabilization after a CRM launch is a critical phase. It requires building communities of practice, establishing collaborative reporting, and ensuring that the technology serves the team—not the other way around. As leaders, focusing on empowering your team to use these tools effectively is key to realizing the full return on your technology investment and building a sustainable system for success.

5. Storytelling drives deeper engagement

Throughout KindCon 2025, presenters emphasized the pivotal role of storytelling in connecting with donors on a meaningful level. By sharing authentic stories—whether from scholarship recipients, community beneficiaries, or passionate volunteers—you can humanize your cause and help supporters see the real-world difference they make. Leverage narrative-driven appeals and personal testimonials to evoke emotion, build trust, and cultivate loyalty among your supporters. Remember, it’s not just about the data; it’s about using that data in meaningful ways to highlight the impact you make—and illuminating that impact through the stories you choose to tell.

Feeling inspired?

Visit the KindCon resource hub to get slides and recordings from our sessions, and sign up for our 2026 mailing list!

Head to the hub

6. Collaboration accelerates innovation

One standout theme across sessions and panels was the power of collaboration. Organizations that break down silos and foster cross-functional teamwork—whether between advancement services, technology teams, or frontline fundraisers—are better positioned to adapt quickly and solve challenges creatively. 

In the “Building Communities of Practice” breakout with Marianne Siess, Chief Information Officer at Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association, demonstrated how institutions that openly exchange donor engagement strategies, stewardship tactics, and reporting tools often discover innovative solutions that a single team might overlook.

By actively seeking opportunities to collaborate not just within your immediate team but also across departments or even organizations, you can accelerate learning, adopt successful processes faster, and stay ahead in a rapidly evolving field. The future belongs to those who share knowledge, pool resources, and rally around common goals. When you champion collaboration, you’re not just adapting—you’re setting the pace for what’s possible in philanthropy.

—

KindCon 2025 may have wrapped up, but the energy, ideas, and inspiration are just getting started! This year’s event was a celebration of innovation, collaboration, and the human connections that drive philanthropy forward. Now it’s time to take what we’ve learned and put it into action. Whether it’s uncovering hidden opportunities with data, crafting stories that tug at heartstrings, or embracing technology in a way that empowers people, the future of fundraising is in our hands. And the best part? We’re not doing it alone. Collaboration and shared knowledge are the keys to unlocking what’s possible.

So, let’s keep the momentum going! Together, we can turn these big ideas into even bigger impact. Here’s to pushing boundaries, driving generosity, and making a difference—one connection at a time. See you at KindCon 2026!

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With thoughtful implementation, AI tools can lighten heavy workloads and prevent burnout in nonprofit professionals. In fact, over 50% of nonprofits are currently using AI to advance their mission.

Below, we’ll review what AI for fundraising is, best use cases and tools, and how nonprofits can incorporate AI in an ethical way that helps further their mission. 

What is AI for fundraising? 

AI is a type of machine learning technology that replicates the way humans learn—by building their intelligence over time. Typically, AI tools fall into two main buckets: 

• Generative AI: Used for creating images and written content. 
• Predictive AI: Discovers patterns and makes predictions based on data. 

Common use cases of AI for nonprofits include creating marketing materials, automating aspects of the donor cultivation cycle (like thanking supporters after a donation), and analyzing data to identify the people most likely to give. 

Research shows the top 3 ways nonprofits are using AI tools are for increased internal productivity, marketing, and development fundraising. 

Benefits of AI solutions in fundraising 

There’s no one “right way” to implement AI. With many different tools and approaches, you can use the tools that work best for you. 

Whatever your approach, AI fundraising tools bring the following benefits: 

• Save time: With AI handling your administrative tasks, staff members can focus their energy on the areas that require human oversight.
• Gain valuable insights: Predictive AI tools can provide a deeper, analytical insight into your nonprofit operations. From here, it can provide suggestions and a framework for improvement. 
• Increase your ROI: Using a more targeted, AI-informed approach to fundraising means your fundraising efforts are more likely to succeed. In fact, 30% of nonprofits report that AI tools have increased fundraising revenue in the last year. 

Limitations of Artificial Intelligence for fundraising 

AI can’t replace human intelligence or build those all-important deep connections and relationships. What it can do is streamline operations and provide insights to help you meet your goals. 

Think of AI as a member of your team with specific strengths—like automation, analytics, and content generation. Only outsource the tasks that align with these strengths.  

How to integrate AI into fundraising

Using AI often comes with a trade-off: Learning new systems takes time, but the resources you’ll save in the long run will likely be significant. 

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to make the integration process smoother:

• Define your nonprofit’s goals: First, identify your goals to ensure you’re using AI in a way that aligns with your organization’s mission—are you looking to simplify your administrative process, for example, find new grant opportunities, or improve your marketing? (Below, we’ll dive into more detail on available AI tools and their use-cases). 
• Research available tools: Consider the accuracy rates, privacy policies, and price of the tools you’re interested in. Look at how they’ll fit with your nonprofit’s larger goals, and if they’ll be scalable over time. 
• Create a responsible AI framework: Determine your AI code of ethics before implementing your tools, using your mission and core principles to guide you. Have a system in place addressing potential issues. 
• Train your staff: AI can be anxiety-inducing—92% of nonprofits currently feel underequipped for the change. A little care and comprehensive training can go a long way. 
• Track metrics: Measure your success based on your goals. If your goal is to raise more, measure fundraising over time. If your goal is to improve your marketing, track engagement metrics. 
• Choose the right time: Choose a slower time of year to implement your AI tools, so you have more time to get to grips with your new systems. If you’re making big changes, consider hiring an AI consultant to help you get started. 

Read our ebook, A Nonprofit Professional’s Guide to Incorporating AI, to get a deeper look into AI basics and overcoming the uncertainty of adopting AI. 

Use cases for AI tools in fundraising

Ready to dive into how AI can help you raise more? We’ve outlined ten of the best use cases for AI for nonprofit fundraising below: 

1. Screen donors & research prospects 

Predictive AI modelling helps you make smart choices when it comes to prospect outreach. It can identify lapsed donors, analyze giving history, and create targeted donor lists for outreach. 

Using past donor data, AI can predict future behavior, so you can work on strengthening connections with those most likely to give. 

• Kindsight’s Look-alike Search (within iWave): Finds mid-level donors whose giving habits and backgrounds mirror your top donors. From here, you can easily export their contact information and focus outreach efforts on this group.  

2. Use an AI assistant

From quickly generating PowerPoint to crafting a meeting summary for your board, an AI assistant helps you quickly tick off your to-dos. Think of it as your personal helper—just like the name suggests. 

• Microsoft Copilot: Let’s you easily draft concise updates. For example, you can update your board members on a new team development in just minutes. 
• Gemini for Google Workspace: Lets you easily generate materials from existing information. For example, you could create an eye-catching presentation from a PDF version of last quarter’s impact report.

3. Generate content

Generating content is one of AI’s most common use cases in the nonprofit sector and beyond. Tools like ChatGPT and Claude can quickly generate content—including blogs, social media posts, and promotional videos. The drawback is that since they are not created specifically for nonprofits, there is a risk that they will not follow industry best practices in the content they generate.

• Kindsight Engage: Comes with predesigned content creation prompts designed for nonprofits, including monthly and planned giving. It can draft out an entire fundraising campaign in just a few clicks. 
• Canva Magic Write: When paired with Claude, Canva Magic can generate ready-to-go Instagram posts with custom text and bespoke background art. 

Remember, AI can make mistakes. Treat AI-generated content as a first draft, not a finished product. Always review all content for accuracy and brand alignment. 

4. Segment donors

Segmenting donors (grouping them based on shared characteristics) makes it easy to send more intentional, relevant messages to certain groups. This way, you can save time and send out messages more likely to resonate. 

While many CRM platforms have donor segmentation tools built in, AI segmentation takes things a step further—it automatically groups donors based on their actions. From here, you can focus your messaging and outreach efforts on the people most likely to convert. 

• Kindsight’s Persona Builder (within Engage): This tool uses wealth data and behaviour scores (determined by a donor’s inclination, capacity, and affinity to give) to generate donor clusters—like your “next generation of givers.” 
• Momentum: Automatically groups supporters based on real-time engagement. If a supporter clicks on an email and RSVP’s for an event within 7 days, for example, Momentum automatically segments the donor as “high intent.” 

5. Automate workflows

With AI, you can automate routine tasks, like data collection, database management, or note-taking during meetings. This way, your time will be free for those all-important tasks that require human intelligence. 

There’s no shortage of workflow automation tools in the AI world: 

• Zapier + OpenAI: Use Zapier’s CRM integration to send donor thank you’s or add new supporters to a call list. When you receive a donation, Zapier sends the data to ChatGPT or OpenAI,  which in turn generates the action—such as drafting a note, or adding the supporter to a new database. 
• Make.com: If you log a supporter visit in your Google Calendar, Make.com pulls notes from your phone memos and summarizes them using Claude. From here, you receive a donor stewardship task notification. 
• N8N: Offers advanced AI tools for tech-savvy nonprofits (think, custom-coding). For example, during an auction, N8N can notify high-value bidders they’re still in line every time a new bid is made—working to encourage higher bidding and more lucrative fundraising. 

6. Add a chatbot

Integrate a chatbot into your nonprofit website, donation form, or training website to save time and iron out friction points in online giving. Chatbots can also be invaluable for training your team on best fundraising practices. 

• Donor-facing chatbots: When integrated into your donation form or website, donor-facing chatbots can deliver quick answers to frequently asked questions, like “Can I donate stocks?” and “What does my gift support?” 
• Internal-facing chatbots: Can answer commonly-asked questions from team members and volunteers about your organization. For example, how to use certain tools or where to find certain resources. 
• Preactivated: Train your team members on best fundraising practices by prompting Predactiv to “act as” certain types of donors. Your staff can practice interacting with this simulated donor and get real-time feedback. 

7. Optimize donation forms

Keeping your supporters on your site long enough to give can be tricky. To increase conversion, you’ll need to eliminate friction points and simplify giving. AI tools offer sophisticated solutions to this problem: 

• Fundraise Up: Uses real-time behavioral data to show data amounts that align with someone’s giving habits. This helps make giving more approachable based on the individual. 
• GoFundMe Pro Intelligent Ask: Adjusts the default giving amount down by 10% for donors who arrive via Facebook ad to reduce friction. It then upsells by offering recurring donations on the following screen, so nonprofits don’t lose out. 

8. Automate the donor journey

With AI, action triggers can help you automate entire aspects of the donor journey—not just your administrative processes. 

Just like you’d assume someone who bought 3 football tickets will buy a season ticket, AI tools can analyze multiple donor actions at once to determine who’s most likely to give. 

• Salesforce Flow: Flags supporters who have given for over 7 years and updates their contact information unprompted as potential givers. From here, it automatically sends out a newsletter to help deepen their engagement. 
• DonorPerfect: Offers predictive modelling tools that flag likely-to-lapse donors and auto-enroll them in a three-touch win-back sequence. 

9. Conduct sentiment analysis

AI Sentiment analysis (also known as opinion mining) helps you understand the impression of your online engagement—positive, negative, or neutral. If you’re curious about how a social media post is being received, for example, you can simply copy and paste the comments into ChatGPT and ask for a sentiment analysis.

From here, you can reverse engineer the prompt: If your sentiment is negative, AI can advise how to resolve this based on the comments. If the sentiment is positive, it can suggest strategies for continuing this sentiment. 

• Hootsuite Insights: Flags positive and negative sentiment in your fundraising campaign—in just one hour after launch. 
• Qualtrics XM: Offers robust sentiment analysis, including automatic alerts if the sentiment score drops below 70%. 

10. Identify and apply for grants

AI can help you search for grants that fit with your mission and workflow, eliminating the more labor-intensive aspect of grant-seeking. It can also help you craft your grant applications. 

• Kindsight’s Grant Writer (within Engage): Pairs generative AI tools with your nonprofit’s fundraising insights to craft high-quality grant proposals in minutes. 
• Instrumentl: Offers AI-Powered grantprospecting tools, including matching your organization with the best grant opportunities, providing valuable insights into funders, and a large Request for Proposal (RFP)  database. 

Artificial Intelligence for fundraising: Ethical considerations

AI for fundraising is still relatively new. There’s a lot we still don’t know—like how AI tools might adversely affect security data, or if they lead to unintentional bias and discrimination.

Before diving in, every nonprofit should lay the groundwork for its AI policy based on its own core values. 

Not sure where to start? Fundraising.AI Collaborative offers a helpful framework for ethical nonprofit AI usage. We’ve outlined some of its core pillars below: 

• Privacy and security: Protect sensitive data by following proper security standards. For example, if you’re a healthcare nonprofit, make sure your AI data usage is HIPAA compliant. 
• Data ethics and inclusiveness: Ensure all inputted data is accurate, inclusive, and collected with consent. 
• Accountability and transparency: Be transparent with your stakeholders about how you’re using AI, and give them a chance to opt out. Stay accountable to your own code of ethics, and check in with yourself and your organization as your AI usage evolves. 

Ultimately, nonprofits should approach AI usage with a continuous learning mindset. Train your team, develop your knowledge, and stay on top of best practices as they evolve. 

Once you’ve cleared the busywork, you can pour your reclaimed time into doing what humans do best: Building trust, listening to supporters, and crafting memorable moments your donors will remember forever. 

The post AI for fundraising: 10 ways to raise more (with tools) appeared first on Kindsight.

“Grant writing is a demanding process. It requires a significant investment of time, specialized knowledge, and a clear understanding of funder priorities,” says Ross Beattie, CEO of Kindsight. “This new offering will revolutionize the way organizations obtain grant funding. Whether they aim to streamline their efforts, enhance the quality of their proposals, or boost their success rates, they can do so without the high costs of hiring external grant consultants or dedicated staffing.”

Unlike generic grant-writing templates or generic AI tools that use unspecialized information based on publicly available data, Grant Writer is powered by Grants Plus’s proprietary database of funding insights from fully awarded grants. Tested and vetted by professional grant writers, its content is designed for accuracy and effectiveness, ensuring proposals are built on proven strategies rather than generic AI outputs. 

“We’re thrilled to partner with Kindsight on this new product offering–it’s been a dream for a long time,” says Lauren Steiner, founder and CEO of Grants Plus. “Our partnership combines cutting-edge AI technology with industry-leading grant writing expertise, giving nonprofits an unprecedented advantage in securing funding.”

Grant Writer takes the complexity out of grant writing—whether organizations are applying for foundation, corporate, or government grants—making it faster and easier to secure funding. By combining AI with a proprietary database of funding insights, it helps fundraising organizations create compelling, funder-aligned proposals—without starting from scratch. Key features include: 

• AI-powered proposal generation: Grant Writer automatically crafts a proposal tailored to your organization’s mission and the funder’s priorities.
• Data-driven winning insights: Leverages Grants Plus’s proprietary database of funding insights from fully awarded grants to apply proven strategies to your grant applications.
• Expert-vetted accuracy: Nonprofit professionals have tested and validated our AI-generated content to ensure accurate, relevant proposals without generic language.
• Customizable proposal sections: Customize your proposal sections to match funder requirements for a polished, structured application.
• Editing and refinement tools: Adjust word count or character limits effortlessly to meet funder requirements, with options to shorten or expand text as needed.
• Easy-to-use interface: Complete with intuitive navigation and structured guidance, it’s designed for both experienced grant writers and those new to the process.

Kindsight has also reinforced engage’s privacy and functionality with a more powerful AI infrastructure, powered by AWS Bedrock. This ensures more enhanced security, agility, and reliability for engage customers. 

These announcements are the latest additions to Kindsight’s expansive suite of solutions that help fundraising organizations make a lasting impact within the community they serve. The suite also includes iwave, Kindsight’s prospect research product powered by real-time data, and ascend, its purpose-built CRM.  

Grant Writer is available as an add-on for engage Professional plans, and included in engage Premium plans. 

For media inquiries, please contact press@kindsight.io

About Kindsight

Kindsight builds technology that helps nonprofits make a difference. For 30+ years, Kindsight has supported fundraising organizations with purpose-built tools and the largest charitable giving database on the market. As a leader in fundraising intelligence, Kindsight leverages real-time data and emerging technologies to help organizations identify and engage with donors, and manage campaigns – at any scale. The holistic platform includes four products, iwave, engage, ascend, and connect, that work together to deliver valuable donor intel and insights, generative AI that builds campaigns and creates meaningful outreach, and a CRM that corrals your donor information and campaign tracking into one place. Connect your story to donors who care about your cause. At any scale. In real time. That’s the power of Kindsight. Learn more at kindsight.io

About Grants Plus

Grants Plus is the nation’s most trusted and experienced professional grant-seeking firm. Since 2007, they have assisted nonprofit leaders across the country to secure $350 million in grant funding from private, corporate, and government funders. To learn more about Grant Plus, visit grantsplus.com

The post Kindsight launches AI-powered grant writing solution appeared first on Kindsight.

In this blog you’ll learn why data gets collected but not used, how the tech and team fit together to convert raw data into data driven decisions,  and why fundraisers (and fundraising teams) struggle with the tech (yes there’s a very good reason!). 

We’ll start by talking about how information systems are part human and part tech.

Humans are mini databases!

Humans are mini databases; we collect and store information in our brains and increased experience increases our personal information. We don’t talk about this very much, but when we use just ourselves as a database it’s called instinct. Instinct is an incredible feature of humans. And when humans gather and combine their instinct, it becomes even more powerful (ie. your Board of Directors!). 

When organizations scale in size, they scale in complexity and our mini database minds can’t store data reliably by memory so we store data in external databases. And we create systems to collect, organize and report the data we’re storing. These systems are called Information Systems and they are part technology and part human. Too often, however, humans are a silent partner in information systems. So here’s a graph of an information system which shows the Tech Stack on one side and The Human Stack on the other side. And like chains, Information systems are only as strong as their weakest stack. 

The Tech Stack

But, what’s a stack?

Glad you asked! A stack is a group of things that works together for a common purpose. 

Techies coined the phrase “the tech stack”. They are referring to the group of technology tools that teams use. Most nonprofits have way more tools than people realize. If an organization had a single technology tool for each function of their fundraising, that could mean 30 different systems. So if it feels like you’re using a lot of tools, you are, and that’s the way that modern work happens. (And there are many more than this, these are just some of the common ones.)

The Human Stack

Just like the tech stack is a group of tools, The Human Stack is the community of humans (not tools) who work as a team to use a tech stack. Fundraising teams use a specific tech stack to manage relationships, track requests, and organize donations. The finance team uses a different tech stack in a different way to gather transactions, organize funds, and manage the books. 

Information systems are only as good as their weakest stack. If the tech stack or The Human Stack aren’t pulling their weight, no matter how powerful the other stack is, the information system is blocked by the LEAST effective stack. The point isn’t to point fingers and blame stacks, the point is to grow the effectiveness of both the tech and the humans. 

Collecting data isn’t enough, we need to use it!

Nonprofits are good at collecting data, but we’re bad at using it. For example, one study found that 90% of nonprofits collect data, but only 5% use that data to make decisions. In order to move toward data-driven fundraising, we need a theory of change to guide nonprofits a path forward (and preferably one that’s simple and memorable). Here’s the Theory Of Change we created at The Human Stack and it’s only 6 words!

We use the words data, information and insight interchangeably, but they are actually different. 

• Data is the smallest unit of meaning. 
• Information is data with meaning. 
• Insight is actionable information.

Here’s a simple example: let’s say I’m wondering about making dinner plans. Data is knowing that today is November 14th. Information is remembering that November is my anniversary. Insight is deciding that I will make a reservation for dinner to celebrate our anniversary.

When the decisions are clear and can be made by a single individual, the differences between data, information and insight don’t really matter. But when it comes to working as a team, converting data to decision making, the differences matter quite a bit. 

On Forecasts & Feelings

Let’s look at a more complex fundraising example of this: Fundraising Forecasts. Here are the basic steps to make a fundraising forecast.

• Step 1: Fundraising Staff make a best guess on the amount and timing for future donations (Data).
• Step 2: Fundraising Directors add the data to a forecast with quarterly estimates (Information).
• Step 3: Executives use quarterly estimates to make decisions (Insight).

If forecasts are so simple, why do they create so much tension for fundraising teams? It’s because forecasts blend digital behaviors with underlying beliefs and affect people’s sense of belonging. 

Fundraising staff create donations for the upcoming year to create a forecast and these future donations have a lot of unknowns. They can make a best guess but will their performance be evaluated based on their ability to predict accurately? Should they keep the estimates low? What happens if they think it will be in Q1 and instead it’s in Q3? Do they trust the Fundraising Director enough to have a transparent and authentic conversation about it? Ultimately their feelings of trust and belonging are going to directly affect the quality of the forecast data that they create. 

Fundraising Directors use the data from their team to create a forecast and break it down by quarters and give the executive team quarterly estimates. And fundraising directors have their own issues to confront. They are wondering how to balance accountability with authenticity for their staff, how to divide the work to ensure it’s done accurately, and how to present the forecast with enough confidence to stand by the work and create the expectation that some of the numbers will change. So the forecast can make Fundraising Directors feel caught in the middle. 

Executives who use the quarterly estimates to make investment and resource decisions based on the insight provided by the estimates. When it comes to information systems, leaders truly eat last because Insight is the end of the supply chain of data and requires the participation of staff, directors, data, information, data quality, standard operating procedures, digital maturity, the list goes on. If the estimates are wildly inaccurate, the board will have questions for them. 

How do we know if our fundraising system is healthy?

Fundraising intelligence is a two stack, multiple roles, many people, lots of data coordinated effort and when so many pieces are involved, how do you know if it’s working? 

If your information systems are in bad shape, you’ll know it. Your team will be frustrated, your data won’t be accurate, and you won’t know answers to basic questions about fundraising. So if you’re not terribly frustrated, you generally trust the data, and so on, that’s a pretty good sign. (The one negative indicator that should be taken with a grain of salt is the phrase, “our CRM doesn’t work”. CRM’s are like websites, everyone is sure they need a new one so they let the current one go feral.)

Let’s say things aren’t that dire, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are good! So how do you improve and keep moving forward? When we diagnose digital health, we look at these 6 vitals. The three tech stack vitals are: Solution Fit, Data Quality, Utilization. The Human Stack vitals are: System Sustainability, Digital Strategy, and Accountability. If you grow these 6 areas of your digital systems, things are going to get better. And if you want to take a quick quiz to see how you stack up, you can find it here: www.thehumanstack.com/quiz.

A question, a word of advice, and a final thought. 

A Question: How would things be different a year from now if you began viewing your Information Systems as a partnership between your technology and your staff? 

A word of advice: The best way to grow your digital maturity is to get curious about your beliefs and feelings about your information systems? Why do you like some and dislike others? Why is it so easy to just put things in a spreadsheet instead of using the system? Like Ted Lasso says, “Be curious, not judgmental.”

And a final thought: The tech stack can be configured in weeks and months, but the Human Stack takes quarters and years to change. Plan accordingly. 

The post Turning data into insights: A look at information systems  appeared first on Kindsight.

For many of us working in this space, the past few years have been a wake-up call. I saw firsthand how this decline in individual donors forced organizations—mine included—to think differently about how we connect with the everyday people who’ve historically been the lifeblood of nonprofit fundraising.

The reasons behind this trend aren’t surprising. Economic uncertainty has made it harder for people to give, trust in institutions is eroding, and cultural habits around giving are shifting. Still, as frustrating as these challenges can be, I believe they’re also opportunities to evolve.

What’s been working for me—and for many nonprofits I’ve seen thriving in this moment—is embracing real-time responsiveness. It’s about operating with agility and making data-driven decisions in the moment. These approaches haven’t just improved how we raise funds; they’ve helped us connect with donors on a deeper level, improve our efficiency, and think more strategically about sustainability.

Why real-time responsiveness matters

Let me paint you a picture. Imagine I’m running a campaign where donations start to flatline midway through. It could be a micro-campaign, an annual fundraising appeal, or a major/capital campaign. What do I do? A few years ago, I probably wouldn’t have known and would have waited until the campaign ended to analyze what went wrong. Today, with real-time tools and a more agile mindset, I can spot the issue as it’s happening and pivot immediately.

This kind of responsiveness is a game-changer. It’s helped me and my team stay relevant and effective, even when we’ve faced challenges we didn’t see coming.

Here’s how real-time principles have reshaped the way I approach fundraising—and how they can work for you, too.

1. Using real-time data to make better decisions

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that having accurate, up-to-date information is everything. For example, consolidating donor data into a single dashboard has allowed me to:

• See which campaigns are performing well (and which aren’t).
• Identify which donors are actively engaging and which might need more attention.
• Reprioritize engaging a particular donor based on something I never would’ve noticed otherwise.

Here are some examples of how this looks on a day-to-day basis: In one campaign, we noticed a surge in smaller, first-time donations within the first few days. Using real-time data, we doubled down on outreach to those donors with personalized engagement and saw a significant increase in conversions to monthly contributions. That wasn’t luck—it was strategy, powered by real-time insights.

In another instance, we got a real-time alert on one of our mid-level donors whose life circumstances changed and they were able to make a much larger impact financially than ever before. We were able to engage with the donor in an authentic and timely way to help them create the impact they desired. 

2. Making donors feel seen and valued

This one’s personal for me because I’ve been on the other side, as a donor. There’s nothing worse than giving to a cause you care about and feeling like it disappeared into a void. Frankly, I’ve experienced it a few too many times where I make a gift and don’t hear from an organization for months – if ever. 

Now, I know most of us make it a point to ensure every donor feels recognized and connected to the impact they’re making. Real-time tools have made this easier than ever. For example:

• Automating immediate thank-you emails when someone donates.
• Sending updates that show exactly where their contributions are going.
• Personalizing communications based on their giving history.

These small gestures go a long way in building trust. And when donors trust you, they’re more likely to stick around for the long haul.

3. Staying agile when things don’t go as planned

I’ll be honest—some campaigns just don’t hit the mark. It’s frustrating, but it’s also an opportunity to learn. The key is to stay agile and adapt in real time.

In one recent campaign, we launched with messaging we thought would resonate, but within a week, the response was lukewarm at best. Thanks to real-time monitoring, we saw where we were losing people—our email subject lines weren’t grabbing attention. We switched gears, testing new language, and saw a noticeable uptick in engagement almost immediately.

The ability to make those adjustments on the fly is something I can’t imagine doing without today.

4. Empowering my team to work smarter

This isn’t just about donors; it’s about the people behind the scenes, too. I’ve seen how automating routine tasks, like data entry or sending acknowledgment emails, can free up my team’s time to focus on bigger-picture goals.

One of my proudest moments last year was when we streamlined our workflow for donor outreach. By automating basic processes, we gave our team more bandwidth to build deeper relationships with major donors. Not only did this lead to a more engaged donor base, but it also made our team feel more empowered and less overwhelmed.

Applying real-time principles beyond fundraising

While fundraising is the heart of nonprofit work, real-time responsiveness can make a difference in so many other areas. Here are a few ways I’ve seen it in action:

• Program delivery: Tracking outcomes in real time helps us tweak programs and show donors exactly how their money is being used.
• Volunteer coordination: Using real-time scheduling tools has made it easier to connect with volunteers, making them feel valued and more likely to return.
• Crisis response: During emergencies, having real-time data at our fingertips has allowed us to act quickly and effectively, ensuring we’re making the biggest possible impact.

My advice: Start small, think big

If you’re new to real-time tools and strategies, it can feel overwhelming. My advice? Start small.

Begin with one area—maybe it’s automating thank-you emails or setting up a simple dashboard to track donations. Once you see the impact, it becomes easier (and more exciting) to expand.

For me, embracing real-time responsiveness hasn’t just been a strategy; it’s been a mindset shift. It’s about staying open to change, being willing to pivot, and always keeping the donor experience front and center.

Incorporating automation and AI can be daunting, check out our ebook on the subject.

Final thoughts

The nonprofit world is evolving, and staying static isn’t an option. By embracing real-time responsiveness, we can not only overcome today’s challenges but also build stronger, more sustainable organizations for the future.

If you’re in the nonprofit sector, I’d love to hear how you’re navigating these changes. What’s working for you? What’s been your biggest challenge? Let’s learn from each other—because at the end of the day, we’re all working toward the same goal: making a lasting difference.

The post How real-time responsiveness is transforming nonprofit fundraising appeared first on Kindsight.

Delving into Philanthropic Giving Dynamics

Despite significant asset growth, the modest increase in foundation giving can be partly attributed to the approach foundations take, often using multi-year averages to determine their giving levels. In the United States, most states have adopted the provision of UPMIFA that spending above 7% is presumptively imprudent. This means that many grant-making organizations adopt strategies like the Yale formula, which helps foundations manage their giving across fluctuating economic cycles, ensuring sustainability. In addition to the impact of inflation, assets fell by 9.5% in 2022. According to FoundationMark, foundations gave away an average of 7% of their rolling assets.

Nonprofits must recognize the nuances behind this trend and adapt their fundraising strategies accordingly, especially considering the potential lag in response to economic changes. A year of strong market performance can boost foundation assets. Still, the corresponding increase in giving might be tempered by preceding years of lesser performance, as foundations aim to maintain a stable giving rate over time. This reaffirms why a diverse fundraising strategy with a healthy mix of individual and institutional giving can ensure that organizations can weather economic challenges. When individual giving declines as a natural result of economic cycles, institutional giving can even out those peaks and valleys.

Leveraging Real-time Fundraising Intelligence

To stay ahead, organizations must harness real-time fundraising intelligence, using it as a core competency for securing foundation grants. This entails analyzing previous philanthropic indicators and foundation asset growth to predict giving trends. Leveraging real-time fundraising intelligence can be transformative for nonprofits. This technology, being the first of its kind, allows organizations to comprehensively identify potential institutional donors, significantly enhancing their ability to secure grants and gifts. By incorporating insights on the capacity of charitable and corporate organizations, along with the flexibility of data integration and detailed prospecting capabilities, nonprofits can more effectively forecast giving trends and tailor their institutional fundraising strategies to match the financial behaviors and preferences of foundations and companies. This approach not only streamlines the fundraising process but also maximizes the potential for successful engagements with institutional donors.

Actionable Strategies for Nonprofit Success

• Predictive Analytics: Leveraging tools to prioritize institutional donors that are most likely to align with your organization and how to engage those entities at scale.
• Fundraising Resilience: Diversifying funding sources buffer against giving fluctuations and ensure financial stability to smooth out different giving velocities between individual and institutional donors.
• Proactive Relationship Building: Forge enduring relationships with the right foundations, aligning with their philanthropic strategies and giving cycles.
• Mission Alignment: Prevent mission creep by identifying funders who are most aligned with your organization’s goals. Ensure your mission resonates with the strategic priorities of potential donors, especially those with growing assets.

Nonprofits adept at navigating these dynamics are better positioned to access the burgeoning wealth dedicated to philanthropy and diversify their revenue streams. By understanding the intricacies of foundation giving, nonprofit organizations can craft effective, sustainable fundraising strategies, ultimately securing the support necessary for impactful work.

The post Navigating the New Philanthropy Landscape: Strategies for Nonprofit Scalability appeared first on Kindsight.

We believe in it!

If you’ve never heard of the term before, think business intelligence – for fundraising. In the age of technology, social networking, and an overall overload of information, business intelligence takes data and makes it meaningful.

“Business intelligence is a broad term that encompasses data mining, process analysis, performance benchmarking, descriptive analytics, and so on. Business intelligence is meant to take in all the data generated by a business and present easy-to-digest performance measures and trends that will inform management decisions.” –Investopedia

Fundraising Intelligence

According to Helen Brown with the Helen Brown Group, “fundraising intelligence is business intelligence for nonprofit organizations”.

The prospect research field started shifting in the way it describes itself a few years ago. New terms were tossed around like “prospect development”, “donor research”, “prospect strategy” as new ways to describe the industry. The truth is, fundraising intelligence is all of the above.

As Helen Brown discusses on her blog here, there was a need to better explain what the prospect research profession was all about and how much more it involved; beyond simply researching prospects. “We’re the knowledge epicenter. We provide information about prospective donors and help organizations manage their systems so they can build stronger relationships with their donors.” In short, fundraising intelligence fuels your major gift program with the intel you need to analyze your data, identify top prospects, and make more educated gift asks to the right person at the right time.

Nonprofit Needs Are Varied

Since every nonprofit organization is different, the way they tackle things like data management, donor relationships, and research is different too. Large nonprofits may have entire development teams devoted to prospect research, whereas smaller nonprofits may have one development person doing it all – research, data collection, and major gift asks.

Fundraising intelligence is the best way to ensure you are asking the right person, for the right amount, at the right time. That goes for any nonprofit, of any size.

The Competition is Real

Now more than ever, nonprofits are finding themselves in competition for funds. Charitable giving in 2017 exceeded the $400 million mark. Based on the 2018 Fundraising Effectiveness Project, charitable giving in 2018 increased 1.63% above the previous year. That’s a lot of cash.

However, according to that report, the actual number of donors has gone down. So that means, more money is being given by fewer donors.

Accordingly, if more nonprofits are focusing on different fundraising strategies to stand out in the market, you should too. And that includes making room for fundraising intelligence.

How to Put Fundraising Intelligence Into Action

If you already have a fundraising intelligence solution, you’re on your way! If you don’t, or are deciding which one to choose, *cough cough*, iWave is the top-rated fundraising intelligence platform in the industry. Don’t just take our word for it though, find out what other people are saying here.

We know a thing or two about making prospect research data work for you. We offer data-driven intelligence on your donors and prospects that you can use in the real world, right now! In a nutshell, we make your job easier and your fundraising outcomes better.

Now that we’ve convinced you, we’ll show you how fundraising intelligence works in 3 steps:

Step 1 – Screen

Wealth screening is a prospect identification process that highlights individuals with the greatest potential of contributing large donations to a particular nonprofit.

A complete wealth screen requires the right data to determine the three keys. Screening isn’t just about finding high net worth indicators like high salary and real estate holdings. And just because a person may be wealthy, that doesn’t automatically mean they are philanthropic. A complete wealth screen will effectively show an individual’s ability to give, their interest in philanthropy, and if there is a connection to your specific cause.

Crafting the perfect wealth screen requires three major ingredients:

1. A list of prospects provided by the nonprofit;
2. Internal data about the nonprofit’s current donors, such as previous donation type and amount; and
3. External wealth, biographic, and philanthropic data provided by an electronic screening vendor.

Use iWave screening and our Insights feature to segment your database into an actionable roadmap of potential donors and find your hidden gems.

Step 2 – Validate and Research

Understand your prospect’s affinity to your cause, history of giving, and capacity. This allows you to prioritize your list and make the most of your time
Unfamiliar with defining a prospect with the Three Keys in mind? Here is the breakdown:

PROPENSITY: Has this person given to nonprofit causes before?

Giving history, or lack of giving history can give indicators about a prospects propensity. A donor may give minimal amounts frequently, while another donor gives a large gift yearly. Another donor may donate time rather than funds. There is no universal “perfect” donor, each nonprofit may consider the examples just shared as ideal to them. Past behavior is a big clue when looking to find donors with propensity to give.

AFFINITY: Is this person passionate about your cause and nonprofit organization?

Often, your best prospects are already in your database. These donors have a history with your organization. This will make it easy to evaluate your relationship with these donors and recognize new opportunities to develop these relationships further.

CAPACITY: How much wealth can this person afford to donate?

There is no universal formula for capacity ratings. Consider the following:

Income – Generally capacity rating is 10% of income
Real Estate Holdings – popular and reliable source used to calculate wealth
Stocks and Assets – used to generate a baseline rating
Charitable Giving – Calculating baseline capacity is the average of total donations by year, multiplied by 5

Step 3 – Share

Compile and share your new list of detailed prospect profiles with your development team and put confidence behind your next major gift ask.

Why is Fundraising Intelligence so Important?

No matter what you call it – prospect research, donor research, or fundraising intelligence – the strategy behind your team and the tools you use are important. Your nonprofit and the work you do matters. Fundraising intelligence fuels your vision to create a better world by bringing new investors to your cause. Fundraising no longer has to be sustained by assumptions and guesswork. You can base your major gift asks on data and research found in iWave, and ensure you are making informed, evidence-based major gift asks that will result in raising more major gifts, faster.

Fundraising intelligence is the best way to ensure you’re asking the right person, for the right amount, at the right time. This goes for any nonprofit of any size. And with more competition than ever for donors, making sure you have the best approach, and the best tools for the job is imperative.

With the right platform, you should be able to:

• Screen, segment, and prioritize your database
• Validate and research
• Share your findings

Want to see iWave in action? Book your custom demo!

The post What is Fundraising Intelligence and Why is it so Important? appeared first on Kindsight.