Best prospect research tools

The right prospect research tool will help you identify high-capacity donors quickly and accurately. This is essential for your nonprofit’s long-term viability, considering that almost half of the dollars donated by individuals tend to come from less than 1% of a given organization’s donor base. The situation is similar with grants.

Each prospect research tool serves specific nonprofit sizes and goals. The following are the top platforms on the market.

1. iwave

iWave is a comprehensive prospect research software designed in collaboration with experienced fundraisers to meet the needs of nonprofits that prioritize accuracy and strategy over volume. It aggregates data from over 44+ vetted sources into unified 360° donor profiles. Many of those sources are premium, subscription-based databases that would be expensive for nonprofits to access alone.

iWave blends wealth, philanthropic, business, and relationship indicators to create context-rich insights. Its AI-powered scoring customizes capacity, affinity, and giving propensity measures to your nonprofit’s requirements. This enables your fundraising team to prioritize prospects and uncover meaningful connections before outreach.

Strengths:

• VeriGift’s comprehensive database with 200 million+ charitable gift records
• Verified premium data sources, including ZoomInfo, Dun & Bradstreet, DatabaseUSA, Refinitiv, Insider Filings, and RiXtrema Prospects of Wealth
• Live donor profiles with real-time alerts on donations, real estate transactions, and insider filings
• Custom predictive and look-alike modeling to identify and prioritize high-potential prospects
• Relationship mapping to identify personal and board connections for warm introductions
• Integrates smoothly with major CRMs like Salesforce, Neon, and DonorPerfect
• Flexible pricing options: pay-per-use and subscription plans
• Ranked #1 donor research platform on G2 for 17 consecutive quarters, and has received three Titan Business Awards and three Stevie Awards

Not a quick fix

iWave isn’t a one-click list generator. It’s designed for fundraising teams that value accuracy, customization, and strategic depth over speed or volume.

Ideal users:

• Organizations prioritizing high-quality, actionable data over quick list-building
• Nonprofits seeking precise donor intelligence to secure major gifts and legacy contributions
• Development teams focusing on strategic outreach and long-term donor relationships

Your Ethical AI Playbook

AI is becoming an essential tool in every prospect researcher’s toolkit. Use this guide to ethically integrate AI into your research today.

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2. DonorSearch

DonorSearch is a wealth screening tool that prioritizes philanthropic giving data. It’s a popular entry-level option for small to mid-sized nonprofits seeking to identify and segment potential donors based on their past charitable activity.

DonorSearch bases its models on the idea that past giving is the best predictor of future generosity. Its focus is on high-volume list generation, rather than deep profiling. This makes it especially useful for organizations wanting to build out top-of-funnel pipelines quickly.

Strengths:

• Comprehensive database of charitable giving, political contributions, real estate, and employment information
• Predictive AI scoring designed to surface likely donors and score them by giving potential
• Batch screening capability for fast, large-scale prospect list generation
• Integration with popular CRMs like Salesforce, DonorPerfect, and Neon
• Customizable search parameters and screening filters to match different fundraising campaigns or appeals
• Pricing tiers designed for small and mid-sized nonprofits

Limitations

DonorSearch focuses on giving history pulled from public records, rather than real-time asset data or comprehensive wealth profiling. While useful for top-of-funnel donor prospecting, it lacks advanced features like live profile monitoring, integrated research workflows, and granular insights into capacity and affinity. Its volume-based approach typically produces broader lists without the depth needed for highly personalized outreach.

Ideal users:

• Small to mid-sized nonprofits wanting a fast, affordable way to screen donor prospects based primarily on giving history and basic wealth signals
• Teams relying on CRM-driven batch prospecting or looking for simplicity over real-time portfolio insights

3. WealthEngine

WealthEngine is a wealth screening platform designed to help organizations identify high-net-worth individuals using detailed financial data modeling. It’s best known for providing insight into donor wealth through indicators like real estate holdings, stock ownership, lifestyle markers, and estimated net worth.

The WealthEngine platform is built for high-volume donor prospecting. It supports enterprise-scale fundraising through predictive wealth scores, audience segmentation, and custom modeling capabilities that help fundraising teams prioritize potential major donors efficiently.

Strengths:

• Deep financial intelligence coverage, including income, assets, and lifestyle indicators
• Predictive wealth scores and customizable modeling tools for prospect prioritization
• API and Salesforce integration for CRM-aligned, automated prospecting workflows
• Tailored for enterprise-level organizations targeting ultra-high-net-worth individuals
• Supports high-volume donor segmentation for national and global fundraising teams

Limitations

WealthEngine focuses primarily on wealth capacity over charitable behavior. It offers limited visibility into donor engagement, giving history, and mission alignment. Users report a dated user interface, and its data refresh cycles are slower compared to newer cloud-based platforms.

CRM integration options beyond Salesforce are limited. The pricing is enterprise-level and often exceeds the budgets of small to mid-sized nonprofits. For organizations seeking a balance of wealth and philanthropic indicators, WealthEngine will require supplemental tools to get a complete picture of donor potential.

Ideal users:

• Enterprise-level nonprofits and financial institutions focused primarily on high-net-worth donor segmentation
• Major gift programs that rely on detailed asset data rather than charitable engagement metrics

4. Instrumentl

Instrumentl is a grant discovery and management platform designed specifically for nonprofits that are focused on grant funding. It streamlines the process of finding, tracking, and managing grant opportunities in one centralized workspace, reducing administrative workload and helping teams stay organized.

Strengths:

• AI-driven matching recommends relevant grants aligned with the organization’s mission, past funding, and current initiatives
• Automated deadline tracking and reminders help ensure no important submission dates are missed by the fundraising team
• A centralized workspace lets teams collaborate easily, assign tasks, and manage multiple grants from one dashboard
• Provides access to foundation profiles and 990 reports, helping nonprofits analyze historical funding trends, identify potential grant makers, and tailor proposals to align with funder priorities
• Easy-to-generate reports that enable nonprofits to provide transparent updates to boards and stakeholders, supporting accountability and strategic planning

Limitations

Instrumentl focuses solely on grant funding and doesn’t provide donor wealth or philanthropic data. It lacks tools for major donor prospect research or donor segmentation, so it’s not a comprehensive fundraising solution.

Ideal users:

• Small to mid-sized nonprofits with active grant-writing teams looking for an integrated, user-friendly platform for grant discovery and management

Tip: Organizations needing comprehensive fundraising support should pair Instrumentl with a donor prospect research tool to cover both grant discovery and donor intelligence.

5. Windfall

Windfall is a wealth screening platform designed to help nonprofits identify and prioritize high-net-worth donors. It specializes in household-level data, offering precise net worth estimates and insights into financial behaviors.

The platform uses deterministic algorithms and a range of verified data sources to calculate household net worth. It surfaces key wealth indicators like liquidity events, real estate holdings, and career intelligence. These insights support smarter segmentation and targeted major gift outreach.

Strengths:

• Uses proprietary algorithms to deliver accurate household net worth estimates
• Identifies wealth signals such as real estate ownership, career data, and liquidity events
• Includes predictive tools to rank prospects by giving potential and net worth trends
• Integrates with leading CRMs like Salesforce, EverTrue, and Bloomerang for streamlined workflows

Limitations

Windfall focuses almost exclusively on financial capacity. It doesn’t include giving history or mission alignment insights, and lacks built-in affinity or propensity scoring. For organizations that rely on well-rounded donor profiles, Windfall will need to be paired with a more comprehensive research tool.

Its narrow focus makes it a strong choice for major gift fundraising but less useful for organizations pursuing a broader donor pool or running annual major campaigns. And because the tool is built for high-value targeting, it will be overkill for general prospect lists.

Ideal users:

• Mid-size to large nonprofits and institutional fundraisers with dedicated fundraising teams

Tip: Windfall is ideal for refining high-net-worth prospect lists, but isn’t a full replacement for tools with deeper philanthropic intelligence and research capabilities.

6. Blackbaud (via Raiser’s Edge NXT)

Blackbaud’s built-in prospect research tools serve nonprofits using Raiser’s Edge NXT. WealthPoint, ProspectPoint, and ResearchPoint are designed for large organizations such as universities, hospitals, and enterprise-level fundraisers. These modules sit inside the Blackbaud ecosystem, combining research and analytics with CRM data.

WealthPoint compiles wealth indicators like real estate holdings, securities, salary, and asset ownership. ProspectPoint uses predictive models to flag donors with the highest capacity and affinity. ResearchPoint streamlines data analysis and application, helping teams prioritize prospects and shape major gift strategies.

Strengths:

• Seamless integration with Raiser’s Edge NXT, embedding prospect research within existing CRM workflows
• WealthPoint and ProspectPoint modules offer scoring and wealth indicators aligned with Blackbaud’s analytics platform
• Centralized interface makes it easy for team members already using the CRM to access research tools
• Backed by Blackbaud established brand and reliability in large institutions

Limitations

Blackbaud’s prospect research tools are a part of its closed CRM ecosystem. Pricing often requires purchasing the full suite, making it expensive and less flexible. The interface and data models may feel outdated compared to newer cloud-native platforms.

Tools lack live profile monitoring, relationship mapping, or highly customizable scoring. The focus is on wealth and capacity, with limited insights into donor affinity or philanthropic motivations.

Ideal users:

• Enterprise nonprofits already using Raiser’s Edge NXT that want native prospect research tools

7. EverTrue

EverTrue is a donor engagement and alumni management platform tailored for higher education and alumni fundraising teams. It combines social media and engagement data, career intelligence, wealth indicators, and giving metrics into TrueView profiles, making it a mobile-friendly, data-rich solution.

Strengths:

• Integrates with Windfall to bring household-level net worth and wealth indicators into constituent records
• Allows team collaboration with saved searches, alerts, mobile dashboards, and list-sharing tools
• Supports segmentation by interests, home value, and engagement to personalize outreach campaigns
• Syncs smoothly with CRMs like Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge, and EverTrue partners such as Alumni platforms

Limitations

EverTrue focuses on alumni and education-specific use cases, making it less suitable for broader nonprofit fundraising. It relies on integrations like Windfall for its wealth data, rather than providing built-in philanthropic scoring. 

The platform doesn’t offer live propensity or affinity modeling based on giving behavior. Some users have noted dated workflows and occasional CRM limitations outside the higher-ed space.

Ideal users:

• Colleges, universities, and organizations focused on alumni engagement
• Fundraising teams that already use social engagement and mobile dashboards to inform outreach

Tip: EverTrue isn’t a full replacement for a prospect research tool that includes broader donor intelligence across all nonprofit verticals.

Building your prospect research strategy

Conducting prospect research requires both the right tools and a solid strategy. You need a clear prospect research process to gather, analyze, and apply donor data effectively. Our Prospect research 101 guide shows nonprofits how to turn insights into stronger donor relationships and better fundraising results.

Understanding your donors is more important than ever.

Our Prospect Research Cheat Sheet equips you with the tools to identify, understand, and engage potential donors effectively.

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Free prospect research resources for nonprofits

Paid tools offer the most comprehensive fundraising insights. But free prospect research resources can still boost your prospecting, especially if you’re new or working with a lean budget. Here are several valuable options accessible at no cost to you.

ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer

A searchable portal of IRS Form 990 filings for more than 1.9 million US nonprofits, including financial details and board members. This helps you identify organizations that fund others and uncover shared connections through leadership or grant relationships. Use these insights to vet prospects, understand giving patterns, and target donors with affiliations related to your cause.

Candid’s GuideStar

Candid (formerly GuideStar) offers free access to nonprofit mission statements, leadership data, and financial summaries derived from Form 990s. It’s a trusted baseline for researching an organization’s background. It’s also used to reveal a prospect’s past board service, causes they support, and networks you may be able to leverage.

Zillow (Real estate insights)

Not a prospect research resource per se, but Zillow lets you look up property ownership and estimated home values. It’s seen as a traditional indicator of wealth that helps approximate giving capacity.

Political giving records

Political contributions can indicate a donor’s capacity and interest in advocacy-related causes. Search the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for individuals who have supported political campaigns or committees. This data helps you identify high-capacity donors and better understand their philanthropic priorities.

Financial and property records

Public financial and property data records reveal significant wealth indicators. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provides access to stock ownership and corporate filings for potential major donors. County tax assessor websites offer insights into real estate holdings and property values, helping you gauge a prospect’s overall financial standing.

How to evaluate and select prospect research tools

Selecting the right prospect research tool is key to building a strong donor pipeline. With so many options available, it’s important to approach the process with a clear strategy. Conducting a thorough evaluation ensures you invest in tools that truly support your fundraising goals.

Align the donor research tool with your use case

Start by matching the software to your fundraising goals and donor pipeline. Not all donor research tools serve the same audience. The following are some areas to consider.

• Gift size: Some platforms focus on grassroots giving, while others specialize in major gifts. Choose one that aligns with your average donation size and target gift tiers.
• Donor type: Do you focus on individual donors, corporate sponsors, or foundations? Pick a platform built to surface the right profiles.
• Sector-specific needs: Religious, educational, and political organizations often have unique requirements. Specialized tools typically offer built-in workflows that save you time.

Prioritize data quality and transparency

High-quality prospect research data comes from reliable, transparent sources and undergoes rigorous validation for accuracy. This filters out the noise and delivers clean donor profiles you can trust. Without it, you risk chasing the wrong leads and missing out on potential high-value donors.

Here are key questions to ask when comparing platforms:

• Where is the data coming from? Trusted platforms use verified sources, not scraped or user-submitted data.
• How comprehensive is it? The best tools combine multiple data streams to create detailed donor profiles.
• How nuanced is the scoring? Wealth alone doesn’t tell the full story. Look for tools that factor in giving history, mission alignment, and behavioral signals.
• How current is the data? Outdated records lead to missed opportunities. Real-time or frequently refreshed data is vital.

Better data = better donor lists. Without it, even the best fundraising teams risk wasting time, missing key donor opportunities, and damaging the nonprofit’s reputation.

Look for actionable insights, not just data dumps

You’re not buying lists—you’re buying strategic clarity.

The best platforms help you:

• Surface top donor prospects based on their giving potential and affinity to your cause
• Segment and filter profiles based on your campaign goals
• Stop using guesswork and start targeting potential donors with precision

Expert tip: If the prospect research software doesn’t make your next step obvious, it’s not the right fit for your nonprofit.

Key features that set top-tier donor prospecting tools apart

Top-tier donor research tools stand out because they go beyond basic data and offer features that directly improve your fundraising performance.

Wealth screening

Look for wealth screening tools that go beyond surface-level income estimates. Real estate ownership, business affiliations, stock holdings, political campaign donations, and past philanthropic donations all add depth.

Better yet? Platforms that combine this financial data with alignment to your cause. That way, your team will prioritize the right prospects with the right ask size and not waste time on poor fits.

Live profiles and real-time alerts

Live profiles and real-time alerts keep your donor intelligence current and actionable. Key life events—like new donations, real estate sales, job changes, or board appointments—often signal a shift in donor capacity or interest.

Top prospect research software tracks these changes and alerts you instantly, helping your team act at the right time with the right message. This kind of visibility helps you build stronger, more timely connections with your donor prospects and avoid missed opportunities.

AI-powered intelligent search

Top platforms use AI-powered search features to uncover trends and high-potential donors fast. That means your team will spend less time on research efforts and more time building donor relationships.

Predictive modeling

Modern prospect research tools will show you who gave last year and predict who will give this year. Look for tools that spot giving trends, find lookalike donors, and uncover hidden prospects (including those without long donation histories). Some platforms even forecast giving potential for different campaign types, like capital campaigns, annual funds, or planned giving.

Seamless integrations

Your donor research tool should integrate seamlessly with the rest of your fundraising tech stack. This is especially important for your CRM, which is only as effective as the data it receives.

Look for donor research tools that also connect with your analytics tools, fundraising assistants, GNPL (give now, pay later) solutions, and any advancement or admissions systems you use. Seamless integrations reduce manual work, prevent data errors, and support smarter, faster decisions.

Still evaluating CRMs? This list of the 11 best nonprofit CRMs includes platforms that integrate smoothly with prospect research software to support smarter donor targeting and engagement.

Smart prospect research drives fundraising success

Effective prospect research is essential for nonprofits looking to maximize their fundraising impact. The right tools deliver timely, accurate insights to identify and prioritize donors with the greatest capacity and affinity. Focusing on prospect management best practices, as well as strategic data instead of volume builds stronger donor relationships and drives major gift success.

Select a platform that fits your organization’s goals and budget to streamline outreach and improve efficiency. The best tools turn data into clear next steps, enabling informed decisions and more meaningful donor engagement. The right solution for your nonprofit will create a strong foundation for sustainable growth and long-term fundraising success.

The post Prospect research tools and resources appeared first on Kindsight.

But this is all part of a strong donor cultivation practice—a strategic way to deepen relationships with potential supporters before you make a fundraising ask. 

Below, we’ll explore donor cultivation basics, how it can benefit your nonprofit, and share donor cultivation best practices—so you can increase your revenue and build relationships that go deeper than just one donation. 

What is donor cultivation? 

Donor cultivation refers to the strategies a nonprofit uses to build strong relationships with supporters before requesting a donation. 

Often, donor cultivation involves sharing information about your organization and getting to know your supporters. This could be through social media, in-person events, direct mail, or telephone calls. An effective donor cultivation strategy typically incorporates several forms of communication. 

The benefits of donor cultivation 

When you’ve spent time thoughtfully laying the groundwork for strong supporter relationships, you’re much more likely to be successful when you do make a monetary request. 

Raising money for your mission is typically the main goal of donor cultivation, but it’s not the only benefit: 

• Learn about your supporters: Getting to know your supporters at a deeper level helps you make informed decisions about your nonprofit programming and development. You’ll show your supporters they’re valued, and in turn, they can help you stay true to your mission. 
• Set your nonprofit up for steady growth: Viewing donor engagement as part of a larger fundraising cycle and not just a series of one-off asks helps fuel steady growth. This leads to increased nonprofit resilience.
• Increase donor retention rates: Thoughtful donor cultivation makes it more likely that your supporters will be able to give beyond one donation.
• Build trust and brand recognition: Nonprofit donor cultivation helps increase visibility, which in turn builds familiarity and trust. 93% of nonprofits believe that strong branding leads to increased donor engagement.  
• Encourage donors to become advocates: Supporters who feel a deeper sense of connection to your mission are more likely to stay loyal to your cause. They may even share your mission with their families and friends, helping to expand your reach. 

What is the donor cultivation cycle? 

The donor cultivation cycle is made up of four different stages. Below, we’ll explore what each of these stages involves and how to strengthen relationships at each stage. 

Stage 1: Identification

Identification is the process of strategically analyzing your support base to determine those most likely to give. This stage is also referred to as donor prospecting. 

Three indicators determine how likely a supporter is to make a donation: 

• Philanthropic indicators: Has your prospect made donations to your nonprofit or other nonprofits in the past? 
• Capacity indicators: Does your prospect have the means to give to your organization? Real estate ownership, business affiliations, or evidence of prior political giving can all be good indicators of this. 
• Affinity indicators: Has your prospect expressed a strong interest in your mission? Evaluate if there’s a history of involvement with your nonprofit, or consider any personal information your prospect has shared to help gauge this. 

A supporter with all three of these indicators is a likely candidate for giving. 

With powerful prospecting tools like advanced analytics and AI-powered prospect lists, donor software such as Kindsight helps make your donor cultivation process more focused and efficient. 

Stage 2: Cultivation

Donor cultivation is the process of getting to know your prospects after initial contact with your organization through relationship building. During this period, it’s important to create non-momentary opportunities for involvement in your organization. 

Donor cultivation ideas include offering volunteering opportunities, sharing a newsletter signup, or inviting your new supporters to events.

This is often the longest phase of the cycle, but investing in a thoughtful donor cultivation process comes with significant long-term payoffs for your organization. Don’t underestimate the power of non-monetary involvement when it comes to building trust and loyalty—for example, research shows 79% of supporters who volunteered with an organization had a more positive view of it after the experience. 

Stage 3: Solicitation

The solicitation phase is when you finally make your monetary ask. Tailor your ask and communication method based on your prospect’s capacity. For example, if your prospect shows significant capacity indicators and you’re requesting a large gift, it’s best to do so in person.

Stage 4: Stewardship

Donor stewardship refers to the process of keeping your supporters invested in your mission after they’ve made their first donation. The first, essential step of successful donor stewardship is sending your supporters a thank-you letter immediately after they donate.

From here, your donor stewardship may include sharing impact reports, hosting donor appreciation events, and sharing beneficiary spotlights. The goal is to deepen relationships with your donor base through considered, personalized communications and more opportunities for deeper engagement. 

Craft the perfect thank-you letter.

Our guide takes you through the art of the thank-you letter, showing you best practices and key elements so you can knock your next one out of the park.

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Sample donor cultivation plan template

For many nonprofits, one of the most challenging aspects of donor cultivation is time management. You might want to spend time engaging deeply with every one of your supporters, but unfortunately, this isn’t always practical or possible. 

To keep things simple, create a donor cultivation plan ahead of time. This way, you’ll easily be able to view each of your cultivation activities, when they should be completed, and which member of your team is responsible for completing them.

The template below can be modified to help you create your donor cultivation plan. 

Donor cultivation plan template by month 

Donor cultivation plan template by giving tier

Depending on your prospect’s capacity to give, your donor cultivation efforts should look different, and it can also be useful to plan out donor cultivation activities by giving tier.

For example, offering a personal facility tour to a supporter who regularly gives a small donation may not be necessary. Equally, requesting a significant donation amount from a supporter who’s received only a few emails or texts may leave a bad impression. The example below can be edited to fit your organization’s needs. 

Donor cultivation strategies and best practices

Conduct thorough prospect research

Prospect research is the foundation of any successful nonprofit cultivation strategy. The more you know about your supporters’ experiences, the more you’ll be able to personalize your outreach to fit their interests. 

If you’re looking to make a significant ask, it’s especially important you review and analyze these key indicators. You’ll want to make sure your prospect is likely willing and able to agree to your ask before you invest time and energy in donor cultivation. 

Track progress

Keep track of how supporters respond to each of your donor cultivation activities. Adapt your strategy as needed to focus on the most successful activities. Keep your timeline flexible—if someone expresses interest in donating earlier than you expect, don’t wait to make the ask. 

Focus on tangible impact

Your supporters want to know how their contributions will make a difference to your organization and your beneficiaries’ lives. Keep your focus on tangible impact to build trust. Supporters are more likely to give if they have a clear idea of how their contributions will advance your mission. 

For example, if you were recently able to build a new educational facility thanks to money raised at a recent fundraising event, let them know. 

Build up online presence

Establish your organization as credible and trustworthy with a strong online presence, including an easy-to-navigate website and social media. Make it as easy as possible for interested supporters to find additional information on your nonprofit. 

Remember the details

Remembering small, thoughtful details about your supporters goes a long way. If a supporter lets you know about an aspect of your mission they’re particularly interested in, personally share an industry update via text. If someone mentions in passing they’re going on a trip, ask about it when they return. Interactions like this help foster genuine connections. 

Use the right tools

Strong donor prospecting tools are an essential part of any effective donor cultivation strategy. With the right tools, you can identify supporters most likely to become donors and channel your cultivation efforts in the right direction. 

Kindsight offers prospecting tools such as philanthropy screening, insights into prospect affinity, and live profiles that update in real time so you can keep track of your prospects. 

Conclusion

Ultimately, effective donor cultivation is more about developing regular, thoughtful communication cadences with your supporters. A donor cultivation plan can help you determine which types of cultivation activities you’ll use and when. 

Securing a high-ticket donor can take years of donor cultivation. But a good donor cultivation practice helps increase donor loyalty and can help prevent lapsed donors. Typically, consistency and quality of communication are more important than volume. 

Donor cultivation FAQs

What does it mean to cultivate donors? 

Cultivating donors refers to the process of building a relationship with your supporters before you make a monetary ask. Donor cultivation usually consists of different outreach activities spread out over a period of time. These activities can include phone calls, invitations to volunteer, email, texts, or handwritten letters. 

What is the difference between donor stewardship and donor cultivation? 

Donor cultivation refers to the steps nonprofits take to foster relationships with prospective donors before they ask for donations. Donor stewardship refers to the way nonprofits nurture these relationships after a supporter has already donated. For further reading on the subject, take a look at our donor cultivation vs. stewardship blog.

How long does it take to cultivate a major donor? 

There’s no hard and fast rule on how long it takes to cultivate a high-ticket donor. In some cases, it may just take a few months. In other cases, it can take years of following up with warm leads before a supporter becomes a major donor. Conversion time may be shorter if you’re running a fundraising campaign with a set deadline.

What are the 5 stages of donor development? 

The five stages of the donor development cycle (sometimes called the fundraising cycle) are identification, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and renewal. These five stages provide a framework for nonprofits to manage donor relationships at every stage of the donor journey—all the way from someone making initial contact with an organization to that person becoming a lifelong supporter. 

The post Donor cultivation guide appeared first on Kindsight.

What is moves management?

Moves management is the step-by-step process of turning a prospect into a long-term, committed donor. It guides how your team identifies, engages, and builds relationships with potential supporters. Every “move,” from an email to a meeting, is a deliberate action that brings the donor closer to giving to your nonprofit.

Moves vs stages

Stages refer to where a prospect is in the donor journey. Moves are the specific, intentional actions your team takes to advance your prospects to the next stage in the moves management process.

For example, let’s say a prospect is in the cultivation stage. A move would be sending a personalized email, inviting them on a tour, or scheduling a one-on-one call. Each move should build connection, trust, and momentum toward a gift.

Using a leading nonprofit fundraising CRM helps your team track every prospect’s stage and suggest the next best move. This gives your team a clear view of where donors are in the donor cycle and how to keep them moving forward.

Need a quick reference?

Use the proven strategies in our Moves Management Cheat Sheet to turn prospects into loyal, long-term donors.

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Benefits of moves management in fundraising

Moves management gives nonprofits a reliable system to build stronger donor relationships and improve fundraising outcomes.

• Improves donor retention rate. Moves management requires a formal plan for ongoing relationship-building. This structure helps nonprofits sustain support long-term.
• Boosts retention through personalization. Personalized touches like thank-you letters, milestone recognitions, and tailored impact reports help with donor retention.
• Increases donation size and frequency. Systematic moves management encourages donors to give more often and at higher levels.
• Maximizes resource ROI. It helps nonprofits focus only on the most important next step with each donor. This saves time, reduces wasted effort, and keeps teams on track. The result is a greater fundraising impact per staff hour.
• Creates strategic momentum. Every interaction is timed and purposeful as opposed to making random appeals. This leads to stronger relationships and more meaningful gifts.

The moves management cycle (a.k.a. donor life cycle)

The moves management cycle is a step-by-step framework for turning a prospect into a long-term supporter. Each stage builds on the last one to deepen the connection and move the relationship forward.

Identification

The first step in moves management is finding new donors. Use sources like peer referrals and wealth screening of event attendees to uncover potential donors who have not yet given to your cause. These can be individuals, companies, or foundations that align with your mission and have the ability to give.

Prospect research software helps you generate targeted donor lists. Some fundraising intelligence platforms offer live profiles that segment and score prospects using real-time data. This helps your team prioritize outreach and focus on the most promising leads.

Qualification

Qualification is the process of evaluating which prospects are worth pursuing. It includes reviewing their giving history, philanthropic interests, and financial capacity to determine if they’re a good fit for your organization.

Top-ranking prospect research tools use custom scoring systems based on key indicators like propensity, affinity, and capacity. This type of scoring helps your team focus outreach where it will be most impactful.

Discovery

Discovery is the stage where you begin direct engagement with a qualified prospect. The goal is to learn more about their interests, motivations, and giving potential.

Start by building a detailed profile using both internal giving history and external prospect research data. Then, make initial contact through an email, phone call, or in-person meeting. Use the conversation to ask thoughtful questions, listen closely, and pick up on cues that reveal what really matters most to the donor.

Cultivation

Cultivation is about deepening the connection between your nonprofit and the prospect. This stage builds trust, aligns values, and prepares the donor for a future ask.

Your goal is to understand what matters most to them and ensure they understand the heart of your mission. AI for nonprofits helps tremendously in this stage by personalizing messages based on donor behavior, interests, and past interactions. Use this time to listen, learn, and build a relationship that is authentic and meaningful.

Solicitation

Solicitation is the moment you make the ask. Everything you’ve learned about the donor should shape how, when, and what you request.

Use data to inform your strategy. Match the ask to the donor’s capacity and interests. A well-timed, personalized appeal is more likely to result in a meaningful gift.

Stewardship

Donor stewardship is the stage where you retain and grow donor relationships after a gift is made. It’s about showing appreciation, demonstrating impact, and laying the foundation for long-term support.

Existing donors

Check in regularly with existing donors and watch for changes in their business, giving patterns, or financial status. Using a fundraising CRM will keep your team organized by tracking every donor touchpoint and suggesting the next steps to take. Staying informed helps you remain relevant and builds trust with each prospect.

First-time donors

First-time donors are at high risk of falling away. In 2024, nearly 40 percent of all donors were new, yet only 8.3 percent of total donors were retained from their first gift in 2023. That sharp drop-off highlights the urgent need for better early engagement, follow-up, and stewardship.

Strengthen the process

As you complete the donor cycle with each individual, revisit what worked and what didn’t. Apply those lessons to improve targeting, timing, and messaging with new prospects. Over time, your moves management process becomes faster, more focused, and more effective.

To keep everything aligned, some of the most successful nonprofits hold regular development meetings. Involve your executive director, board, and development team. Use these meetings to review donor stages, assign next steps, and set clear follow-ups.

Read more information on prospect management best practices here.

Moves management cycle template

“Moves” to use in the moves management process

Moves are the touchpoints that build relationships and move donors forward. Each action should align with a stage in the donor cycle and serve a clear purpose.

A fundraising CRM helps track these interactions and prompts your team when it’s time to act. This keeps momentum going and ensures high-value prospective donors stay engaged with your mission.

Thank-you call

Make a quick call to express gratitude after an event, donation, or introduction. This move builds early rapport and reinforces your organization’s appreciation for the prospect. Use this during the discovery and stewardship stages.

Personalized email

Send a tailored message that reflects the donor’s interests, like a program update, event invite, or impact story. Generative AI tools for nonprofits use donor data to help you draft these emails quickly and accurately. It’s a low-pressure way to stay in touch during the cultivation and stewardship stages.

Event invitation

Invite prospects or donors to a relevant virtual or in-person event. Events create shared experiences and deepen emotional connection. Use during the cultivation and stewardship stages.

One-on-one meeting

Set up an in-person coffee meeting or a video call to learn more about a donor’s motivations. Spending this time allows you to listen, build trust, and gather insights. This move is often used during the discovery and cultivation stages.

Impact update

Share a brief story or data point that shows how a donor’s gift made a difference. This reinforces value and sets the stage for future gifts. An update is ideal to use during the stewardship stage or just before a new ask.

Birthday or milestone acknowledgment

Recognize birthdays, anniversaries, or life events to show you value the donor as a person, not just a supporter. For example, send a handwritten birthday card, a note on their giving anniversary, or a congratulatory email for a new job. Use this move during the cultivation and stewardship stages to deepen connection and trust.

Gift proposal

Present a personalized gift ask tailored to the donor’s interests, readiness, and previous interactions. Always connect the proposal to a clear, specific impact to motivate giving. This move is key during the solicitation stage.

For example, “Based on your passion for expanding educational access, would you consider a $10,000 gift to fund scholarships for underprivileged students this year? Your support will directly cover tuition for 15 students.”

Thank-you note from leadership

A handwritten note or personal email from a board member or executive can leave a lasting impression on your donor. This move is used for stewarding major donors and for first-time givers.

Volunteer opportunity invitation

Invite donors to participate in volunteer activities aligned with your mission. This deepens engagement by involving them personally. Works well during the cultivation or stewardship stages.

Exclusive behind-the-scenes access

Offer donors special tours or previews of your programs or events. This creates a sense of insider status and strengthens emotional connection. This is ideal to use during the cultivation or stewardship stages.

Impact survey or feedback request

Ask donors for their input on programs or communications. This shows you value their opinion and encourages a two-way relationship. This move is best used during the cultivation and stewardship stages.

Recognition in publications or events

Acknowledge donors publicly in newsletters, annual reports, or events if your donor has no objection to this type of recognition. This encourages motivation to give and builds social proof. Use this move strategically post-solicitation (right after the gift is received) or during the stewardship stage.

Moves management KPIs to track

Tracking the right KPIs helps you measure whether your moves management strategy is actually moving donors forward or not. You should focus on the following metrics that reflect both donor activity and the relationship-building process.

Donor retention rate

This measures how many donors continue giving to your nonprofit year over year (YoY). A high retention rate shows effective stewardship and sustained engagement with your donors.

Average gift size

You’ll need to track how your average donation amount changes over time. If you have growth here, it often reflects stronger donor relationships and successful upgrades.

Moves per donor

Monitor how many touchpoints it takes to secure a gift from a donor. This KPI metric helps you assess the efficiency of your outreach. It also helps you spot opportunities where you can streamline your donor engagement.

Stage conversion rate

This metric measures how many prospects move from one stage to the next. This helps identify drop-off points so you can refine your strategy.

Time in each stage

Ensure you track how long donors spend in each stage of the cycle before moving on. For example, if donors are stuck in cultivation and not progressing, it’s time to reevaluate your touchpoints.

If you pair these metrics with your fundraising CRM, you’ll be able to visualize progress, spot trends, and keep your team up-to-date with what’s working.

Must-have moves management tools

Great moves management relies on two things: Better data and proactive strategies.

Fundraising CRM system

A good fundraising CRM system helps your team track every donor touchpoint, visualize the donor journey, and know exactly what action to take next. It keeps the process organized, scalable, and aligned with your strategic goals.

Prospect research software

You’ll also need prospect research software to identify high-capacity donors based on wealth indicators, philanthropic history, and shared mission interests. With this level of deep donor insights, your outreach becomes more focused and effective.

AI for nonprofits

AI for nonprofits helps to streamline personalized communications. It tailors your email content and campaign messaging to each donor segment. This helps you stay relevant without adding manual work to your team’s current workload.

Together, the must-have tools give your team the clarity, speed, and precision needed to build stronger donor relationships at every stage of the donor cycle.

Why moves management matters now more than ever

Moves management gives nonprofits a clear process for turning prospects into long-term supporters. Each stage builds stronger relationships through intentional, well-timed actions. With the right strategy, it becomes easier to increase giving and keep donors engaged over the long term. It also helps teams work smarter.

Tools like fundraising CRMs, prospect research software, and AI for nonprofits simplify outreach and make every move more targeted. The result is better retention, bigger gifts, and a more sustainable fundraising future.

The post Moves management guide for nonprofits appeared first on Kindsight.

To acquire donors effectively, your nonprofit needs a smarter, data-driven strategy. It needs a strategy that targets the right people, delivers timely messages, and builds real relationships from the start.

What is donor acquisition?

Donor acquisition is the process of gaining new donors for your nonprofit. It involves identifying potential donors (typically using prospect research software), reaching out to them, and securing a gift. It’s one of the most critical fundraising tasks for nonprofit growth and sustainability.

Nonprofits typically use email, social media platforms, direct mail, and events to attract donors. The donor acquisition process can take days or years, depending on gift size and strategy. Timing and touchpoints vary, but the goal remains consistent: build meaningful new donor relationships.

Effective donor acquisition starts with understanding who your ideal donors are and what motivates them to give. Prospect research helps you identify high-potential supporters and tailor your outreach accordingly. That alignment boosts both conversion rates and long-term donor value.

Donor acquisition rate explained

The donor acquisition rate measures how many new donors your nonprofit gains over a set period. It is calculated by dividing the number of newly acquired donors by your total number of donors.

Tracking this rate helps you evaluate how effective your donor acquisition strategies are. A rising rate shows growth. A declining rate signals the need to improve your outreach or messaging.

Example: If your organization had a total of 1,000 donors last year and 250 were new, your donor acquisition rate is 25%. [(250 ÷ 1,000) × 100 = 25%]

According to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, the average first-year donor retention rate is just under 20%, while multi-year donor retention is closer to 60%. That means for every 10 new donors, only 2 typically give again. This statistic highlights why smart donor acquisition must pair with strong donor stewardship.

Donor acquisition cost explained

Donor acquisition cost is the amount you spend to gain one new donor. It includes marketing, staff time, technology, and other outreach expenses.

Tracking this metric helps you budget smarter and prioritize cost-effective strategies. To calculate it, divide your total acquisition costs by the number of new donors gained.

Example: If you spent $5,000 on a campaign and acquired 100 donors, your acquisition cost is $50 per donor. ($5,000 ÷ 100 = $50)

Acquisition is often unprofitable in year one unless you’re targeting mid-level or major donors. For many nonprofits, break-even occurs only after the second or third donation, making donor lifetime value a critical metric.

Why many donor acquisition strategies are unprofitable

Many donor acquisition strategies fail because of three key challenges: struggling to find the right donors, scaling outreach, and deepening relationships.

Let’s break each one down.

Challenge #1: Identifying great donor prospects

Many donor lists fail because they’re based only on wealth. To acquire donors who give, you need to target people with affinity, capacity, and propensity—not just deep pockets.

Mission affinity is key. Donors won’t give if they don’t care about your cause. That’s why copying supporter lists from other random nonprofits doesn’t work. Just because they’ve given to another nonprofit, doesn’t mean they will give to yours.

To boost donor acquisition, find prospects that have shown that they have an interest in your specific cause. Understanding their motivations gives you a better shot at building early interest and trust.

However, it is not easy! People rarely show clear affinity if they have not given before. Later, we’ll show you how to estimate affinity using alternative data most nonprofits overlook.

Challenge #2: Scaling donor connections

Personalized outreach helps improve donor response rates, but many nonprofits struggle to scale it. Writing individual messages takes time and limits how many prospects you can reach.

That time investment also pulls your team away from higher-value tasks. Instead of nurturing existing donors or refining strategy, your team is busy writing emails to prospective donors. The tradeoff does not always deliver a clear return.

Some teams try to increase volume with templated messages. But those often convert poorly. Even if you send more messages to prospective donors, but they aren’t targeted in some way, the total number of new donors may not increase.

Labor costs further complicate things. Manual outreach, whether personalized or templated, drives up expenses and often makes donor acquisition efforts unprofitable.

That’s where a generative AI tool for nonprofits can help. It can generate segmented, personalized, unique emails and direct mail based on prospects’ profiles and giving scores (or another metric is your choosing). Your team just reviews, edits if need be, and sends, saving hours while still connecting meaningfully.

Challenge #3: Nurturing existing donor relations

Retaining donors is cheaper than acquiring new ones. However, many nonprofits lack a consistent donor retention process to keep supporters engaged. Without regular, meaningful touchpoints, donors lose interest and stop giving.

Some organizations rely on one team member to send occasional updates. However, outreach is inconsistent and easily forgotten without a structured stewardship plan.

Donors often disengage when they don’t see the impact of their gifts. This shortens donor lifetime value and increases donor acquisition costs. To maintain revenue, your team has to constantly find and convert new donors.

The solution is a data-driven donor stewardship strategy. With the right tools, your team can track activity, automate personalized updates, and strengthen donor relationships over time.

Profitable step-by-step donor acquisition strategy

A clear donor acquisition strategy helps nonprofits grow their donor base without wasting time or resources on unfruitful donor acquisition efforts. Here is a step-by-step plan to acquire new donors and generate sustainable revenue.

Step 1: Set a clear donor acquisition goal

Setting a clear donor acquisition goal gives your team direction and helps you build a profitable fundraising plan. Without a specific target, campaigns become unfocused and results unpredictable.

Start by answering three questions:

1. How much do we need to raise?
2. By when?
3. Based on past results, how many donors and at what average gift size will it take?

With these answers, you can reverse-engineer your outreach plan and assign clear actions to your team. This makes it easier to stay on track and hit your fundraising goal.

Step 2: Identify giving capacity and propensity

Start by identifying individuals who both can and want to give. Using your fundraising goal and target gift size that you defined in Step 1, you need to find individuals who match that financial profile and show signs of philanthropic intent.

Many nonprofits begin with LinkedIn Sales Navigator to find high-net-worth individuals. But net worth alone doesn’t reveal whether someone is likely to support your cause. A wealthy individual isn’t necessarily a generous one, so relying solely on LinkedIn often produces low-quality leads and poor response rates.

Don’t rely on net worth alone

Instead, use tools that combine wealth screening with charitable giving history. Donor prospect research software helps you build accurate donor profiles by uncovering individuals who not only match your financial criteria but also have a proven history of giving to similar causes.

This approach ensures your outreach is focused on people who are both financially qualified and likely to respond. It also reduces the risk of over- or under-asking, which can hurt conversion rates.

By building your list with real giving behavior, not just assumptions, you’ll improve your odds of finding the right donors and acquiring them more efficiently.

Step 3: Identify giving affinity

Donors are more likely to give when they feel personally connected to your mission. That connection (giving affinity) is the most overlooked piece of the donor acquisition puzzle. And it’s the hardest to spot if someone hasn’t donated to your nonprofit before.

Why demographics aren’t enough

Many teams guess affinity based on loose signals like job title, profession, zip code, or general interests. However, assumptions lead to wasted outreach and poor conversion rates. Even wealthy donors won’t give if they don’t really care about your cause.

Some nonprofits target donors who support similar organizations. This can work—but only until those donors are overwhelmed by identical appeals. Your message then gets lost in a sea of sameness.

To stand out, you need to detect affinity. That means identifying alignment based on behavior, not just demographics. Fundraising intelligence makes this possible.

Use behavior-based insights to find true alignment

Using a fundraising intelligence platform helps you find prospects with strong mission alignment by:

• Identifying individuals affiliated with foundations that share similar affinity to your nonprofit.

Example: A board member at a foundation that funds youth mental health programs, aligning with your nonprofit’s focus on teen suicide prevention.

• Surfacing people already giving to aligned causes—even if they haven’t heard of you yet.

Example: Someone who donates annually to an environmental nonprofit working on ocean conservation, while your organization focuses on coastal restoration.

• Flagging donors who support you modestly but give more generously to your peers.

Example: A donor who gave your animal rescue $50 last year, but gave $10,000 to a national humane society.

Comprehensive fundraising intelligence doesn’t just surface new leads—it helps you prioritize them. When you layer affinity with capacity and propensity, you stop guessing and start targeting donors with real potential. You know who cares, who can give, and who’s likely to take action.

This approach lets you invest your outreach where it counts. You avoid wasting time on uninterested names and focus instead on donors who are both aligned and ready to give. That’s how you increase conversions while lowering acquisition costs.

Step 4: Set a reasonable ask

Your ask should match each donor’s capacity to give. Asking too much risks scaring donors away. Asking too little leaves generous gifts unclaimed.

Unclear or mismatched asks cause friction and delay decisions. Even willing donors hesitate when the gift level feels arbitrary or disconnected from their giving habits.

Instead of guessing, use data. Fundraising intelligence platforms allow you to filter prospects by past donation amounts and access detailed wealth screening insights.

This helps you tailor the ask to each donor—so you do not under-ask or overreach. You will maximize donations while preserving donor trust and comfort.

Step 5: Craft a personalized outreach message

Personalized messages dramatically increase your chances of engaging high-quality donor prospects. The first outreach should spark interest—not ask for a donation. Focus on building a connection and highlighting shared values with your potential donors.

This is the top of your donor funnel, the stage where awareness begins. A strong message helps move potential donors from passive observers to active prospects by drawing them into your mission and prompting further engagement.

Writing unique messages for each person is ideal but time-consuming. Instead, use a generative AI tool with dynamic personalization. This lets you create one strong template and auto-personalize messages using donor data, saving you time and still making every outreach feel tailored.

Use storytelling to spark emotional connection

Include emotional storytelling to deepen resonance with potential donors. People give when they feel moved; stories often transform passive readers into enthusiastic supporters.

But messaging isn’t just about inspiration. It also needs to reflect what donors want from nonprofits: to feel understood, respected, and appreciated from the start.

Expand beyond email

Personalized messaging isn’t limited to email. Social media platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok can also support your donor outreach. This is especially true for engaging younger or first-time supporters. Tailor your content on each channel to reflect your mission, voice, and audience interests.

Don’t overlook direct mail

Don’t underestimate direct mail. It remains one of the highest-performing acquisition tools, with open rates reaching 90% in some campaigns. A well-crafted letter that tells a moving story and includes a personal touch stands out in ways digital messages often don’t.

Step 6: Reach out at an opportune moment

Donors are more likely to give when your outreach aligns with a major life or financial event. However, tracking these moments manually is time-consuming. Furthermore, nonprofits often miss them because they are relying on outdated or static data.

Fundraising intelligence tools solve this by monitoring real-time donor activity and alerting you to key triggers. Key triggers include a recent gift to a similar cause, a property purchase, or a professional milestone.

Outreach timed to real-time donor signals, such as recent gifts to similar causes, has been shown to significantly outperform non-targeted outreach. With the right signals in place, you can connect when donors are most engaged and before your competitors do.

Step 7: Nurture the relationship

Donor acquisition rarely happens after just one message because the relationship needs to be nurtured. Building trust takes time, especially with major donor prospects.

Invite prospects to events. Share stories that showcase your mission’s impact. Keep your organization at the top of a prospect’s mind through personal outreach, email marketing, and retargeting ads.

Consistent follow-up with potential donors is critical. Donors are busy and often forget—even if they care about your cause. Stay visible, stay relevant, and guide them toward deeper engagement with your nonprofit.

Tip: Consider peer-to-peer fundraising to scale your reach. Empowering existing donors to share your mission within their networks introduces your cause to new, values-aligned prospects.

Step 8: Measure results

Track what is working and identify patterns that consistently lead to strong outcomes in order to refine your donor acquisition strategy. Reinvest your time and budget into tactics that perform well to scale results efficiently.

Identify what’s driving conversions

For example, if a large percentage of your donors also gave to another nonprofit organization, that insight will guide future prospecting. You can prioritize donors with similar giving histories, knowing they are more likely to resonate with your mission.

Valuable metrics to track include:

• Behavioral signals (e.g., giving overlap, ties to specific foundations)
• Campaign data (e.g., email open rates, ad conversion rates)
• Trigger events (e.g., recent real estate purchases, job changes)

These points give you a clearer picture of what drives conversions.

Further reading: Everything you wanted to know about fundraising analytics (but were afraid to ask).

Optimize by cutting what doesn’t work

Equally important is identifying what is not working. If an ad campaign consistently underperforms or an email sequence yields no engagement, pause or optimize it before spending more money. This helps you avoid wasted resources and keeps your acquisition strategy profitable.

Tip: Don’t overlook your donation page. Simplifying the giving process can dramatically improve your conversion rate. Make sure the donation experience is fast, mobile-friendly, and clearly aligned with your messaging.

Step 9: Retain and grow your existing donor base

Strengthening your relationships with donors increases donor lifetime value and builds a more sustainable fundraising base. The key is showing donors the direct impact of their gifts to keep them emotionally invested in your mission.

For example, if a donation helped fund construction, send photos or videos from the build site. If a donation contributed to food security, share images of stocked fridges and data on how many families were served. When donors see the impact their donation made in the real world, they’re more likely to give again—and give more.

After sharing an update, present a new project they can help fund. Aligning an ask with a tangible outcome they helped create reinforces their sense of purpose and increases the chance of another gift.

Deepen relationships beyond donations

Beyond donation requests, deepen relationships through thoughtful, non-monetary touchpoints. Send a holiday card, or even a birthday gift, without asking for anything in return. The more seen and appreciated donors feel, the more likely they are to remain loyal to your nonprofit’s cause.

At its core, giving is emotional. Reignite that emotion by showing donors their impact and reminding them they’re part of something meaningful. For more strategies to build long-term loyalty, explore our donor retention guide.

Donor acquisition, done right

A successful donor acquisition strategy takes more than a strong list. It demands thoughtful planning, data-driven decisions, and personalized outreach at every stage. That’s how you cut waste and drive real results.

Each step supports better targeting and stronger engagement—from setting clear goals to refining your list by capacity, affinity, and timing. The right strategy, backed by fundraising intelligence tools, helps you reach ideal donors with precision. It’s about getting the right message to the right people at the right time.

But acquisition is only the starting line. Long-term value comes from retaining and growing donor relationships through consistent, thoughtful stewardship. That’s how you maximize lifetime value and build lasting trust in your mission.

The post Donor Acquisition: A proven strategy for nonprofits appeared first on Kindsight.

Donor profiles are an essential key to creating more successful nonprofit fundraising campaigns. When you understand who you’re trying to attract, you can more easily craft messaging that appeals to those people. 

An “ideal donor profile” simply means that you’ve narrowed down the exact type of person or entity you feel will be the best and most likely to contribute. You create a detailed description of who they are and where you are likely to find them.

Most nonprofits will have more than one profile among their supporters. Different profiles may be more or less relevant for different campaigns that you run. Having those profiles helps guide your fundraising design and marketing so that you can get better outcomes and a higher ROI.

What is a donor profile?

A (ideal) donor profile is a description of the attributes and giving behavior of an organization’s ideal donor. A strong donor profile outlines five key elements:

• Demographics – Age, gender, ethnicity, education level, income range, geographic location, marital/family status, profession, and affiliations.
• Giving history – Size/frequency of past donations, favored causes (such as specifically supporting arts & culture, community-based, education, faith-based, or healthcare organizations), patterns over time, and responses to appeals.
• Communication preferences – Preferred channels (email, phone, mail), responsiveness, and social media engagement.
• Psychographics – Values, motivations, personality traits, beliefs, causes of interest, passions, and life experiences. This value-based element is often referred to as an individual’s “donor persona.” 
• Employment and workplace giving eligibility ⁠— Knowing where a donor works can uncover opportunities for matching gifts, volunteer grants, and payroll giving, plus identify potential corporate partnership connections and inform personalized outreach. Including workplace giving eligibility in your profiles ensures you’re not leaving valuable opportunities for funding on the table.

An accurate donor profile enables nonprofits to identify, understand, and effectively engage their most likely supporters. Crafting personalized outreach and solicitation strategies based on donor profiles facilitates strong relationships and improves fundraising results. Up-to-date fundraising statistics in conjunction with data from your donor CRM will help you pinpoint these “types” faster.

Why create a donor profile?

Donor profiles are a valuable tool for informing every aspect of your fundraising efforts. They help you to craft effective messaging and devise campaigns that people want to contribute to.

Increasingly, nonprofits are taking a donor-centric approach to their campaigns. This means understanding donors’ ethical beliefs about fundraising as well as their wants, needs, desires, and wishes. 

Creating donor profiles helps you understand three main things: Donors’ motivations for giving, how to engage those donors, and what sort of campaign will resonate most with them.

Know what drives people to give

Different donors have varying motivations for giving to nonprofits based on their personal history, past interactions, and sources of information.

Looking at a donor’s background can provide key insights into their motivations and interests. For example, reviewing donation records over time can reveal patterns—some donors consistently give at the end of the year to maximize tax deductions, while others donate sporadically based on current events or personal experiences.

Developing a timeline of a major donor’s gifts, along with any publicly known biographical details, illuminates their passions. Understanding that a donor contributed heavily to cancer research after losing a loved one to the disease helps target solicitations to emphasize how a gift can honor that loss.

Similarly, knowledge that a corporation’s CEO sits on the board of a nonprofit signals shared values between the two entities. Incorporating these types of insights into donor profiles leads to a more accurate assessment of their potential motivation to give. 

Another common motivator is workplace giving eligibility. For instance, say a donor decided to give for the first time after learning their gift would be matched 3:1 by their employer. The opportunity to quadruple their impact at no additional personal cost made the decision easy and highlighted how employment data can directly influence giving behavior. Recognizing these kinds of incentives allows nonprofits to engage donors more effectively and turn potential interest into real action.

Know how to engage with people

Language and messaging will draw prospective donors in and lead to them engaging with you. Your donor profile should inform your solicitation strategy and give you a good idea of exactly what to say, how to say it, and the channels through which to get the message out in order to start building relationships. Having an ongoing understanding of communication preferences for your target audience assists you in getting better results.

For example, if you’re running a digital campaign, you’re much less likely to reach donors over age 70 than those in younger age groups. If you run advertisements in certain magazines, you will reach the demographics of that magazine’s audience. 

Your messaging in Cosmopolitan Magazine is likely to be more effective if specifically geared to their readership, whereas that same messaging may be less effective if you run the campaign in a National Geographic magazine.

Developing personalized solicitation strategies based on donor profiles can lead to more meaningful engagement. Rather than relying on generic mailings, you can craft targeted outreach focused on shared values and motivations.

This helps build rapport quickly and authentically. Furthermore, understanding preferred communication channels based on age or interests allows you to meet donors where they already are. 

A mix of digital and print platforms with messaging tailored to each outlet and audience will improve relationship-building and response rates. A generative AI tool for nonprofits allows you to draft these segmented or personalized communications quickly and effectively. 

Donor profiles guide you to the right people with the right message in the right place to start building fruitful, long-term relationships.

Know what sort of campaign to run

A person who would like to set up a recurring monthly donation of $50 isn’t likely to be the same person who will bid $10,000 on an item at a charity auction. If you’re asking the first person to attend your big-ticket auction, then you’re unlikely to get many attendees.

You need a good match between the type of campaign you want to run and the donor profile you’d like to attract. A glitzy gala evening attracts a different crowd than a fun run. A guest speaker attracts a different crowd than a concert. We’d start with the donor profile first, before determining the type of fundraising campaign. This way you can ensure you keep your fundraising strategies donor-centered.

How to create a donor profile

Your donor profiles should paint as complete a picture of your donors as possible. It’s often the small details that make a big difference in the effectiveness of your campaigns and your overall engagement. Real data is critical for helping you to build the most accurate picture.

Here are some steps for creating your donor profiles:

Analyze existing data

If you have existing donor data, then that’s a great place to start your analysis for a prospect profile. You can examine demographics, behavior patterns, donation history, interests, concerns, and personal histories with your organization. You can also determine each donor’s capacity to give with wealth screening.

This can also be a great start for identifying key donor segments. For example, you might segment by donor type (recurring, large donor, etc.) and their key interests (environment, education, giving history, etc.).

Tip: Data-gathering can be very time-consuming. Using prospect research software that offers live profiles allows you to quickly gather information about your current and prospective donors, and continuously track critical changes like real estate transactions, new donations, and insider filings, with instant alerts. This real-time information enables fundraising teams to keep existing donor profiles up-to-date.

Interview or survey your donors

The next step is to gather more information from your current donors in their words. You might do this either by conducting a survey or by meeting with them directly. In either case, it’s important that you get answers from the different segments that you have identified so that you are getting a fair spread of information. 

If you were to only interview your major donors, then you wouldn’t have a broad range of motivations and preferences. 10 to 20 surveys or interviews would be ideal, if possible.

Your aim should be to dig into the segments you identified and to define a handful of key characteristics for each type of supporter. Your questions should cover demographic, psychographic, and behavioral information. Here are some examples of questions that help you to narrow down your donor profiles:

• Demographic information: age, marital status, gender, occupation, family size, annual income, homeowner or renter, etc.
• What are your main hobbies and interests?
• How did you hear about us?
• What types of events do you enjoy attending?
• What inspires you to give?
• How do you choose a nonprofit to give to? What characteristics do you look for?
• What does your typical day look like?
• Do you volunteer? If so, when, where, what…?
• Where do you find your news or information?
• What is your preferred method of communication?
• What is your current employment status and company name?
• Does your employer offer any workplace giving programs (i.e., matching gifts, volunteer grants, payroll giving, etc.)?

Check your social media insights

If you use social media channels, you have access to analytics. For example, Facebook Audience Insights provides you with “lifestyle” demographics and the typical traits of people in those categories. You can also see the types of content that get the highest engagement and consider how those relate to your donor demographics and fundraising goals.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn can also be a helpful tool for uncovering employment insights, especially if you lack a more automated way to source that information.

Fill in the gaps of your data

Even after analyzing internal records and collecting insights through surveys or interviews, chances are your donor profiles still have some missing pieces. That’s where data appending, or the process of supplementing your existing records with third-party information to build a more complete and actionable profile, becomes invaluable.

Appending can enhance your data across a range of fields, such as mailing addresses, phone numbers, email validation, wealth indicators, and more. But one of the most impactful areas for enrichment is the appending of employment data. Knowing where your donors work allows you to uncover whether they are eligible for workplace giving programs like matching gifts, volunteer grants, and payroll deductions. Without this insight, you may be leaving thousands of dollars in potential corporate funding unclaimed.

Analyze your data

You now have a large amount of data to analyze and help you identify patterns. The goal here is to develop some defined personas by distilling that data into groups. In general, each persona should represent a segment of donors and should be narrow enough that you can hyper-target your messaging.

You can segment your donors based on giving amount and frequency (information you can find in your donor pyramid) or by donor type: corporate, foundation, grantor, individual, etc. 

The common advice with personas is that they shouldn’t be so narrow that they only encompass a small handful of people. However, in the nonprofit world, a very narrow persona may be relevant. For example, it might cover seven of the largest donors that you have, and every nonprofit wants to keep that segment happy!

Format into donor profile templates

A donor profile template should be straightforward and simple to share across your organization. Basically, anyone who reads it should understand in an instant who you intend to engage. This helps your marketing and outreach people to tailor their messaging accordingly.

Donor profiles are often built around an “avatar” that represents a single person. For example:

Profile name:

Donor Jenny

Demographics:
Age: 45-60 

Occupation: Full-time, executive-level 

Household income: $200k – $500k 

Location: San Francisco, CA 

Family status: Married – kids are teens or older

Traits: 

Reads email newsletters and posts on Facebook 

Learns about nonprofits through colleagues or direct appeals 

Cares deeply about nonprofits dedicated to providing accessibility to higher education institutions

Enjoys volunteering at workshops or cleanups

Giving habits: 

Donates $50-$100 per month to educational funds 

Donates online or by direct debit

Common objections to donating: 

Needs to know more about the governance of the nonprofit

Data-based donor profiles work

Once you’ve crafted a defined donor profile, you’re ready to start using them to inform your messaging and campaigns. What we’ve just outlined here isn’t a short or easy process, but it is thorough so that you build accurate profiles for cultivating donors and stewarding your existing donors more effectively.

Knowing who you’re writing to allows you to craft your message to resonate with their values, habits, and economic possibilities. With articulated donor profiles in hand, you’ll be ready to reach more of the right people, at the right time, via the right channels.

The post How to Create an Ideal Donor Profile appeared first on Kindsight.

Furthermore, prospect research enables organizations to create tailored cultivation and solicitation strategies that are based on human connection and resonate with their target audience. By understanding the unique interests and giving patterns of potential donors with comprehensive data, nonprofits can establish meaningful connections that foster long-term support and commitment.

In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the various aspects of prospect research, including strategies and prospect research tools that can help your nonprofit organization thrive in today’s competitive fundraising landscape.

Whether you are new to the world of prospect research or a seasoned professional, this guide will provide valuable insights and practical tips to take your organization’s fundraising efforts to new heights.

What is prospect research?

Prospect research is the process of identifying target donor audiences, analyzing their giving capacity and relevance to the organization’s goals, and prioritizing according to the most suited prospects. It is often also referred to as donor research or donor prospecting. 

In order to maximize fundraising efforts, most nonprofit organizations focus on individuals, foundations, or corporations that have a high likelihood of supporting the organization’s mission and vision. 

Data-driven approaches allow nonprofit organizations to make informed decisions about who to approach for donations and how to cultivate and maintain long-lasting relationships with their prospective donors.

Understanding your donors is more important than ever.

Our Prospect Research Cheat Sheet equips you with the tools to identify, understand, and engage potential donors effectively.

Get the cheat sheet

Who uses prospect research?

Prospect research can be performed by any fundraising organization. Some of the most common organizations that may use this type of research include:

• Universities: Universities identify potential donors who can financially support scholarships, research projects, and campus improvements or upgrades. Prospect research provides a way to build relationships with individuals and foundations interested in supporting education. 
• Hospitals: Hospitals find individuals or organizations that can contribute funds for medical equipment, research initiatives, and patient care. Prospect research helps to connect the organization to donors who are passionate about healthcare. 
• Human services organizations: Human services organizations and community foundations can find donors via prospect research to help them fund meals, accommodation, tutoring, training programs, and the building or improvement of facilities (such as soup kitchens, homeless shelters, community centers, and recreation centers).
• Social and academic groups in higher education: Social or academic groups in higher education (such assororities and fraternities) can use prospect research to find donors to support leadership development programs, scholarship programs, and community service projects. Prospect research helps in engagement with alumni and individuals who value “Greek” life. 
• Museums: Museums use prospect research to fund exhibitions, educational programs, and preservation efforts. It helps in establishing relationships with individuals who are enthusiastic about the arts.
• Theaters: Prospect research provides theaters with the ability to finance productions, outreach programs, and facility upgrades. It aids in connecting these organizations with individuals who have an affinity for the arts.
• Religious organizations: Prospect research provides religious organizations with a means to sustain community programs, facilities, and missionary work. It facilitates engagement with those who share the same religious values.
• Lobbyists: Lobbyists conduct prospect research to identify people who can assist in mobilizing resources for influencing policy decisions and advocating for specific causes. It allows organizations to build relationships with donors who are interested in the causes they aim to influence.
• Activists: Activists conduct prospect research to identify passionate donors who will help with gathering funding for campaigns, awareness initiatives, and social change efforts. It provides a way to build relationships with people who share their goals and mission values.
• Environmental groups: Environmental groups conduct prospect research to find people to drive conservation projects, research, and advocacy for environmental protection. It helps with building and maintaining solid relationships with those who are interested in supporting the environment.

While the above organizations commonly use prospect research, nonprofits of all types can do it!

It’s important to keep in mind that no two organizations are the same and therefore no two prospects will be identical. Ideal major gift donors will vary from nonprofit to nonprofit, so it’s essential you customize your prospect research to match your specific needs as well as your individual cause.

Approaches to prospect research

There are three main approaches to conducting prospect research: designating in-house researchers, hiring external consultants, and investing in fundraising intelligence software.

In-house researchers

Nonprofit teams taking a do-it-yourself approach will enjoy conducting prospect research in-house. In-house prospect research teams typically include a manager/director, researcher/analyst, data analyst, relationship manager/development officer, and prospect research coordinator.

Your staff will scan through documents to analyze an array of factors and build a list of who in your community would make an ideal donor. This is especially helpful if you plan on fundraising solely in your local community. 

• The Pros: Conducting prospect research in-house uses staff resources and is ideal for smaller budgets.
• The Cons: Prospect research can be very time-consuming for in-house staff and it can be difficult to find verified results.

When you should use in-house researchers: In-house researchers can be valuable for organizations of all sizes. We’d recommend them for almost any team.

Prospect research consultants

External prospect research consultants and prospect screening companies work in the same fashion as an in-house team in terms of performing wealth screenings; however, they are experts who are not affiliated with your organization. This option can be helpful if your team lacks the time to perform wealth screenings themselves but has the budget for consulting.

• The Pros: Hiring a prospect research consultant saves time and can uncover more prospects.
• The Cons: Hiring a prospect research consultant is costly and doesn’t involve members of your own team.

When you should hire an external prospect research consultant: You should work with a prospect research consultant if you have the finances but are internally strapped for time.

Prospect research software

Online prospect research tools makes the process more efficient for nonprofits of all sizes. Purpose-built donor prospect research software is especially helpful. It analyzes data quickly, helping you find your hidden gems and expand your donor search outside of your immediate community.

If you’re using fundraising intelligence software, you’ll know how much you should be asking each donor for—making your solicitation process more successful and ensuring you don’t leave money on the table. Some of these platforms are customizable, too. You can adjust the parameters to fit your organization’s mission and needs. 

• The Pros: Using prospect research software saves time and helps you find unlikely prospects.
• The Cons: Prospect research software requires a budget.

When you should use prospect research software: You should use prospect research software if your nonprofit needs to quickly find new donors on an ongoing basis.

Prospect research process

It is important to follow prospect management best practices. The prospect research process can be divided into the following four steps.

1. Prospect identification

Create a list of potential donors or prospects. This can be achieved by analyzing existing donor databases, using social media platforms, or obtaining referrals from existing supporters.

Analyze your database

Analyzing your database is critical for nonprofits to gain insights into their constituents. Examining donor information such as giving history, frequency, and gift amounts will help identify patterns and trends to form your fundraising strategies. Data analysis can uncover hidden gems as well as identify major gift prospects. You can utilize external donor databases to find appropriate prospects much faster than you would by relying on your existing networks.

Use social media to find donors

Social media allows nonprofits to connect with potential donors and raise awareness of their cause. Leveraging platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram enables organizations to reach a broader audience and engage with prospects who share an affinity for their mission. 

Consider creating and using targeted advertising campaigns to reach specific demographics. Create compelling content, share success stories, and educate followers on your organization’s impact.

Referrals from existing donors

Your donors have already proven their love to you. Obtaining referrals from these donors is a powerful way to expand your network and acquire new supporters. When approaching your existing donors for referrals: 

• Communicate how crucial their impact on the organization has been. 
• Make them aware of ongoing and upcoming projects and successes. 
• Provide easy-to-use solutions like personalized referral links, cards, or QR codes.
• Be sure to thank them promptly for their referrals!

2. Research

Once potential prospects are identified, the research phase involves gathering relevant information about each prospect. This includes: 

• Personal details such as age, profession, and education
• Philanthropic interests and past giving history
• Financial capacity to give, which can be determined by analyzing wealth indicators like real estate holdings, stock ownership, and business affiliations

If you use a fundraising intelligence tool, all of these details will already be at your disposal, saving a significant amount of time compared to conducting multiple searches for each prospective donor.

If researching prospective donors manually:

Finding a donor’s personal details

• Search for your prospective donors online: Start by searching for your prospects’ activities online. Search for social media profiles, personal websites, networking sites like LinkedIn, or any other platforms where they may share information. These sources can provide insights into their age, profession, and education.
• Visit each prospective donor’s company website: If you’ve identified that your prospect is affiliated with an organization, visit the company website to gather more intel about their current position and professional background.

Finding a donor’s philanthropic interests and past giving history

• Check donor databases: Use donor databases to find information about a prospect’s past charitable donations. These databases house data on philanthropic activities and grants made by individuals and foundations.
• Read publications and reports: Read nonprofit publications, news articles related to philanthropy, and annual reports. They often mention notable donors and their contribution history.

How to determine a donor’s capacity to give

• Browse public records: Analyze public records related to real estate holdings, such as property value and ownership. You can generally find these records through local government websites or county assessor officers.
• Check SEC Filings: If your prospects are involved in publicly traded companies, access the SEC’s EDGAR database to search for filings that can reveal financial information, including stock ownership.
• Identify connections: Look into your prospects’ professional and business connections. This information can be found through company websites and business directories.

Important: You must respect privacy and ethical guidelines while gathering personal information about donors. Ensure you’re receiving the data from legitimate and publicly available sources. Using fundraising intelligence software is the fastest and safest way to access large volumes of up-to-date publicly available information.

Your Ethical AI Playbook

AI is becoming an essential tool in every prospect researcher’s toolkit. Use this guide to ethically integrate AI into your research today.

Download the playbook

3. Analysis

Analyze the donor data gathered in the research stage to evaluate each prospect’s propensity, affinity, and capacity to give. This analysis helps in prioritizing prospects based on their potential value to the organization.

Propensity

Understanding a prospect’s giving history (or propensity) offers valuable insights into their tendency to donate. By examining how individuals have contributed in the past, we can identify philanthropic patterns. For instance:

• Donor A may consistently make small donations at regular intervals.
• Donor B may contribute a significant gift once a year. 
• Donor C may contribute their time as a volunteer, board member, or pro bono consultant. 

There is no universally perfect donor. However, different nonprofits may consider certain types of donors as ideal matches for their mission.

Affinity

The likelihood that someone will give a significant gift depends heavily on their connection with your organization, or affinity for your cause. 

Many times your best prospects are likely in your database already. These donors also have an established history with your organization. This makes it easier to evaluate your relationship with these donors and identify new opportunities to develop these relationships further.

Other times the person may have a history of routinely supporting a similar nonprofit or display a vested interest in your cause. They may work with other nonprofits as a board member or trustee. These are key philanthropic markers (or philanthropic indicators) that may indicate a viable prospect for your nonprofit organization.

Capacity to give

Capacity ratings represent the total amount the prospect can give to all causes over five years. To be clear, this rating or range does not include propensity or affinity. The good news: Capacity ratings are helpful for a gift officer asking for a gift. The bad news: There is no one-size-fits-all formula for determining capacity to give.

Some common wealth markers indicating a large capacity to give include:

• Real estate ownership: Real estate searches tell you a lot about someone’s giving capacity. How many homes do they own? Are their homes free and clear? Are they a real estate investor?
• Stock holdings: What stocks have they invested in? How much of their finances are tied up in the stock market?
• Business affiliations: Who does their company associate with? What perks come from their business’s status? Does their employer offer a matching program?
• Net worth: What is the value of their assets (real estate, personal property, investments) minus their liabilities (mortgages, debts)?
• Income: Do they have more disposable income? Are they more likely to make substantial donations?

It’s important to note that wealth indicators shouldn’t be the lone determining factor in prospect research. A thorough prospect research process that considers other philanthropic markers and individual interests should be used to gather an understanding of each prospective donor’s potential.

Donor analysis examples

Let’s walk through a few examples of prospective donor analysis.

• Donor A—potential as a consultant for your nonprofit: While inactive in terms of financial support, he frequently attends fundraisers and is the husband of a board member. Engage him personally to explore if he can leverage his expertise as a retired consultant to provide valuable advice or support in non-monetary ways. His insights, as well as his network, could be beneficial for your organization’s growth.
• Donor B—potential for a more significant gift toward your capital works: Donates small amounts frequently to your sports programs because she’s an alumni and former soccer star. She operates a successful physiotherapy practice (indicating her growing capacity to contribute more significantly). With your school’s need for a new soccer facility and rehabilitation center, it’s an excellent opportunity to approach her for a more significant donation!
• Donor C—potential inspiration for new donors and volunteers: Despite needing more finances for a significant gift, Donor C’s long-standing involvement as a volunteer presents a valuable opportunity. Recognize and appreciate his commitment by involving him in volunteer leadership or advisory councils. Leverage his advocacy and connections to expand your support network to engage potential donors. By showcasing Donor C’s commitment, you can inspire others to contribute.

4. Strategy

Based on the analysis, a tailored cultivation and solicitation strategy is developed for each prioritized prospect. This includes determining the most suitable communication channels, crafting personalized messages, and designing unique engagement opportunities that resonate with the prospect’s interests and preferences.

Cultivation and solicitation strategies are crucial to the success of your nonprofit because they enable your team to build trust, maximize giving potential, customize communications channels, craft personalized messages, and enhance engagement opportunities. Research underscores the importance of trust in the partnership between nonprofit organizations and their supporters. 

Fundraisers significantly increase the likelihood of securing meaningful contributions as well as fostering long-term relationships with constituents by using a targeted, personal approach. Meet your donors where they’re at and consider their communications preferences. 

Don’t know how they want to be communicated to? Reach out and ask! Surveys provide a great way of discovering your donors’ preferences! All of this information should be recorded in your fundraising CRM for consistent stewardship.

Interested in foundation research?

Giving by foundations grew 2.4%, to an estimated $109.81 billion in 2024. Get our guide to learn how to research and connect with these highly motivated donors.

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Benefits of prospect research

The primary benefits of prospect research include the following:

Saves time and resources

Prospect research saves time and resources for both large and small organizations (and all nonprofits in between). If you can launch a fundraising effort already knowing the best donors to speak to, you’re more likely to achieve success.

Our live profile feature saves even more time, monitoring donor profiles continuously and delivering real-time updates that direct your team to the most suitable potential donors at any given time. This eliminates the need to monitor donor profiles manually, so you can spend more time in the field enacting change and less time trying to find support.

Uncover a major gift donor within your pre-existing donor pool

It’s important to search within your already established donors to learn if any of them could be potential major donors. You already know these donors have the inclination to support your cause, so live profiles will let you know if they have the capability to give more. For large organizations with a vast donor pool, this is a huge time-saver.

Find prospects for key fundraising programs

Prospect research is an effective way to find potential top donors for the following fundraising programs and types: 

• Major gifts: Prospect research helps you find donors with the capacity for major gifts and an affinity for your cause.
• Capital campaigns: There are times when you may launch major fundraising events such as a capital campaign to build a new structure or to acquire top-of-the-line medical equipment. 
• Planned giving programs: Your organization might want to launch a planned giving program to benefit from significant gifts upon the passing of loyal donors. 
• Grateful patient programs: Grateful patient programs give past beneficiaries of healthcare institutions the opportunity to become donors themselves. 

Identify new prospects

As your organization grows, you’ll need more funds and therefore more donors. By performing regular prospect research, you’ll be able to uncover more donors to continue propelling your mission forward.

Study donor giving patterns

Use prospect research to study up on your current donors to better learn about the future of their charitable behavior. By studying their patterns, you may be able to determine what time of year they are more charitable so that you can ask for a major gift donation during that time. 

Prospect research misconceptions

The following are some common misconceptions you might come across in online resources that would complicate the prospect research process in some way.

• Prospect research is not a one-time process. Prospect research should be ongoing. The philanthropic landscape is ever-changing. Individuals’ wealth, priorities, and interests also change over time. Prospect research isn’t just about identifying potential donors, it’s also about discovering new opportunities. You can do this by conducting ongoing prospect research.
• Prospect research is not wealth screening. Wealth screening is one part of the entire prospect research process. Prospect research goes beyond wealth screening, allowing you to uncover a variety of factors that help organizations gain a better understanding of their prospects. Some key aspects of prospect research include:
  • Affinity, capacity, and propensity
  • Personal and professional networks
  • Demographics and psychographics
  • Data analysis and predictive modeling
• Prospect research is not just “research”. Prospect research involves a multifaceted process that goes beyond just gathering information. It involves strategic decision-making, relationship-building, and proactive engagement. Prospect research also provides insights into how to continuously improve your approach.
• Not everyone can do “prospect research”. You need a dedicated team! Prospect research requires specialized skills and expertise. Teams need to be able to understand complex data, wealth indicators, and philanthropic interests.

Find donors faster with effective prospect research

Prospect research is a vital and ongoing part of nonprofit fundraising. Finding donors with a propensity to give, an affinity for your cause, and the capacity to give a significant amount gives your nonprofit the peace of mind that you have a solid foundation for your annual costs, a specific project, or a capital campaign before reaching out to the public.

The prospect research process requires a dedicated team, consultant, or staff member supported by fundraising intelligence software to identify prospects, research them, analyze the data collected, and develop a personalized strategy for each prospective donor. Having the right prospect research tools makes the whole process significantly more efficient and effective—helping you secure vital funds faster so you can focus on advancing your mission.

Further reading:

Due Diligence in Prospect Research

Prospect Research Automation

How to Capitalize on Prospect Screening Results

Here’s Why Your Screening Solution Is Missing 80% of Donors

The post Prospect research 101 – comprehensive guide for nonprofits appeared first on Kindsight.

The value of your donor database cannot be underestimated. It contains a wealth of information about people who you have shown interest in your mission. Maybe not all of them have given, but they are already connected to your organization in some way (maybe they are on your emailing list, a past donor, or someone who has attended one of your events, for example). There are many ways to engage with these people and effectively bring them in as donors.

This was a key message that came from a conversation between T. Clay Buck and Sam Laprade on our year-end webinar series. They discussed a variety of tactics that help fundraisers find more donors quickly, and we’ve compiled our top 9 highlights from the webinar to share with you here.

Tactic 1: Fish in your own pond

It’s important to regularly analyze your database in order to identify changes or trends and to keep an eye out for new opportunities. Screening your database can tell you so much about your donors, including opportunities for growth. People’s giving capacity and propensity shifts all the time, so if possible, you should have alerts set up in your prospect research software so new opportunities are flagged when they arise. It’s also important to invest in a robust CRM that is integrated with your other nonprofit software so that you can easily segment donors, track communications, and personalize outreach based on real-time information.

Tactic 2: Reconnect with lapsed donors 

Lapsed donors are the perfect group to reconnect with when you are focused on finding donors. These people have been connected to your organization in the past… perhaps just not recently. Re-engaging lapsed donors is an important part of a long term engagement strategy, and bringing back lapsed donors is much more cost-effective than acquiring brand-new ones. 

The key here is that many lapsed donors don’t stop donating for a conscious reason. There are lots of reasons why individuals don’t give every single year, and it doesn’t mean they don’t care about your cause. Often, they have simply forgotten or haven’t been asked. 

Tactic 3: Segment and personalize! 

Not all donors are the same, so you need to avoid lumping them all together. They don’t always share the same motivations or interests, and they certainly don’t all have the same giving capacities. Just think, you wouldn’t send the exact same birthday message to every one of your friends. The same principle goes for your donors. 

Segment your database into distinct groups based on factors like giving history, donation amounts, and engagement levels. This data driven proces becomes much easier and efficient when using a robust prospect research tool and CRM. You can give each group specific types of communication, different requests, and messaging that will align more with their preferences and capabilities. 

This will allow you to craft more personalized messages that will resonate more with each audience. Reference the donor’s last gift amount, their preferred giving methods, use their name, their interests, or any other relevant information you can bring in to show that you see them as an important individual. 

Tactic 4: Launch a “miss you” campaign

Launching a “miss you” campaign is a great way to show donors that they are valued and, well, missed. This language specifically creates a feeling of personal connection and evokes a sense of shared history. Think of the last time an old friend reached out to say they missed you. It’s likely that put a smile on your face; likely you wanted to respond in kind. This is the type of moment you can try to create for your lapsed donors. Be sure to use a warm and welcoming tone when doing this, and emphasize that the donor’s absence has been felt.

Tactic 5: Highlight missed opportunities

Show how your organization has progressed and the positive outcomes that have come to fruition because of donors’ support. This subtly highlights the things that they missed out on by not being a part of your mission this year, specifically, the impact their donation could have made. This is a way to remind them of their potential impact and emphasize their very real role in your organization. 

Tactic 6: Show the power of a single donation

Show the impact a single donation can make. This means using personal stories and anecdotes to illustrate how individual contributions can transform lives. Stories about individual gifts making a difference can be a powerful tool, bringing it to a personal level that can be understood by individual donors. 

Tactic 7: Connect to shared experiences

Make your messages relevant by tying them to current events or shared experiences, such as the impact of COVID-19 or economic uncertainty. This is a way to acknowledge the challenges donors and the broader community are facing, and demonstrate how your organization is helping to address them. This creates a connection and sets the tone that you are in this together.

Tactic 8: Use two-way communication 

Many say that donor fatigue is at an all-time high and there are so many factors that contribute to donor fatigue. The reality is, though, that if a donor truly cares about your mission, they won’t tire of hearing from you. What they may tire of is solely being asked for donations all the time. 

It’s important to have two-way communication and engage in a conversation with your donors. Not every communication has to have an ask attached to it. As counterintuitive as this sounds, in the long run, it will create more genuine connections between you and your donors. This is a prime place for you to talk about the impact donations have made on your cause this year, or just thank them. 

Tactic 9: Layer your communications 

It is important, now more than ever, to communicate with donors in multiple ways over multiple channels. You can’t just rely on one method and expect it to hit your target audience. Using a combination of email, direct mail, phone calls, and social media gives you the best chance to reach your donors. Some donors may prefer email, while others appreciate a handwritten note or phone call. Combining multiple channels increases your chances of reaching donors and staying top-of-mind. For example, sending a letter teasing a phone call and then following up with that call can personalize the experience. These extra touches go a long way for donors and help them to feel seen and truly engaged.

When finding donors, the most important step is to mine the gold in your own database. You can segment and employ a whole host of tactics to engage with your potential donors in an authentic, conversational, personalized way. You can show them the impact they can have on your cause and the role they play in your organization. 

Here are some final words of wisdom from Sam Laprade on the topic:

The post How to find donors for a nonprofit: 9 expert tactics appeared first on Kindsight.

What is wealth screening? 

Wealth screening for nonprofits is the process of using public and third-party data to identify individuals with the financial capacity to make significant contributions. It helps nonprofits quickly determine which current and prospective donors are most likely to support major gift fundraising.

The wealth screening process involves uploading donor data from your fundraising CRM (constituent relationship management system) into wealth screening software. That software analyzes public records and other wealth indicators, including income signals, real estate ownership, and stock holdings, to estimate each donor’s giving capacity. 

Wealth screening helps your team prioritize outreach and set ask amounts based on donors’ financial capacity. When used alongside prospect research software, you gain additional insights into donor interests, giving history, and motivations, providing a more complete view.

Types of wealth screening data nonprofits use

Wealth screening uses multiple data types to evaluate a donor’s financial capacity and potential for significant contributions. These insights help prioritize prospects for fundraising outreach.

• Wealth indicators: Financial assets such as real estate holdings, stock holdings, business affiliations, and other assets pulled from public records and government databases.
• Biographic and demographic data: Basic personal information used to confirm identity and accurately match donor records.

Note: For insights on donor giving history, engagement, and affinity, combine wealth screening with prospect research and your internal donor database.

Benefits of wealth screening for nonprofits

Wealth screening helps nonprofits identify high-value donors, set realistic fundraising goals, and focus resources where they drive the most impact.

Below are six key benefits of using wealth screening in your nonprofit.

1. Identify major donors

Wealth screening software helps identify major donors with the financial capacity to make significant gifts. By prioritizing high-capacity prospects, your team can focus outreach where it’s most likely to succeed. 

Research shows major donors who give more than $5,000 have a higher repeat-gift rate (about 37.75 percent) than donors in smaller giving tiers. Similarly, many planned giving donors maintain or increase their annual giving after establishing a planned giving commitment, highlighting the value of targeting financially capable supporters.

2. Determine matching gift eligibility

Some wealth screening software includes employment and company data that will identify donors whose employers offer matching gift programs. These programs often double or triple donations, but are frequently overlooked due to low donor awareness. 

By combining wealth screening insights with employer information, nonprofits are able to flag supporters who qualify for matching gifts. This allows teams to increase total revenue without increasing donor out-of-pocket contributions.

3. Understand potential donors faster

Wealth screening software provides a clear snapshot of donor capacity to give in a short timeframe. It replaces weeks of tedious manual research with centralized, organized data pulled from multiple public sources. This efficiency allows fundraising teams to spend less time gathering financial information and more time planning outreach to high-capacity prospects.

4. Support stronger fundraising goals

Wealth screening helps nonprofits set realistic fundraising goals by estimating the financial capacity of donors. It gives insight into how much your donor base may be able to give across segments, including major and mid-level prospects. With this information, campaigns, budgets, and timelines are able to be aligned with achievable targets, keeping fundraising efforts focused and organized.

5. Tailor donor asks based on capacity

Wealth screening helps set realistic ask amounts by identifying a donor’s financial capacity. Using these capacity insights ensures solicitation amounts align with what a donor is reasonably able to give, supporting more effective and appropriate fundraising outreach.

6. Increase donor contribution amounts

Wealth screening identifies annual donors with the financial capacity to increase their gifts. Prioritizing outreach based on capacity grows gift sizes and builds long-term donor value without risking donor trust.

Wealth screening vs prospect research

Wealth screening assesses a donor’s financial capacity using wealth and financial indicators. It identifies which existing donors and prospects have the ability to make significant contributions.

Prospect research is a broader process that evaluates donors using capacity, philanthropic indicators, affinity indicators, and giving behavior. It provides deeper insight into donor interests, motivations, and likelihood to give.

Wealth screening is often the first step within the prospect research process. Used together, both approaches give nonprofits a more complete view of major donor prospects.

Playbook: Ethical AI for prospect researchers

AI is becoming an essential tool in every prospect researcher’s toolkit. Use this guide to ethically integrate AI into your workflow today.

Get the playbook

Steps in the wealth screening process 

Wealth screening turns donor data into clear, usable fundraising insights through a series of steps. It combines external wealth indicators with your internal donor records to prioritize prospects.

A complete wealth screening uses these data sources:

1. Prospect list: The individuals your nonprofit wants to evaluate
2. Internal donor data (optional): Your organization’s giving records and donor insights you have gathered
3. External data: Public records and provider-supplied wealth indicators

The primary factor evaluated by wealth screening is:

• Capacity: Does the donor have the financial means to give?

Insight: For insights on donor interest or giving behavior, combine wealth screening with prospect research and internal engagement data. 

The following steps keep the wealth screening process accurate, actionable, and aligned with your fundraising goals.

Step 1: Determine your goals

Start by defining what you want from the wealth screening. Clear goals will guide who you screen and how you use the results.

Key questions to answer:

• What information do we need from this screen?
• How will we measure success?
• Which donors or prospects should we segment?
• Are we screening based on budget limits, expected volume, a specific constituency, or the full database?
• Who will review and act on the results?
• Do they have the time and resources for analysis, verification, rating, and coding, or do they need additional support?

Step 2: Clean up and segment your database

Wealth screening results are only as good as your data. Errors like misspelled names, outdated information, and empty fields reduce accuracy and limit insight.

Before screening: 

1. Merge duplicate records.
2. Update outdated contact and donor information.
3. Remove or refresh data that is more than two years old.
4. Optionally, clean up internal donor information (gift dates, amounts, frequency, and relationship notes) to use alongside screening results.

If screening the full database isn’t realistic, prioritize high-value groups you’re able to identify before screening, such as:

• Current major donors 
• Mid-level donors based on past giving tiers
• Lapsed major donors 
• Recurring or loyal donors with consistent giving
• New prospects added through recent outreach campaigns

Step 3: Prepare the template

Most wealth screening tools use an upload template, often an Excel file. You would typically choose from:

• A standard template provided by the provider
• A custom template tailored to your data and screening goals

Accurate formatting ensures smooth uploads and reliable screening results. 

Step 4: Customize screening parameters

Customize key settings so the screening reflects your nonprofit’s fundraising priorities. 

Key adjustments include:

• Define major gift levels: Set what qualifies as a major gift for your organization.
• Adjust confidence of match (COM): Higher confidence reduces false positives but returns fewer results.
• Set capacity weighting: Define how much capacity is your priority versus other factors, such as affinity and propensity.
• Select your preferred affinity: Choose from a list of affinity categories such as Education, Healthcare, Arts and Culture, and many more (if available in your tool’s settings) to find donors who are already connected with your cause.

Step 5: Run a trial screen

Test the process before screening your full list. A small trial helps validate settings and data quality.

Include a mix of donors and prospects, such as:

• 20 well-known donors
• 20 partially known contacts
• 20 prospects representing different donor types

Use the results to confirm accuracy and alignment with your goals.

Step 6: Submit the file

Once all settings are finalized, upload the full file to the screening provider. Results will be returned in minutes or several weeks, depending on the screening tool and the size of your data. Completing this step finalizes the wealth screening process and equips your nonprofit with insights for informed fundraising decisions going forward. 

Elevate your fundraising game

Our Wealth Screening Playbook gives you advanced strategies to identify ideal donors, leverage real-time data, and customize your approach for maximum impact.

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History of wealth screening

Wealth screening has been used for decades by nonprofits, higher ed advancement teams, and healthcare institutions to research donors and prospective donors.

The evolution of wealth screening

• 1990s: Wealth screening consisted of printed directory catalogs and CDs loaded with lists of contacts. 
• Late 1990s: Wealth screening was already evolving to more accessible, internet-based directories. 
• 2000s: Online software providers began including a broader range of data sources.
• 2010s: Online providers added more sophisticated predictive analytics, data integrations, and proprietary data sources. By this time, a deeper understanding of data led to the inclusion of more than just wealth when researching (specifically affinity and propensity). The term “prospect screening” gained traction. 

iWave launched in 1991 and has continued to evolve ever since. Through all the industry changes, we have stayed at the cutting edge of each of these wealth screening transformations. By the 2020s, we saw donors not just allowing, but expecting nonprofits to have a full picture of their lives and to know about various changes they experience as they happen. The urgent need for real-time data became a non-negotiable. 

iWave’s prospect research software circa 2009-2010

How to use wealth screening data for fundraising

To get the most out of your wealth screening investment, your nonprofit must turn screening results into clear, actionable fundraising decisions. Use wealth screening results to:

• Identify potential major donors: Find individuals with the capacity to make larger gifts.
• Estimate giving capacity: Use wealth indicators to set realistic ask amounts.
• Segment your donor base: Group donors by capacity for targeted outreach.
• Prioritize outreach efforts: Focus time and resources on prospects with the highest giving potential.

Challenges of traditional wealth screening

Wealth screening is a powerful fundraising tool, but static, one-time data has limitations. It provides only a snapshot of donor capacity, which quickly becomes outdated as finances, priorities, or circumstances change.

Hidden costs of stale data include:

• Missed opportunities: Fundraising gaps remain unnoticed due to stale donor data and poor data visibility. 
• Inefficient outreach: Engagement drops as nonprofits fail to connect with the right donors at the right time.
• Wasted resources: Time and money are lost targeting unqualified prospects.

Traditional wealth screening isn’t bad. It just gives an incomplete picture if it only focuses on capacity, leaving affinity and propensity out of the story. Imagine a child going through a growth spurt over the course of a year. Each day, something is slightly different as they get a bit bigger. What if you only bought them clothes once a year? The clothes from January would not fit properly in August. Imagine further if you only looked at their height, and not their shoe size.

This is what it is like when you only look at the wealth capacity of a donor; you are missing so much of the broader picture. Their affinities and propensity to give are as integral as wealth to the execution of the stewardship process.

Traditional wealth screening is also limited to individuals, which is a real problem considering that more foundations and companies exist and are giving to nonprofits. 

According to Giving USA’s Annual Report on Philanthropy, giving by foundations grew 2.4 percent in 2024, and giving by corporations is estimated to have increased by 9.1 percent in the same year. This shift in giving trends means it is imperative to have access to and understand your foundation and corporate prospects.

To maximize effectiveness, nonprofits should view wealth screening as one piece of a broader, data-driven fundraising strategy. Combining wealth screening with internal donor data, prospect research (including companies and foundations), and real-time live profiles creates a complete, up-to-date view of donors. 

Live profiles continuously track donor data, automatically surfacing critical changes like real estate transactions, new donations, and insider filings. This saves time updating information manually, strengthens relationships, and empowers fundraisers to engage donors with a tailored (often larger) ask at exactly the right moment. 

An integrated approach turns limitations into opportunities for smarter, more informed outreach and stronger donor engagement.

Wealth screening best practices

Use these best practices to improve accuracy and results from wealth screening: 

• Verify top prospects: Manually review high-value prospects to confirm accuracy before outreach.
• Layer internal data: Combine external wealth scores with your CRM giving history to identify loyal, high-capacity donors. 
• Protect donor privacy: Follow current data protection and compliance standards throughout the screening process.
• Refresh screening regularly: Re-screen your database every 12–18 months to capture changes in financial capacity.

See our wealth screening cheat sheet for more best practices and tips.

Top wealth screening tools

Choosing the right platform depends on your fundraising goals, data needs, and team workflows. Here are some widely used and well-established wealth screening tools. 

• iWave:Our leading wealth intelligence tool for nonprofits. iWave combines wealth, philanthropic, business, and relationship indicators into a single profile. Customizable capacity scoring supports accurate major gift identification.
• DonorSearch: Offers a database of historical gift tracking to validate donor capacity and confirm past giving patterns.
• WealthEngine: Uses consumer data and lifestyle insights to help nonprofits build donor segments based on financial capacity and demographic data.
• WindFall: Specializes in household-level wealth and financial behavior data, with a focus on identifying high-net-worth individuals. It helps identify affluent prospects based on modeled net worth and financial triggers.

Harness the power of wealth screening

Wealth screening for nonprofits transforms donor data into actionable fundraising insights by identifying high-potential supporters and estimating their giving capacity. It helps nonprofits prioritize outreach and make data-driven fundraising decisions.

Over 90% of the world’s data was created in the last two years. As more and more donor data becomes available, the biggest challenge facing fundraisers will quickly become stale and static data. 

The longstanding tools that fundraisers have used will need to be supplemented with additional technology that modernizes their approach to data and supports their quest to make meaningful connections, at any scale. 

When combined with prospect research, internal donor data, and real-time live profiles, wealth screening becomes part of a broader, integrated strategy. This approach maximizes donor engagement, increases contributions, and supports long-term fundraising success.

The post Wealth screening for nonprofits & how to use it effectively appeared first on Kindsight.

A strong affinity rating often drives meaningful, long-term relationships. Building these connections goes beyond luck—it requires a strategic approach that blends insight, careful prospect research, and thoughtful relationship-building.

What is affinity?

Affinity is one of the three key factors in the PAC (propensity, affinity, and capacity) framework that guides major gift fundraising efforts. Together, these indicators help nonprofit organizations understand who is most likely to give, why they give, and how much they’re able to contribute.

While capacity looks at a person’s financial ability to give, and propensity reflects their history of charitable activity, affinity measures connection. It reveals how closely someone’s interests align with your mission and whether they’ve supported similar causes in the past.

In practice, affinity is all about relationships—the emotional and personal ties that link a donor to your cause. Understanding that connection helps you make more meaningful, informed asks and build long-term donor partnerships based on shared purpose.

Why is affinity so important?

Affinity is the strongest predictor of lasting donor engagement. Wealth and past giving tell you what someone is able to do, but affinity reveals what they want to do. It’s the emotional thread that connects a person’s values to your mission and drives real, lasting support.

You see this play out every day in fundraising. A prospect has the means to give a major gift, but if your cause doesn’t resonate with them, the connection ends there. On the other hand, someone with a genuine link—through lived experience, shared purpose, or heartfelt belief in your work—will give more consistently and stay engaged year after year.

When you focus on affinity, you move beyond wealth screening to understand who truly aligns with your mission. That’s what transforms donors into advocates who believe in your long-term success. 

A quick case study on affinity: Bill Gates

Helen Brown, a respected voice in prospect research, describes donor inclination, also called affinity or linkage, as the most decisive factor in any donor rating scorecard.

To illustrate, she points to Bill Gates, whose capacity to give is unquestionable and whose philanthropy spans decades. Yet his giving follows a clear pattern: Gates directs billions of dollars through the Gates Foundation toward global health, education, and disease eradication, including major initiatives against malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS. His donations reflect deep personal alignment with causes he believes in, not every request that comes his way. 

So while he has both the capacity and the propensity to give, he’s unlikely to donate to an animal shelter or law school. Why? There’s no personal connection, and that lack of affinity makes all the difference. 

The takeaway is clear: wealth and history matter, but affinity determines where generosity flows. Start with shared values and relationships, and you’ll build a donor base that gives with both heart and intention.

How to find donors with an affinity for your cause

The strongest donor relationships grow from shared values. When people see themselves reflected in your mission, giving becomes personal and long-lasting.

1. Look to your current donors

Start with your current donor database—people who already believe in your mission. Use prospect research software to look for patterns that reveal genuine connections: repeat donations, volunteer hours, event attendance, or steady engagement with your emails or social media posts. These are signs of emotional investment in your cause.

Affinity also shows up in subtle ways:

• A retired business consultant donates each year and attends events with his wife, a board member, but his involvement with your mission ends there. Inviting him to consult on a special project or lead a fundraiser transforms his passive support into active advocacy.
• A former varsity soccer star and alumna turned physiotherapist gives modestly each year. When the school launches a new soccer facility with a training and rehabilitation center, inviting her support aligns perfectly with her passions and increases her gift potential.
• A lifelong volunteer has been involved with your hospital foundation since childhood, dedicating hours each week and knowing patients and families by name. Though he lacks the resources to make a major gift himself, his passion and credibility make him a powerful connector. Engage him as an advocate to attract new donors who share his enthusiasm. 

2. Ask everyone in your database for an annual donation

Every donor in your organization’s network should be invited to contribute annually. Don’t assume board members or volunteers will give automatically. Consistent outreach and donor stewardship are essential for maintaining engagement and fueling future fundraising success. 

3. Leverage your networks

Finding donors with a strong affinity often requires digging deeper. Wealth screening helps prioritize prospects, but your existing donors are also valuable connectors. Think of the lifelong hospital volunteer mentioned earlier, whose network extends to people you don’t even know yet. Encourage advocates to share your mission within their networks to expand awareness and identify new aligned supporters.

4. Use wealth screening tools strategically

Wealth screening is the first step in finding new prospective donors with the capacity to give. Prospect research software reveals wealth indicators such as: 

• Estimated net worth and asset holdings
• Real estate and business ownership
• Philanthropic and foundation involvement
• Patterns of past charitable giving

These insights give your team a strong idea of potential capacity, but wealth alone isn’t enough. The next step is determining who also has a connection to your cause.

Use donor affinity scoring to refine priorities

A fundraising intelligence platform that prioritizes affinity is key to finding your next major donors. After identifying high-capacity prospects, donor affinity scoring shows who truly connects with your mission. This stage in the prospect research process considers past giving, volunteer activity, event attendance, and affiliations to see how deeply a prospect’s interests align with your cause.

The best research tools help you prioritize prospects by: 

• Identifying individuals who give to causes similar to yours
• Understanding a prospect’s giving priorities by reviewing the foundations or organizations they’re affiliated with
• Gaining a full picture of each donor’s giving history, including when they gave, how much, and what type of gifts they’ve made to your organization and others
• Spotting hidden gems in your database who share your mission but give significantly more to other nonprofits than to yours

Combining wealth screening and donor affinity scoring gives you a full view of both ability and alignment. This ensures your outreach focuses on the prospects most likely to engage, helping you build stronger, long-term relationships with high-potential supporters.

Pro tip: Don’t limit your search to your core mission. For instance, if your university is fundraising for a new nursing program, look beyond prospects with educational affinity and include those with an affinity for healthcare as well. This broadens your reach to donors who share your values but haven’t yet connected with your organization.

5. Cultivate affinity

Affinity doesn’t always reveal itself immediately, but there are ways to proactively nurture it. Build personal relationships by sharing your organization’s goals and telling your story in ways that resonate. Recognize and thank supporters regularly—small gestures like a handwritten note, a phone call, or a spotlight in your newsletter make donors feel seen and connected to your cause. 

Example: A local hospital foundation highlights its volunteers in its newsletter and invites them to behind-the-scenes tours of new medical facilities. These experiences make their donors feel part of the mission and often lead to deeper engagement through increased volunteering, event attendance, or larger gifts. Over time, these efforts turn casual supporters into engaged advocates who champion your cause.

Turning affinity into lasting impact

Finding donors with true affinity for your cause takes more than just luck—it takes strategy. By using prospect research tools with wealth screening and donor affinity scoring, your team identifies people who have both the capacity to give and a genuine connection to your mission. This data-driven approach helps your organization focus energy where it matters most—on relationships that create lasting impact.

Affinity is what turns one-time gifts into long-term partnerships. When you actively nurture those connections through storytelling, gratitude, and engagement, you inspire donors to invest in your mission at a deeper level. With the right tools and thoughtful cultivation, you’ll build a community that believes in your work for years to come—and increase your chances of finding your next major gift donor.

The post Affinity to give: The key to unlocking donor support appeared first on Kindsight.

What are some things donors want?

How much would you give to spend a couple of days in their shoes, understanding their motivations and decision-making process?

So, what do donors really want from the organizations they decide to donate their money to?

We’ve done a little digging to help you find out.

Here are the 7 things major donors want from you

They want you to go back to basics.

What first comes to mind for most people are the obvious wants as outlined in this article by the Veritus Group. Things like understanding, respect, honesty… to make a difference. If you don’t cater to these basic human desires, you may never get to pass go and collect $200 dollars (well, probably more than $200, but you know what I mean…#monopoly).

They want to be recognized.

Think back to a time you gave your all, how did you feel when your hard work went unnoticed? Now think of a time where your manager gave you kudos for hitting a goal? The same mentality applies to your donors, donor recognition can go a long way in nurturing new and existing relationships. Follow up and thank your donors for their contributions, consider what method of recognition they would appreciate best!

They want to know they’ve made a difference

When following up with your donor, outline specifically how their contribution is making a difference. Show them that their dollars matter no matter how modest or large the donation. The more positive communication with your donors, the more likely they are to donate again as well as spread the word about your cause!

They want you to understand their motivation to give.

Understanding a donor’s motivation to give to your organization can vastly change how you should nurture the relationship with them. When you know their motivation it can help you match their gift with a project or item that will make them happiest.

One of the best things you can do is ask your prospect what their goals might be, prior to asking for a gift.

What do they want to accomplish with their gift?

For example, if their motivation is for social recognition then it might be beneficial to suggest a naming opportunity.

If their motivation is to empower your mission regardless of where their funds are allocated while remaining anonymous, consider thanking them privately while outlining how their donation has been used.

If they have a strong affinity to your cause, then perhaps their gift can help fund an important project that will be meaningful to them.

Give them options:

• A seat on your board
• VIP Membership
• Volunteer opportunities
• The materials to promote your mission (collateral, images etc)
• Honoring them as a brand ambassador

They want you to understand their circumstances.

Imagine you have a meeting scheduled with a potential prospect and the day before their property value goes from $3M to $1M.

This is probably not the best time to ask for that $2M dollar major gift you had queued up. A prospect who has a history of giving gifts over $1M dollars, may be offended if you approach them for a $10K gift. It is important to understand your prospect’s circumstances.

This requires doing your homework to adequately get to know your prospect and, and then set alerts so you can stay up-to-date not only on wealth creating events but also on wealth eliminating events.

They want you to be transparent.

Donors want to know the impact of their donation to you.

What is their return on investment?

Who or what did it impact or benefit?

Keep them interested and in the loop, invite them for a tour of a new building they helped fund. Rather, send them a video showing them the social benefit of a program that their gift helped finance.

It’s important to keep them informed initially, but also to continually updating them throughout the year so that they don’t unintentionally feel like an outsider or stranger at your organization.

They want you to be personalized in your approach.

Every major donor is different, so understanding their personal desired level of involvement is important. Involve them in a volunteering capacity, invite them to serve on committees, join your board, or to represent your charity through participatory fundraising.

Research shows major donors who volunteer give more than they would if they weren’t involved. The key with involvement is to have options.

Donors aren’t all alike; some may want to be heavily involved, others won’t. Get to know them so you can target and deliver on their individual preferences.

Some ways to achieve personalization include:

• Consider what will appeal to their emotions specifically
• Ask them how they’d like to be recognized and communicated with and follow through with their wishes
• Tell them specifically how they’ve made a positive impact

They want you to make them feel appreciated.

Showing and making your donors feel appreciated will pay dividends for years to come. Invite them in for a tour or write a handwritten note of thanks instead of sending a generic email or letter.

Use newsletters, videos, podcasts, and non-ask events to show your donors that you care. As Veritus Group talks about here, create a welcome and warm environment for your donors. Your donors will be more engaged and helps show that they are more than just a financial asset to you.

Taking the time to cultivate strong relationships with your major donors is imperative to your development success.Yes, time-consuming but in the end, it is the tipping point that keeps them interested in giving to your nonprofit.

Some ways to appreciate your donors include:

• Branded gifts
• Membership opportunities
• Social media shout outs
• VIP events
• Opportunities to speak with the board
• Handwritten letters / cards
• Wall of fame
• Website feature
• Luncheon

Wrapping Up

Donors who feel appreciated are more likely to become recurring donors. They’re also more likely to speak loudly and proudly about your cause and mission.  That’s why it’s so important to incorporate these practices into your major donor fundraising strategy. The goal is always to nurture a relationship with your donor that makes them feel like they belong to your team.

Nurtured plants grow, the same goes for your relationships with your donors!

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