- All
- Prospect Research
Powered by AI and the LinkedIn community
1
What is prospect research?
Be the first to add your personal experience
2
How to find prospects for major gifts?
3
How to prioritize prospects for major gifts?
Be the first to add your personal experience
4
How to solicit prospects for major gifts?
5
How to steward prospects for major gifts?
Be the first to add your personal experience
How do you identify and prioritize your best prospects for major gifts? This is a key question for any nonprofit organization that wants to grow its fundraising capacity and impact. In this article, you will learn how to use prospect research to find and engage potential donors who have the capacity, affinity, and inclination to support your cause.
Top experts in this article
Selected by the community from 5 contributions. Learn more
Earn a Community Top Voice badge
Add to collaborative articles to get recognized for your expertise on your profile. Learn more
- Marc A. Pitman, CSP CEO, Concord Leadership Group | President, International Coach Federation- South Carolina | Author: The Surprising Gift…
2
1 What is prospect research?
Prospect research is the process of gathering and analyzing information about current and prospective donors to determine their potential to give, their interests, and their relationship with your organization. Prospect research can help you segment your donor database, tailor your communication and cultivation strategies, and plan your solicitation and stewardship activities.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
Load more contributions
2 How to find prospects for major gifts?
Major gifts are usually donations that exceed a certain threshold, such as $10,000, $25,000, or $50,000, depending on the size and budget of your organization. To find prospects for major gifts, you need to look for indicators of wealth and philanthropy, including income and assets, business affiliations, giving history, philanthropic involvement and interests, and personal and social connections. You can use various sources of data to research your prospects and identify these indicators, such as public records, online databases, social media, surveys, referrals, and events.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
- Marc A. Pitman, CSP CEO, Concord Leadership Group | President, International Coach Federation- South Carolina | Author: The Surprising Gift of Doubt | Leadership Development Expert | Coach Certification Provider | Leadership Keynote Speaker
- Report contribution
Thanks for letting us know! You'll no longer see this contribution
Be sure to define what a "major gift" is for your organization. This article starts them at $10,000 but most nonprofits start them at $1,000. And for smaller nonprofits, gifts of $250 or $500 can be major.
LikeLike
Celebrate
Support
Love
Insightful
Funny
2
Load more contributions
3 How to prioritize prospects for major gifts?
Once you have a list of prospects for major gifts, you need to prioritize them based on their likelihood and readiness to give. To do so, you can use a rating system such as the RFM model, which scores prospects based on recency (how recently they have given or interacted with your organization), frequency (how often they have given or interacted with your organization), and monetary (how much they have given or are capable of giving to your organization). The higher the score, the higher the priority. Additionally, you can further refine your ranking by using other criteria such as affinity, inclination, engagement, and urgency.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
Load more contributions
4 How to solicit prospects for major gifts?
To solicit prospects for major gifts, you must take a personalized and strategic approach. Assign a dedicated staff member or volunteer to each prospect as a relationship manager and develop a cultivation plan that outlines the goals, activities, and timeline for each prospect. Regularly communicate with your prospects through various channels like emails, newsletters, and social media. Invite them to events, tours, meetings, and other opportunities to showcase your impact and connect with your mission. Ask for feedback from them to demonstrate respect and appreciation. Prepare a compelling case for support that highlights the need, the solution, the impact, and the urgency of your ask. Request a specific amount and purpose that matches your prospect's capacity and interest. Finally, follow up promptly and respectfully with your prospects after the ask and address any questions or concerns.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
- Marc A. Pitman, CSP CEO, Concord Leadership Group | President, International Coach Federation- South Carolina | Author: The Surprising Gift of Doubt | Leadership Development Expert | Coach Certification Provider | Leadership Keynote Speaker
- Report contribution
Thanks for letting us know! You'll no longer see this contribution
I agree but this is the entire list of things you can do with donors. Most major gift donors do not have a lot of time for you to spend developing the relationship. So go in ready to ask on the first meeting. Especially if they have been giving already. If so, your first visit is only YOUR first visit with them. They may well feel they already have a relationship with your organization.
LikeLike
Celebrate
Support
Love
Insightful
Funny
2
5 How to steward prospects for major gifts?
Stewardship is an essential process for retaining and upgrading donors and building long-term relationships. This involves thanking and recognizing donors for their gifts, as well as reporting on how their contributions are used and the difference they make. To steward prospects for major gifts, you should send a timely and sincere thank-you letter or call to acknowledge their gift, recognize it publicly or privately according to their preferences, and report regularly on the progress and outcomes of your work. You can also invite them to participate in your work, solicit their feedback and advice, and ask them to renew or increase their support when appropriate.
Help others by sharing more (125 characters min.)
Prospect Research
Prospect Research
+ Follow
Rate this article
We created this article with the help of AI. What do you think of it?
It’s great It’s not so great
Thanks for your feedback
Your feedback is private. Like or react to bring the conversation to your network.
Tell us more
Tell us why you didn’t like this article.
If you think something in this article goes against our Professional Community Policies, please let us know.
We appreciate you letting us know. Though we’re unable to respond directly, your feedback helps us improve this experience for everyone.
If you think this goes against our Professional Community Policies, please let us know.
More articles on Prospect Research
No more previous content
- How do you use artificial intelligence to enhance your prospect research? 7 contributions
- How do you choose the best prospect research tools and resources for your nonprofit? 10 contributions
- What are the benefits and challenges of online prospect research training? 7 contributions
- How do you analyze and compare the performance and ROI of different social media campaigns and platforms?
- How do you conduct effective prospect research interviews and surveys? 11 contributions
- What are the benefits and challenges of working as a freelance prospect researcher? 10 contributions
No more next content
More relevant reading
- Research How can you effectively use prospect reports to track fundraising goals?
- Fundraising Here's how you can improve your skills in prospect research for fundraising.
- Research What are the key steps to mastering prospect research fundamentals?
- Nonprofit Management What are the steps for using prospect research to identify naming opportunities?