Do This Simple Donor Prospect Research Before a Major Ask

As any fundraiser knows, the more prepared you are before a major donor ask, the more likely you are to succeed. That’s where donor prospect research comes in. Fresh prospect research can help you navigate every element of the donor conversation and avoid surprises. 

In this post, I’ll share my best quick and dirty tips for simple and free donor prospect research – including what you can do before a donor meeting and what you can even do during the meeting!

What Is Donor Prospect Research?

Donor prospect research is the work of gathering information on a potential donor (prospect) before making a solicitation. Knowing more about the prospect, their interests, and their giving behaviors can inform what you ask them for and how. 

Prospecting is normally done at scale for many potential individual donors at once and prioritizes “major” donors, rather than small-dollar donors. Donor prospecting is typically conducted for “cold” prospects – donors with whom you don’t have an existing relationship. But sometimes organizations and campaigns will suspect someone on their existing supporter list is capable of much higher level giving and will invest in prospect research. Securing gifts from both cold and existing donors is usually part of meeting an organization’s annual fundraising goals. 

Donor prospecting can be done with publicly or commercially available information. Prospect research can also be done with internal data like giving history, engagement on social media, or an analysis of notes in your donor database about the donor’s ability to give. 

Simple Donor Prospecting Tips Even the Experts Use

When you need to find information that will help you decide if a donor is aligned with your cause and at what level they are able to give, you can use some time-tested free tools: Search and Social.

Using search for donor prospect research

Google is probably your first stop for research. However, simply typing in a person’s name may not be helpful. Unless your donor has a very unique name, you’ll also need to type in at least one other piece of information like their employer or the state in which they live. Google provides guidance on simple and advanced ways to use their search engine.

My favorite Google tool is to set up a Google Alert. Google Alerts are just like conducting searches – except they do the work for you around the clock. Google Alerts notifies you when it thinks your search term has new information (news story, blog post, social media posts, etc.).  As with regular search, the thing or person you are searching for will never know you are conducting the search. 

For example, say you know you are going to meet with Sven McSvenface in a month, you can go to Google Alerts and create an alert that notifies you of any new information before your meeting. Just last week I learned that the company owned by a major donor I know closed abruptly. This is vital for me to know and will definitely change the donor conversation (if it’s still happening) in a month. 

Using social for donor prospect research

The next place to go for prospect research is social media. You may find some social media stories and links when you use Google, but going to the source is always beneficial. Head to LinkedIn.com first and then check out Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (now X), TikTok, or even YouTube. People have a surprising way of leaving breadcrumbs and morsels of information that can give you more information in advance of an ask. 

Was the donor just on vacation in Bali? Were they at a VERY posh celebrity-filled gala? Did they post about the loss of a close family member? Did the donor share a moving article about a loved one impacted by a natural disaster? All of these things inform your solicitation, not just the amount and timing. 

If you are pretty sure the donor is known for their charitable giving, you can also check the following sites: Philanthropy.com (you may need a subscription), Candid.org (free), Foundation Directory (free with library memberships at many places), and Wikipedia.org if they have a high profile. 

You want to look for information, news stories, and other kernels of information that help you walk into your ask with more info than you had before. Even if the information doesn’t change the ask amount, it will help with the small talk and rapport building. Trust me!

There are countless other suggestions but this article is designed as a 101 for beginners. If you have suggestions for tools you use, send me a note me at sean [at] mindthegapconsulting.org.

Prospect Research on the Fly: Listen, Look, and Learn

One of my first full-time jobs was going door-to-door raising money for the environment. I was armed with information, a script, a clipboard (more useful than you know to get doors opened), and my wit! 

As I approached every house, I made quick guesses about income, wealth as compared to neighbors, stories I knew of people who lived in that community, and things happening right in front of me. Was the front yard unkempt? Was there a Mercedes in the driveway? Were there new repairs done on the house? 

As I talked with people at the door I had to read social cues and listen to what they were saying. Literally, one woman told me her stocks just hit and she was having a great day. Cha-ching! At other homes, people would have three kids hanging off them at the door and I clearly was standing between them and dinner. All of this information helped inform my pitch. I had to “pivot on the porch” and suggest a monthly gift or a higher gift based on what I knew. I was good at this, I won’t lie. 

Later, for a dozen years, I was a lobbyist for a civil rights organization in Michigan. In order to get lawmakers to do the “right thing” I would have to rely on my skills because we certainly didn’t have a political action committee (PAC). I didn’t have any fancy research or PR firms helping me so I did what I knew and had done at the environmental organization. 

When I would walk into lawmakers’ offices I scanned the walls looking for trophies, proclamations, pictures of loved ones, etc. These items told me a story about what mattered to that person. If I saw a lawmaker holding up a huge fish she caught on Lake Michigan, I would say, “That is one hell of a catch. My family owns a boat company so I was spoiled to be out on the water every weekend. My grandfather taught me to fish, but that fishing was for eating, not for fun. I hope you ate that huge fish!” And almost immediately the meeting began on a strong footing. 

Having immediate chemistry and energy at the beginning of a donor meeting is worth more than any donor research you can possibly do…times 10!

By observing what is happening around you and listening to what people say, you are doing research. You are prospecting. You are honing your craft. You are winding up for the Pitch. 

Simple Observation and Research (SOR) to Help You Soar

Large nonprofits have fancy software and subscriptions that allow them to acquire sophisticated and up-to-date data on potential prospects. Don’t let that intimidate you. You have tools at your disposal that are free and powerful. 

By using existing data, anecdotes, notes, and online searches, you can find enough information to figure out if a donor is a right fit and how much you might ask for.

Also, we all have the same ability to use our skills, instincts, and talents to observe what’s happening with potential donors, which further helps inform our approach to solicitation. Taken together, research and observation puts you way ahead of an unprepared fundraiser. If you use the tactics above, you’ll never need to second guess whether you did your best on an ask – regardless of the results. 

Grab this super simple donor tracking form to get you started. Check out Impala which is new software in 2023 to really help connect nonprofits and foundations. For more help understanding prospecting, grab this tool.

Want help with fundraising training, planning, or pitching, work with me.