4 Tips for Effective Wealth & Philanthropic Screening

Since major gifts are, by definition, the largest individual donations your nonprofit receives, they typically come from your wealthiest donors. However, just because someone can make a significant contribution to your organization doesn't mean they'll respond positively to your major gift solicitations.

Instead, you need to consider potential donors' ability and willingness to make major gifts to focus your cultivation efforts on the right individuals. Your development team can accomplish this by taking a holistic approach to prospect research using a method known as wealth and philanthropic screening.

In this guide, we'll share four proven tips for incorporating wealth and philanthropic screening into your nonprofit's major donor fundraising strategy:

1. Know What Data Points to Look For
2. Lay a Foundation With Robust Databases
3. Enhance the Screening Process With AI
4. Use Screening Data to Build Donor Relationships

When you conduct wealth and philanthropic screening, your organization will gather an immense amount of data on your current and prospective donors. Let's begin by discussing which data points are most important to identify and analyze.

1. Know What Data Points to Look For

To gain a comprehensive understanding of a prospective major donor, your research should provide insights into their capacity for giving, philanthropic history, and affinity for your nonprofit's mission. DonorSearch's wealth and philanthropic screening guide lists the following examples of indicators to look for under each of these categories:

• Capacity indicators: Real estate ownership, SEC transactions, business affiliations, political giving history
• Philanthropic indicators: Previous donations to your nonprofit or other similar organizations
• Affinity indicators: Deep love for your cause, nonprofit involvement history (volunteer hours, event attendance, board service, etc.), personal information (especially interests and values)

When an individual has all three types of indicators, you've found a viable major donor prospect to add to your outreach list!

2. Lay the Foundation With Robust Databases

Uncovering a prospective donor's capacity, philanthropic, and affinity indicators starts with leveraging the right tools. There are two types of databases you should have in your nonprofit software toolkit as you get started:

• Prospect research database. This dedicated tool pulls information about prospective donors' ability and willingness to give from various sources, ranging from records of property holdings that show real estate ownership to other nonprofits' annual reports that can provide insights into philanthropic histories. Look for a database with a high accuracy rate that is updated frequently so you can always find the most current and correct information on your prospects.
• Constituentrelationship management (CRM) platform. Your nonprofit may have viable major donor prospects among its current supporters, so digging into your CRM data can help you find them. For instance, if a mid-level donor has given consistently for five years, attended multiple fundraising events, and volunteered regularly, they've demonstrated their philanthropic inclinations and affinity for your organization. Then, you can use your prospect research database to see if they have the financial capacity to upgrade to the major donor level.

Additionally, once you've found information on a current or prospective donor in your prospect research database, add it to their profile in your CRM. This way, all data is stored in one place for easy reference.

3. Enhance the Screening Process With AI

Tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI) have permeated into daily life and nonprofit work. While robust databases provide the foundation for effective wealth and philanthropic screening, AI solutions can streamline analysis, provide even deeper insights into your prospects, and help you make data-driven decisions about outreach.

The best nonprofit AI strategies leverage both predictive and generative tools, as the former is used for data analysis and the latter creates original content based on that data. More specifically, the three types of AI solutions your nonprofit should consider incorporating into its wealth and philanthropic screening process are:

• Predictive modeling tools, which organize and prioritize your prospect lists based on how likely each donor is to respond to your cultivation efforts.
• Prospect reporting tools, which summarize prospect research data into custom, actionable reports your team can use to evaluate each prospect more deeply.
• Content generation tools, which generate email copy, direct mail messages, talking points for phone calls, and other outreach materials that you can tailor to each prospect.

AI is constantly evolving, so ensure your organization commits to using it responsibly. Adhere to data security best practices, evaluate your tools' outputs to ensure accuracy and eliminate bias, and be transparent about the ways your nonprofit uses AI in wealth and philanthropic screening.

4. Use Screening Data to Build Donor Relationships

As mentioned previously, the purpose of gathering and analyzing prospect data using wealth and philanthropic screening tools is to gain insights for donor relationship-building. Even prospects with significant giving capacities, strong philanthropic tendencies, and a deep affinity for your mission will only respond positively to your solicitations if they feel like your nonprofit values them as individuals.

Build on the knowledge you've gained from prospect research by meeting with each of your top prospects one-on-one and establishing regular communication cadences with them. When combined with your screening data, the information you learn from these interactions can help you determine:

• The best communication channels for following up with each prospect
• The projects or programs at your nonprofit they'd be most interested in supporting
• Opportunities for deeper engagement that align with their interests (such as attending a fundraising event that incorporates their hobbies or consulting on an initiative that could benefit from their professional expertise)
• The correct timing, format, amount, and gift designation for your fundraising ask

Once a prospect responds positively to your major gift solicitation, continue using the data you've collected to thank them in a way they'll appreciate and tailor your follow-up strategy to retain their support long-term.

As you implement these tips into your nonprofit's major donor prospecting efforts, you should periodically evaluate your results so you can improve your strategy over time. Additionally, remember that every organization has different needs and goals when it comes to wealth and philanthropic screening, so make sure to adapt your approach accordingly to make the most of your team's time and resources.

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