Prospect Research + Matching Gifts:

The Inside Scoop

As a nonprofit fundraiser on the lookout for new ways to maximize charitable support, there are a few avenues your team might not be paying enough attention to. Specifically, these are prospect research and matching gifts—and the two ideas go hand in hand.

After all, gathering the right data via prospect research can have a huge impact on the success of your donor engagement, relationship-building, and solicitation efforts. And matching gifts enable nonprofits like yours to literally double the funds they bring in.

When you unlock additional funding through prospect research and matching gifts, your organization is better able to serve its mission, bankroll important projects, and continue working toward its goals.

From learning the basics to soliciting your first prospects and stewarding donors into the matching gift lifecycle, this combined approach can be a game-changer for your organization.

Note: This guide focuses specifically on the intersection of matching gifts. To access a complete A-to-Z playbook on building your entire prospect research strategy, see our Ultimate Guide to Fundraising Intelligence.

See how Double the Donation supports smart matching gift fundraising to grow revenue.

Matching Gift Basics

What Are Corporate Matching Gifts?

Matching gift programs are a specific type of corporate philanthropy initiative through which companies match employee donations to eligible nonprofit causes.

For example, if a donor who works for Bank of America donates $250 to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or educational institution, the company will double the donation by supplying an additional $250 donation to the same nonprofit. All the donor has to do is fill out a brief online form requesting a match on behalf of the organization they support.

Then, voilà—the nonprofit group in question receives two generous gifts for the cost of soliciting one!

Prospect Research and Matching Gifts_Match Overview Illustration

Insightful Matching Gift Statistics to Know

65%

The percentage of Fortune 500 companies that offer matching gift programs for their employees

Matching gifts are the most widely available type of corporate philanthropy, with the majority of enterprise-level businesses offering such programs. Thousands of smaller employers match staff gifts as well, and more companies are rolling out new programs every day.

3% - 65%

The range between which matching gift participation rates typically fall, depending on program marketing efforts

Lack of program awareness is one of the leading causes of unclaimed matching gifts. While companies are encouraged to promote the opportunity to their employees, nonprofits have begun to take a proactive role in marketing matching gifts to their audiences as well.

$4 - $7 billion

The estimated amount of matching gift funding that goes unclaimed each year, largely due to a lack of awareness

Because matching gift participation rates are low across companies and industries, nonprofits miss out on substantial amounts of donations. Incorporating matching gift information into your conversations with high-quality prospects will help close the gap for your nonprofit.

71%

The average increase in response rate an organization sees when it mentions matching gifts in its donation appeals

84% of donors are more likely to give charitably if they know a matching gift opportunity is available. Thus, highlighting a prospect’s matching gift eligibility results in an increased likelihood that the individual ultimately makes a donation.

51%

The average increase in donation amount an organization sees when it mentions matching gifts in its donation appeals

Additionally, 1 in 3 donors states that they’d give a greater amount if a match were to be applied to their contribution. When prospects contribute as a result of an appeal mentioning matching gifts, the average gift size is significantly larger than if there wasn’t a match available.

Sources

Double the Donation’s Corporate Giving Statistics
The Big-Give Research Initiative
Tech Soup – Which Fundraising Strategies Work?

Prospect Research Basics

What Is Prospect Research?

Prospect research is a process performed by a nonprofit’s fundraising and development teams to gather additional data about their donors, supporters, and other potential givers. This information then equips nonprofits to evaluate an individual’s potential to support their particular causes (i.e., the prospect’s ability and affinity to do so).

To better understand the value of prospect research, take a look at the following scenario:

A donor with major giving potential contributes an average-sized gift to a crowdfunding campaign (let’s say $50). This individual may be willing to give a lot more to your nonprofit but hasn’t so far. Why? Crowdfunding efforts generally ask for smaller donations in order to appeal to the masses. And many supporters simply choose from the campaign page’s recommended giving levels.

But now, you’re soliciting donations for a capital campaign. If you base your appeal on the individual’s current giving level, you might request a gift in the same range (i.e., $50 – $70). Since a donor isn’t likely to give a gift significantly larger than what you ask for, their contribution would fall well below their giving potential. As such, you’d be leaving hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars on the table just because you didn’t ask for more.

Missed opportunities like the example above are the exact reason why it’s critical that organizations take the time to examine their donor pool. With the help of prospect research, you can sift through your donor database and segment contacts based on their giving potential and more.

In other words, donor data is the key to allocating limited resources in a way that generates the largest return on investment for your cause.

Prospect Research vs. Wealth Screening

Prospect Research

Prospect research involves gathering a wide range of information about potential donors to determine their inclination to support a particular nonprofit organization.

The main purpose of prospect research is to identify and prioritize those most likely to have an affinity for the organization’s mission and the financial capacity to make significant contributions.

This includes information beyond solely financial data. For example, an individual’s interests, connections to the nonprofit cause, past giving history, and other nonprofit involvement can provide useful insights into a prospect’s likelihood of giving.

Wealth Screening

Wealth screening, on the other hand, is a specific type of prospect research that focuses primarily on assessing an individual’s or organization’s financial capacity to make charitable donations.

The primary purpose of wealth screening is to identify individuals or entities with significant wealth or assets. This aims to uncover prospects who have the capacity to contribute major gifts to the organization.

Wealth screening often involves analyzing publicly available financial data. This includes real estate holdings, stock ownership, business affiliations, political contributions, and more to estimate an individual’s wealth or capacity to give.

Compelling Prospect Research Statistics

The percentage of contributors that account for over 76% of all donations

With such a small percentage of donors contributing the majority of charitable funds, nonprofits can tailor their focus accordingly. By narrowing your cultivation efforts to relationships with major giving potential, you can target those who have the capacity to make significant contributions to your cause.

20%

The average percentage of an individual’s total wealth that is representative of their real estate holdings

Real estate generally makes up a substantial amount of an individual’s wealth. If an organization can determine the approximate value of a prospect’s real estate holdings, it can use the information to estimate the individual’s total worth.

17x

The likelihood that individuals who own more than $2 million worth of real estate are to give compared to the average person

There’s a strong correlation between wealth, real estate ownership, and philanthropy. Nonprofits can target individuals with valuable real estate holdings in their fundraising efforts, as these make high-potential prospects that are more inclined to support their causes.

The likelihood that donors who have contributed $5,000 – $10,000 to charity are to make a donation compared to the average person

Previous charitable giving behavior is a strong predictor of future donations. Individuals who have demonstrated a history of giving at moderate-to-high donation levels are more likely to continue supporting charitable causes, making them particularly valuable prospects.

32x

The likelihood that donors who have made a $100k+ donation are to give compared to the average person

Those who have already contributed a major donation are going to be the most inclined to do so for your organization. These individuals have previously demonstrated a strong commitment to philanthropy, and you know they have the capacity and willingness to give at such generous levels.

14x

The likelihood that donors who make substantial political contributions are to give compared to the average person

Political giving can serve as a proxy for philanthropic inclination. By targeting individuals who have made substantial political contributions in the past, your team can appeal to those who have a proven willingness to “put their money where their mouth is.”

Sources

Double the Donation ¤ DonorSearch ¤ JGA

Sample Donor Prospect Profiles

Improve your wealth screening with employment information from Double the Donation.

How Prospect Research & Matching Gifts Work Together

Prospect research and matching gifts go hand in hand for effective nonprofit fundraising. While prospect research unveils a world of new prospects, matching gifts allow organizations to maximize those generous gifts.

A key component of a well-rounded prospect research strategy is centered on potential donors’ corporate or business affiliations. This includes employment data, such as where prospective donors (and their spouses) work⁠—or from which they are retired.

With tens of thousands of businesses—including more than 65% of Fortune 500 companies⁠—currently offering employee matching gift programs for their staff, there’s a huge potential to turn gifts of any size into larger, more impactful donations.

Here’s an example: Let’s say a prospective donor works for General Electric, which matches employee donations up to $50,000. If the prospect has the potential to contribute a significant gift, which can be doubled by their employer, they might shoot to the top of your list. Then, you can take a tailored approach to inform the individual about their matching gift potential throughout the engagement, cultivation, and solicitation processes!

Even many of your smallest-dollar donations can be stretched twice as far for your organization’s cause, with matching gifts bumping contributions into the next giving tier. Meanwhile, major gifts become even more impactful when a single donation can count twice, thanks to corporate matches.

When you introduce matching gifts into your prospect research efforts (or prospect research into your matching gift efforts!), the results can be very rewarding. Take a look at the following benefits!

A matching gift search tool can help you identify corporate and individual prospects from a list of people who have already made matching gifts to your nonprofit.
Matching gifts can encourage prospects to reach for new levels of giving with your organization through the comfort of their place of work.
Prospect research and matching gifts can assist your nonprofit in growing your corporate engagement efforts on the whole.
Focusing on donors with matching gift potential makes the value of that donor’s potential gift twice as high.

The Missing Link: How Employment Data Connects Screening to Matches

While prospect research provides a holistic view of a donor and wealth screening indicates financial capacity, there is often a disconnect between identifying a wealthy donor and securing a matching gift.

The solution? Employment data.

Donor employment data is the only reliable way to connect prospecting and screening efforts to matching gifts. You can know a donor’s real estate value, stock portfolio, and political giving history, but without knowing where they work, you cannot determine their matching gift (or broader workplace giving) eligibility.

Therefore, employment data acts as the bridge between “capacity” and “opportunity.”

Capacity: Wealth screening tells you a donor has the means to give $10,000.
Opportunity: Employment data tells you they work for Apple Inc., which matches up to $10,000 annually.

By prioritizing employment data in your prospect research strategy, you can transform a standard prospect profile into an actionable roadmap for doubled donations. This specific data point allows you to segment donors not just by how much they can give, but by how much their company will give on their behalf.

Benefits & Use Cases of Prospect Research and Matching Gifts

Key Benefits of Smart Prospect Research

Prospect research offers a wide range of advantages for the nonprofits and other fundraising organizations that employ the strategy. These benefits include the following:

DONATION APPEALS TAILORED TO MAXIMIZE GENEROSITY

Using the information gathered through prospect research, organizations can personalize their donor messaging based on recipients’ interests, giving history, financial capacity, employing companies, and more. When nonprofit fundraisers craft targeted appeals that resonate with donors on a more individualized level, they can increase the likelihood of donor support and engagement!

ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS PRIORITIZED TO FUEL INVOLVEMENT

Your hardworking fundraising staff only has so much time to spend engaging with donors. With prospect screening, you can quickly identify supporters with the highest potential for contributing the most valuable donations.

This permits your team to focus more of their efforts on building relationships with major donors, ultimately elevating your organization’s fundraising ROI.

NEW PROSPECTS UNCOVERED TO GROW GIVING

By analyzing publicly available data through prospect research (e.g., a compilation of charitable donations greater than $1,000,000), your organization can identify those with a demonstrated affinity for similar causes to your own, along with the ability to give substantial gifts. Though these individuals may not have an existing connection to your nonprofit, they can still make great new prospects with which to initiate relationships!

DONOR GIVING PATTERNS ANALYZED TO BOOST RESULTS

Use prospect research to examine historical donation data and identify trends in donors’ behavior! From there, you can use factors such as gift frequency, donation size, or workplace giving participation to supply valuable insights into supporters’ preferences and motivations. This information can also enable organizations to segment by demographic information, wealth indicators, philanthropic interests, and more.

Who Uses Prospect Research?

Just about any fundraising organization can use prospect research as a way to boost the results of their revenue generation strategies.

Enlisting this tool can go a long way in empowering these nonprofits (and more!) to become increasingly efficient and focused in their donor engagement and outreach efforts:

Higher education institutions
K-12 schools
Greek organizations
Healthcare and medical researchers

Arts and cultural organizations
Environmental groups
Faith-based organizations
Youth and community organizations

Primary Uses of Prospect Research in Nonprofit Fundraising

Among the various areas of fundraising that prospect research can help, there are a few that tend to benefit the most.

Matching Gifts

Corporate matching gifts have the potential to multiply nonprofits’ fundraising success, but many matches are going unclaimed due to a lack of program awareness. Luckily, in-depth prospect research can aid organizations in uncovering potential matching gift opportunities.

By leveraging the information an organization has on its donors, fundraisers can identify and pursue those who work for companies that offer matching gift programs for their employees.

Major Giving

Prospect research is the perfect tool for finding hidden major gift prospects in your existing donor database. It allows you to uncover past giving and involvement and track giving patterns that can help predict future major gifts, too.

For instance, you might have a faithful donor whose contributions have steadily increased over the past five years. With prospect research, you can examine that donor’s history and figure out the best strategy to ask for a major donation.

Capital Campaigns

A capital campaign is a long-term fundraising effort that’s usually tied to a large project, such as the construction of a new building or the development of an endowment.

Capital campaigns typically rely on a set number of major gifts during what is known as the “quiet phase” prior to the public launch. Then, fundraising is opened to everyone in what’s known as the “public phase.” And prospect research can help nonprofits find the most optimal donors for both phases.

Annual Giving

Annual giving is what keeps your organization’s wheels turning. Without it, you wouldn’t be able to complete your day-to-day operations and tasks.

While your organization likely asks all of your existing supporters for donations to your annual fund, you can use prospect research to search for and engage with new donors, too! Not to mention, you’re more likely to uncover prospects by looking into someone’s past giving to organizations and causes that align with your own.

Planned Giving

Planned giving refers to a way individuals can support nonprofits through planned or deferred gifts. These donations are arranged during a donor’s lifetime but are not fulfilled until a future date, often after the individual’s passing.

If locating planned gifts is not one of your strong suits, prospect screening can reveal top candidates for bequests and other legacy gifts. Ideal donors have a strong affinity for your mission, a history of generosity, and the capacity to contribute major gifts.

Data Points to Inform Prospect Research & Matching Gifts

Philanthropic Indicators

Philanthropic indicators represent an individual’s willingness to give to your organization. These include:

Wealth Indicators

Wealth indicators represent an individual’s ability to give to your organization. These include:

Previous Nonprofit Donations
Past giving is the best indicator of future giving because it means the supporter is interested in your cause and has already made a contribution. Prospect research helps uncover these previous donations so your organization can leverage that data and reach back out.
Other Nonprofit Donations
If your donors are philanthropically minded, they probably aren’t only giving to your nonprofit. Let prospect research unveil past giving to organizations with causes that are similar to yours.
Nonprofit Involvement
Giving isn’t the only indicator that an individual is philanthropically minded. With prospect research, you can identify other types of nonprofit involvement, such as advocacy work, volunteerism, and board membership.
Personal Information
While knowing the basics, such as a donor’s preferred name, gender, and marital status, can help when you send out donation appeals, prospect research can also help you learn more about the hobbies and interests of your prospects. Much of this information can be collected online or through data appending services and can help you identify ideal prospects.

Real Estate Ownership
The quality and quantity of real estate someone owns is always a top wealth indicator your fundraising team should be aware of. Individuals with notable real estate are proven to have large giving capacities that you can capitalize on in your nonprofit’s fundraising initiatives.
Business Affiliations
Prospect research can help you detect and leverage existing business connections among your donors. This research includes details about a donor’s career and salary estimates, which can indicate wealth and ability to give. You may also discover information about a donor’s employer’s corporate giving program, which can provide insights into potential matching gift opportunities.
Stock Ownership
Knowing about a contributor’s stock ownership can give you even more insight into their wealth and capacity to donate to your organization.
Political Giving
Chances are that an individual who has made sizable donations to a political campaign also has the giving capacity to donate major gifts to your nonprofit. By using prospect research to target this group, you can focus on winning over prospects with the potential to make generous contributions.

The Prospect Research (& Matching Gift Fundraising) Process

The nonprofit makes a plan.
The nonprofit determines exactly how it will approach the research process by establishing goals, deciding on a screening method, and building an intended timeline.
The nonprofit cleans its data.
The nonprofit ensures its donor data is clean and tidy prior to performing prospect research. Look for duplicate entries, outdated information, and lapsed donors!
The nonprofit conducts the screening and validates the results.
The organization conducts a screening of donor information using a combination of publicly available and privately held data sources. Once the fundraising team has its results, it should check for issues like common names, inaccurate real estate records, or outdated employment information.
The nonprofit analyzes the results.
The organization analyzes the results to identify individuals who are most likely to contribute significant amounts. Then, it makes a plan for developing or deepening those relationships.
The nonprofit solicits donors.
The organization should use the information uncovered by prospect research to craft their donation asks. Asks should be tailored according to ask size, communication channels, matching gift eligibility, and more.
The donor makes their contribution.
The donor supports the organization by contributing an online gift, direct mail donation, legacy gift, gifts of securities, and more.
The nonprofit encourages the donor to submit a match.
The nonprofit sends a reminder regarding the individual’s eligibility for a match along with helpful information and online form links to guide the donor through the request process. This step can be simplified by using a matching gift database tool like Double the Donation!
The donor completes the matching gift request process.
The donor completes the matching gift request process and secures a donation match from their employer on the nonprofit’s behalf.

While most companies require employees to complete a simple online form, others are even enabling Double the Donation’s auto-submission functionality to further streamline the experience for supporters!

Top Prospect Research and Matching Gift Tools

Your nonprofit might elect to bring in a prospect screening company for your prospect research needs.

Every prospect screening company is different, but most compare your donors against a variety of databases and create a comprehensive profile for each supporter. This will help your organization track, sort, and evaluate all of the new prospects among your donors.

Take a look at our recommended picks:

Double the Donation: Activating Your Employment Data

Double the Donation offers a range of tools for nonprofit and school fundraisers. Currently, the platform combines matching gift automation, broader workplace giving insights, and bulk data appending services to support organizations in their prospect research efforts.

In other words, while prospect screening tools help you find the data, Double the Donation is the tool that activates it.

After all, collecting employment data is only useful if you can turn it into revenue. Lucky for you, we serve as the engine that takes a simple “wealth flag” (like an employer name) and turns it into an actionable matching gift opportunity.

Here’s how Double the Donation activates your data:

Automated Identification: As donors give, the tool captures employment information to instantly screen for matching gifts and broader workplace giving eligibility.
Matching Gift Integrations: Pair Double the Donation with your donation forms and CRM to ensure that once you have the employment data, the appropriate follow-up emails are triggered automatically to drive the match to completion.
Streamlined Request Process: The platform supplies company-specific match program guidelines and forms directly to the donor, removing the friction from the process. For select qualifying donors, Double the Donation’s exclusive auto-submission functionality even processes the match request on their behalf, further streamlining the experience.
Employer Data Appends: Double the Donation matches the provided donor information against publicly and privately held data sources, filling in the gaps in your supporters’ employment records.

Learn more about Double the Donation’s Workplace Giving Insights.

Prospect research and matching gifts - how employer data can help

NPOInfo’s Prospect Research Tool

Like Double the Donation, NPOInfo aims to help organizations bridge the gap between donor data and matching gift revenue by specializing in employer appends. By adding current employer details to your existing donor records, your organization can build the specific data foundation needed to identify and target match-eligible prospects in your fundraising.

NPOInfo works with a variety of organizations, including nonprofits, associations, educational institutions, and healthcare organizations. This makes it a leading choice for securing this most critical data point (employment information) regardless of your mission, structure, or size.

Learn more about working with NPOInfo!

DonorSearch’s Prospect Research Tool

DonorSearch blends philanthropic and wealth metrics to help your organization make informed decisions about prospects and plan effective outreach. Interested organizations can choose from a few tools:

The complete charitable giving database. DonorSearch’s charitable giving database is comprehensive and constantly growing, housing tons of useful philanthropic and wealth data.
DSGiving search tool. DSGiving is a free, limited prospect research tool that offers no-cost access to a smaller-scale version of DonorSearch’s philanthropic and political contributions data.

Learn more about working with DonorSearch!

Wrapping Up & Further Reading

Prospect research is an essential tool for any organization seeking major gifts, organizing a capital campaign, implementing an annual fund, or otherwise aiming to maximize support for its mission. When prospect research efforts uncover matching gift opportunities, even better!

Just remember: to fully harness the power of these strategies, equipping your team with suitable tools and resources is essential. Investing in a robust prospect research solution—and integrating your matching gift platform—allows you to streamline processes, unleash hidden opportunities, and ultimately propel your fundraising efforts to new heights.

Keep learning! Check out these recommended resources to grow your understanding of all things prospect research and matching gifts:

Wealth Screening Guide

Prospect Research Resources - Wealth Screening

Wealth screening is one of the most essential tenets of an overall prospect research strategy. See how your team can identify high-capacity donors and match-eligible gifts with this guide.

READ NOW

Fundraising Data Analytics

Learn more about fundraising analytics with this additional resource

Harness the power of your nonprofit’s fundraising data and gain valuable insights into your donor base. See how you can make informed decisions and optimize your fundraising!

READ NOW

Maximizing Major Gifts

Learn more about major gift potential with this additional resource

Make the most of major gifts in your support network with these top strategies. Find out how to identify and cultivate your most valuable prospects with prospect research, wealth screening, and more.

READ NOW

Prospect Research + Matching Gifts:

The Inside Scoop

Matching Gift Basics

Insightful Matching Gift Statistics to Know

Prospect Research Basics

Prospect Research vs. Wealth Screening

Compelling Prospect Research Statistics

Sample Donor Prospect Profiles

How Prospect Research & Matching Gifts Work Together

The Missing Link: How Employment Data Connects Screening to Matches

Benefits & Use Cases of Prospect Research and Matching Gifts

Key Benefits of Smart Prospect Research

Who Uses Prospect Research?

Primary Uses of Prospect Research in Nonprofit Fundraising

Data Points to Inform Prospect Research & Matching Gifts

Philanthropic Indicators

Wealth Indicators

The Prospect Research (& Matching Gift Fundraising) Process

Top Prospect Research and Matching Gift Tools

Double the Donation: Activating Your Employment Data

NPOInfo’s Prospect Research Tool

DonorSearch’s Prospect Research Tool

Wrapping Up & Further Reading

Wealth Screening Guide

Fundraising Data Analytics

Maximizing Major Gifts

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