Key takeaways:
- Major donor research goes beyond wealth screening. It combines verified wealth indicators, leadership roles, philanthropic history, and relationship intelligence to assess true major gift potential.
- Effective major donor research is continuous. Donor capacity, influence, and priorities change over time. This requires ongoing insight, not just one-time screening.
- Relationship mapping enables warm introductions. Understanding who knows whom strengthens board engagement and improves major gift conversion.
- Data quality and human verification are essential. Accurate, transparent, and regularly updated data builds confidence and reduces fundraising and compliance risk.
- Global visibility expands major donor opportunities. Many high-value donors live, work, and give across borders, making global coverage critical.
- Major donor research drives measurable outcomes. Strong research improves pipeline coverage, conversion rates, time to qualification, and campaign readiness.
Major donor research is the foundation of effective major gift fundraising, but expectations are evolving significantly.
As highlighted in our recent article on major donor fundraising, fundraising teams entered the past year facing a more complex and competitive environment. Economic uncertainty, shifting donor priorities, generational wealth transfer, and increased scrutiny on institutional trust all raised the bar for how nonprofits engage major donors.
At the same time, many organizations were asked to do more with fewer resources. Broad-based screening and cold outreach proved less effective, while personalized engagement, trusted relationships, and well-timed conversations became increasingly critical to major gift success.
In this environment, traditional approaches to donor research—often reliant on static wealth screening or periodic list-building—cannot meet the needs of modern fundraising teams. What has emerged instead is a shift toward continuous, intelligence-driven major donor research: research that combines verified wealth insight with leadership roles, philanthropic behavior, and relationship networks to support better decision-making across the major gift lifecycle.
This guide explores what major donor research is today, how it differs from donor prospect research, and how nonprofits are using deeper, more dynamic intelligence to strengthen major donor fundraising strategies. You’ll learn why data quality, global coverage, and CRM-native access are now essential, as well as how organizations are adapting their research practices to meet the realities of modern philanthropy.
What is major donor research?
Major donor research is the process of identifying, qualifying, and prioritizing individuals who have both the capacity and the propensity to make significant philanthropic contributions. It combines financial insight with contextual intelligence (leadership roles, business ownership, philanthropic history, and relationship networks) to guide strategic fundraising decisions.
While donor prospect research often answers “Who might be able to give?”, major donor research goes further by addressing:
- Who is most likely to make a major gift?
- Which causes and organizations do they already support?
- How are they connected to our institution or leadership?
- When is the right time to engage, and how should we approach them?
In practice, major donor research supports every stage of the major gift lifecycle, from discovery and qualification to cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
Major donor research vs. donor prospect research
Donor prospect research: broad and foundational
Donor prospect research focuses on identifying potential donors across a broad database using high-level indicators such as giving history, demographics, and estimated wealth. It is essential for pipeline development but is often episodic and surface-level.
Major donor research: focused and strategic
Major donor research is narrower in scope but deeper in insight. It concentrates on individuals who could meaningfully advance an organization’s mission through major gifts. Rather than relying on net worth estimates alone, it integrates verified wealth, leadership, philanthropic behavior, and relationship intelligence to support personalized, relationship-led engagement.
Differences between major donor research and basic donor screening
Basic donor screening helps identify potential donors, but major donor research goes deeper. It combines verified wealth, leadership, philanthropic history, and relationship insights to support personalized, well-timed major gift engagement. As fundraising becomes more relationship-driven, organizations are shifting from one-time screening to continuous, intelligence-led research.
| Dimension | Basic donor screening | Major donor research |
| Primary purpose | Identify potential donors at scale | Prioritize and engage high-value donors |
| Scope | Broad donor database | Focused major gift prospects |
| Wealth insight | Estimated net worth | Verified wealth and liquidity context |
| Data depth | Surface-level | Wealth, leadership, philanthropy, networks |
| Relationship visibility | Minimal | Warm paths and influence mapping |
| Update frequency | Periodic | Continuous |
| Fundraising use | Segmentation | Cultivation, timing, stewardship |
| Decision confidence | Lower | Higher |
| Workflow | External lists | CRM-native |
Why major donor research matters for major gift fundraising
Major gift fundraising is inherently relationship-driven. Significant gifts rarely result from transactional outreach; they emerge from trust, alignment, and sustained engagement. Major donor research reduces uncertainty by helping fundraising teams focus time and effort where it is most likely to drive impact.
For major gift officers, it supports better prioritization, more confident asks, and stronger personalization. For advancement leaders, it improves forecasting, pipeline visibility, and alignment with institutional goals.
Top pain points facing fundraising teams
Whether you are a Chief Development Officer, Prospect Researcher, Major Gifts Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, or Advancement Chair, the pressures shaping major donor fundraising today are increasingly shared, despite differences in daily responsibilities. Each of these roles relies on accurate, timely donor insight to make decisions, manage risk, guide strategy, and build trusted relationships. When donor research falls short, the impact is felt across the entire advancement ecosystem—from frontline outreach to executive oversight and board engagement.
Major donor research doesn’t work in a vacuum. It’s shaped by the real constraints, expectations, and accountability facing fundraising leaders, researchers, and influencers alike.
The following pain points consistently surface across organizations working to grow major gifts in a more complex and resource-constrained environment. Let’s explore what they mean in practice for each role.
Pressure to grow revenue with limited staff and resources
Development teams are being asked to deliver ambitious fundraising goals without proportional increases in headcount, budget, or tools. Efficiency is essential to sustaining momentum.
| Role | Pain point |
| Chief Development Officer | Increased pressure to hit revenue targets while justifying investments and demonstrating ROI to leadership and boards |
| Major Gifts Officer | Larger portfolios and less time per donor, increasing the risk of misprioritization |
| Prospect Researcher | Constant demand for faster insights without sacrificing accuracy or depth |
| Advancement Chair | Expectation to support fundraising outcomes without clear data on where influence will be most effective |
Difficulty identifying and qualifying new high-value donors
Many organizations rely heavily on existing donor networks, making it difficult to surface new major gift prospects. This especially affects those outside traditional geographies or historical pipelines.
| Role | Pain point |
| Prospect Researcher | Long prospect lists with limited clarity on true capacity or readiness |
| Major Gifts Officer | Hesitation to invest time in unfamiliar prospects without strong qualification signals |
| Chief Development Officer | Pipeline risk if new major donor discovery does not keep pace with fundraising goals |
| Advancement Chair | Fewer clear opportunities to introduce peers or open new doors |
Traditional wealth screening no longer feels sufficient
Estimated net worth alone rarely provides enough context to guide major gift strategy. Fundraisers increasingly recognize that wealth screening does not capture liquidity, intent, or engagement readiness.
| Role | Pain point |
| Prospect Researcher | Frustration with surface-level indicators that require extensive manual follow-up |
| Major Gifts Officer | Uncertainty around appropriate ask levels and timing |
| Chief Compliance Officer | Increased concern about data accuracy, sourcing, and defensibility |
| Chief Development Officer | Reduced confidence in portfolio composition and campaign readiness |
Limited visibility into relationships and influence networks
Boards and senior leaders are often expected to help open doors, yet many organizations lack structured insight into who knows whom and how strong those relationships actually are.
| Role | Pain point |
| Advancement Chair | Difficulty activating peer networks strategically rather than reactively |
| Major Gifts Officer | Missed opportunities for warm introductions and coordinated outreach |
| Chief Development Officer | Board engagement that feels uneven or underutilized |
| Prospect Researcher | Reliance on anecdotal knowledge rather than documented relationship intelligence |
Misalignment across fundraising and governance roles
| Role | Pain point |
| Chief Development Officer | Limited visibility into whether strategy, execution, and outcomes are aligned |
| Prospect Researcher | Repeated ad hoc requests and inconsistent application of insights |
| Major Gifts Officer | Gaps between research findings and day-to-day donor engagement |
| Chief Compliance Officer | Greater exposure to data governance and regulatory risk |
| Advancement Chair | Unclear understanding of where time and influence can drive the greatest impact |
From role-specific challenges to measurable outcomes
While these pain points surface differently depending on role, they converge around a shared need: clear, trusted, and actionable donor intelligence that supports better decisions across the organization.
- For fundraising leaders, this intelligence must translate into increased funds and pipeline health.
- For frontline teams, it must enable faster qualification and more effective engagement.
- For governance and compliance leaders, it must be accurate, defensible, and transparent.
- For board influencers, it must clarify where relationships truly matter.
This is why major donor research is increasingly evaluated by data and outcomes. The impact of modern, intelligence-driven research shows up most clearly in the KPIs that advancement leaders track to measure fundraising success.
Major donor research KPIs for fundraising leaders
| KPI | Why it matters |
| Total funds raised | Better prioritization drives revenue |
| Major gift conversion rate | Personalization improves outcomes |
| Pipeline coverage | Research expands qualified prospects |
| Board engagement | Relationship insight clarifies impact |
| Time to qualification | Faster insight speeds action |
| Campaign readiness | Early visibility reduces risk |
Key components of effective major donor research
Wealth indicators beyond net worth
Business ownership, liquidity events, real estate, investments, and family office involvement provide context, not just size.
Leadership roles and influence
Executive and board roles signal governance experience and influence within philanthropic networks.
Philanthropic history
Past giving, board service, and cause alignment help tailor engagement.
Relationship and network intelligence
Major gifts are often unlocked through relationships, not cold outreach. Network intelligence reveals how donors are connected to board members, executives, staff, or peers, creating opportunities for warm introductions and coordinated engagement.
Warm introductions are often the difference between stalled outreach and meaningful donor engagement. This article illustrates how relationship mapping helps fundraising teams identify natural connection points and engage major donors with greater confidence.
From static screening to continuous donor intelligence
For many nonprofits, donor research has historically been treated as a periodic exercise—often conducted annually, before a campaign, or during a database refresh. While this approach once sufficed, it no longer reflects the reality of how wealth, influence, and philanthropy evolve.
Modern major donor research is continuous, recognizing that donor profiles are dynamic rather than fixed.
Wealth changes through liquidity events, business exits, inheritance, and market shifts. Leadership roles evolve as individuals join boards, step into executive positions, or transition into advisory and philanthropic leadership roles. Philanthropic priorities also shift over time, influenced by life stage, generational change, global events, and evolving social causes.
A continuous research model allows fundraising teams to:
- Detect meaningful changes in donor capacity or influence as they happen
- Refine major gift portfolios in real time rather than waiting for annual reviews
- Identify the right moment to engage following career, wealth, or philanthropic milestones
- Adjust cultivation strategies as donor interests and affiliations evolve
This approach also supports a more adaptive fundraising strategy. Major gift officers rebalance portfolios using current insight, so they focus time and attention on prospects with the greatest potential and relevance.
Ultimately, continuous donor intelligence shifts research from a retrospective activity into a forward-looking strategic capability, supporting better timing, stronger personalization, and more resilient fundraising pipelines.
Data quality, verification, and trust
Major donor research is only as strong as the data behind it. Inaccurate, inferred, or outdated information undermines confidence, slows decision-making, and can damage donor relationships. This rings particularly true at the major and principal gift level.
Thus, data quality and verification are central to modern donor research.
High-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals often hold wealth across complex structures, including privately held businesses, trusts, family offices, and international assets. Automated or purely model-driven estimates frequently fail to capture this complexity, leading to incomplete or misleading conclusions.
High-quality major donor research depends on:
- Human-verified data to confirm wealth indicators, leadership roles, and affiliations
- Transparent sourcing that allows researchers to understand where insights originate
- Regular validation to reflect changes in assets, roles, and philanthropic activity
- Consistent standards across datasets to support confident comparison and prioritization
For fundraising teams, verified data translates directly into trust:
- Trust that outreach is based on accurate understanding of donor capacity
- Trust that teams engage leadership and board members appropriately
- Trust that major gift officers can speak confidently and credibly with donors
As donors expect greater transparency and accountability, data verification becomes a strategic priority—not a technical detail. It is a strategic necessity.
Supporting global major donor fundraising
Philanthropy now extends beyond geographic boundaries. Universities, healthcare systems, and mission-driven organizations increasingly engage donors whose wealth, influence, and philanthropic interests span countries and continents.
Effective major donor research must reflect this reality.
Global donor intelligence supports fundraising teams by:
- Identifying high-net-worth individuals who reside outside traditional fundraising regions
- Capturing internationally held assets, businesses, and investments
- Mapping leadership roles and board service across global organizations
- Understanding cross-border philanthropic patterns and cultural context
For many nonprofits, some of the most promising major donors are alumni, former patients, or supporters who have built wealth internationally—often beyond the reach of domestic data sources or internal records. Without global coverage, these individuals can remain invisible or under-prioritized.
Global major donor research also supports:
- International campaigns and capital initiatives
- Engagement of globally distributed boards and advisory councils
- More inclusive and accurate representation of donor potential across the full community
As wealth creation and philanthropy continue to globalize, organizations that rely solely on domestic research risk missing meaningful opportunities for growth and long-term support.
Embedding research into fundraiser workflows
Even the most sophisticated donor intelligence delivers limited value if it remains siloed from day-to-day fundraising activity. Modern major donor research works best when fundraising teams embed insights directly into their workflows rather than standalone reports or disconnected systems.
CRM integrations and APIs play a critical role in making this possible.
By integrating donor intelligence into existing systems, fundraising teams can:
- Access wealth, leadership, and relationship insight within donor records
- Reduce time spent switching between tools or duplicating research
- Keep portfolios current without manual data entry
- Coordinate outreach more effectively across teams
For major gift officers, this means less time validating information and more time building relationships. Prospect research teams field fewer ad hoc requests and apply insights with greater consistency. For advancement leaders, it means clearer visibility into pipeline health and fundraising readiness.
Embedding research into workflows also supports organizational alignment to ensure that everyone from frontline fundraisers to executive leadership is working from the same, up-to-date understanding of donor potential.
In this way, major donor research evolves from a support function into a core operational asset, directly enabling action, collaboration, and impact.
How Altrata supports major donor research
Altrata supports modern major donor research by combining human-verified wealth intelligence, leadership and board mapping, philanthropic insight, and relationship data with global coverage and CRM-native access. This enables fundraising teams to move from static screening to relationship-led engagement with confidence. Learn more about how Altrata can help you build relationships that drive your mission forward.
Real-world example: uncovering wealthy alumni beyond traditional regions
Challenge
The team at ESCP Foundation was struggling to identify major donor–level alumni who had built significant wealth after moving outside traditional fundraising geographies. Internal records and basic wealth screening provided limited visibility into private business ownership, leadership roles, and international success. This left high-potential donors under-engaged.
Approach
Using global, human-verified wealth and leadership intelligence, the advancement team expanded its major donor research beyond domestic data sources. This enabled fundraisers to validate alumni wealth context, prioritize prospects more confidently, and equip major gift officers with accurate, up-to-date donor profiles.
Impact
The institution surfaced new high-value alumni prospects, strengthened its major donor pipeline, and supported more strategic, relationship-led outreach; regardless of where alumni lived or worked.
Read the full case study for more insights
Closing thoughts
Major donor research has evolved from a periodic screening exercise into a strategic, intelligence-driven capability that shapes how nonprofits identify opportunities, build trust, and drive major gift success.
To see how leading fundraising teams use verified wealth and relationship insight to identify, qualify, and connect with major donors, we invite you to speak with our team.
FAQs
What is major donor research?
The process of identifying and qualifying individuals with capacity and likelihood to make significant gifts using verified, multi-dimensional intelligence.
How is it different from donor prospect research?
Prospect research casts a wide net; major donor research targets strategic opportunities.
Why isn’t net worth enough?
It doesn’t reflect liquidity, intent, or readiness.
Can it support international fundraising?
Yes. Global coverage is essential.
Who uses major donor research?
Major gift officers, prospect researchers, advancement leaders, executives, and boards.