Enable Faster Insights from Donor Research Tools

This time last year, many non-profits and foundations anticipated major fundraising shortfalls given the economic turmoil caused by the global pandemic. Many individual organizations did struggle due to a decline in donations or increased demand—sometimes both. Yet when 2020 wound down, the numbers told a different story. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that giving rose by more than 10% over 2019 numbers, noting, “More Americans gave to charity last year than in 2019, with the greatest increase in the form of gifts under $250, according to estimates from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project.” Whether your organization wants to kick-start sputtering donations or maintain current upward momentum, building comprehensive donor profiles is a critical step. Do you have the right tool for the job? Check out the benefits of conducting donor research faster using Nexis® for Development Professionals.

1.    Focused search yields faster insights

Who doesn’t love Google? It’s a great tool when you want to get driving directions for a weekend getaway or find the best pizza parlour nearby. But if you want to expand your corporate giving database or connect with prospective high-value donors, searching the open web for relevant information can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Nexis for Development Professionals allows for targeted searches that bring back relevant results from a world-leading collection of news, company and executive information, and public records*. You can even drill through search results further by switching between source groupings, selecting specific sources, or applying other post-search filters.

2.    Easily make connections between billions of data points

Intimidated at the thought of searching 83+ billion public records aggregated from more than 10,000 sources? Nexis for Development Professionals takes the hassle out of the hunt, thanks to LexisNexis® SmartLinx®. This powerful technology automatically reveals relationships between people, places, and property—even when they aren’t obvious. The result? You can quickly generate a comprehensive Person or Company report that brings together vital details, including contact information, employment, business associations, property ownership and more—in one convenient place. 

3.    Share research results with a wider team

Keep your colleagues informed with the latest results of donor or prospect research. Nexis for Development Professionals lets you create shareable work folders and add documents from News, Company, Biographical and Legal results. You can even add annotations to articles to highlight relevant details, ensuring that other team members have the information they need to enhance donor outreach efforts. You can also set up email alerts—for yourself or others within your organization—to receive timely notifications when news breaks about a key donor or a topic of interest.

4.    Generate corporate prospecting lists in a few clicks

Individual donors may account for the lion’s share of donations—70% according to recent figures—but that doesn’t discount the value of corporate philanthropy to boost fundraising potential. Nexis for Development Professionals connects seamlessly to Nexis® Dossier, allowing you fast access to deep company, executive and industry data. For example, you can generate a prospecting list of executives at specific companies that offer employees matching gift programs or paid time off for volunteer days. It’s worth the effort—especially when Nexis for Development Professionals makes it so simple—because data gathered by Double the Donations found that “The top 10 most generous corporations donate over $2 billion annually to non-profits, much of it through employee matching gift programs.”

Find untapped opportunities and more

As the expression goes, the early bird gets the worm. See how being able to conduct donor research faster can help you: 

• Find key wealth and giving indicators with sources like WealthEngine® Wealth Scores, Larkspur Prospects of Wealth®, and Guidestar™ to gain a clear picture of donor potential.
• Track mentions of key donors and prospects in the news to discover natural door openers for ongoing engagement.
• Conduct due diligence on potential philanthropic partners for red flags like negative news coverage or signs of financial instability that could expose your organization to reputational or financial risk.

Ready to get started? Learn more about this powerful research platform for development professionals and arrange a demo today.

*Access to U.S. Public Records content is subject to credentialing. Due to the nature of the origin of public record information, the public records and commercially available data sources used in reports may contain errors.

Due to the nature and origin of public record information, the public records and commercially available data sources used in reports may contain errors. The LexisNexis Public Records services are not provided by “consumer reporting agencies,” as that term is defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. §, et seq.) (“FCRA”) and do not constitute “consumer reports,” as that term is defined in the FCRA. Accordingly, these LexisNexis services may not be used in whole or in part as a factor in determining eligibility for credit, insurance, employment, or another eligibility purpose in connection with which a consumer report may be used under the FCRA.