Using ResearchPoint™ to Enhance Prospect Research in Small Nonprofits

Amy Vavra

In the world of fundraising, it's common to juggle multiple roles. Whether you're handling operations, major giving, annual fund, planned giving, or prospect research, finding time to do anything beyond keeping the wheels turning can be challenging. But with the right tools, even the smallest shops can achieve significant success.

1. Make the data work for you!

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ResearchPoint integrates with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT® so you can view all your wealth data where you spend most of your time—in your CRM. Whether you have Affluence Insights, WealthPoint®, ProspectPoint, or all of them, ensure that the data is synced over to Raiser's Edge NXT so that you can see it every day when you are in your Fundraiser Work Center.



2. Use your WealthPoint screenings.

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Check your subscription status and add to your calendar the date by which you need to use your screenings. A few suggestions on who to screen if you are stumped: event attendees, prospective board members, new donors, anyone who has given for 3+ consecutive years, or donors with high predictive wealth. Use Research Lists to easily build groups of people and screen them in bulk. If you are new to Research Lists, look at How do I create a Research List in ResearchPoint? to learn more on how to easily build your lists. Here's a tip: if you have Blackbaud Analytics Services as part of your subscription, you will already have helpful queries and research lists built to get you started.



3. Ensure the data is actionable by creating a plan.

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No time to reach out to every single donor individually? Use screening results to create groups to steward differently. Reach your midlevel donors with an appeal just for them, prioritize the top 10 prospects you need to meet with this year, and create a sustainer giving group filled with loyal donors.



Interested in learning more? Check out Prospect Research for the Non-Researcher.



Remember, this can all be used together with ProspectPoint. Questions on how to use them together? Check out this blog post: Choosing the Right Prospecting Tool: Blackbaud ResearchPoint™ vs. Prospect Insights.