Most fundraisers would agree that they’re under pressure. The rising cost of living has led to an increased demand for services and a shrinking donor pool. Additionally, public trust in the sector has been tarnished by reports of poor fundraising practices.
However, we’d be remiss to say it’s all doom and gloom. There are plenty of opportunities for organisations willing to spend time building their donor relationships. Believe it or not, wealth screening can really help with this.
Wealth screening can help you better understand your existing supporters by providing information on how many high-net-worth individuals are on your database and how many also have connections to corporates and grant-making trusts. For us, wealth screening means comparing our Wealth Intelligence Database with your supporter database to look for matches. A prospect who shows up on both databases is likely a good candidate for a major gift.
Done well, wealth screening can support you to build long-term, sustainable relationships with your donors. The charities that have the most success with it are the ones that see it as a tool to identify key individuals to build relationships with, not as a replacement for stewardship. Having a high-net-worth individual on your database isn’t enough to secure a major gift, but it is a good starting point for building a relationship.
To make the most of your wealth screening, have an action plan in place for the data. Loop in every fundraising team to let them know what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and how they can be involved in the stewardship. The only time we’ve seen wealth screening not work is when the research sits unused for months, going out of date.
There are still murmurings in the sector that there’s something unlawful or untoward about wealth screening. First off, it’s completely lawful, and reputable wealth screening providers won’t work with you if you don’t have all your data protection due diligence in place. Secondly, it’s an entry point for the more nuanced, well-researched approach to relationship building, which enables a major gift programme to flourish.
With fundraising teams pushed for time, wealth screening can help you prioritise who to focus on and avoid making inappropriate asks.
Will 2026 be the year you discover your major gift fundraising potential? If so, we’re here to help. At Prospecting for Gold, we specialise in research, wealth screening, consultancy and regulatory compliance, making fundraising more effective and successful.
Get in touch to start your research-based fundraising journey.