Fundraisers are constantly told to “get out and meet more donors.”
But that advice misses the deeper issue: outreach takes time, and most gift officers are already maxed out. When you’re managing a caseload, preparing proposals, stewarding existing donors, and handling internal meetings, where’s the time to make outreach to new prospects.
Plus, research has found that two-thirds of a fundraiser’s outreach is futile. Either the supporters don’t respond or eventually prove to be unqualified, especially because the timing isn’t right. Sending fundraisers on wild-goose chases only to come up with false positives drives them to quit—and that costs money in a variety of ways.
Prospect research and wealth screening alone can’t solve these concerns. Consequently, most fundraising shops wonder if they are overlooking their best prospects (those who are wealthy and ready for outreach) while their staff is chasing ghosts.
Think about it this way; your CRM probably contains:
- Newly wealthy individuals who haven’t yet signaled capacity or shown up on wealth screening. These folks might have exited a business, received an inheritance, or simply made it so ‘big data’ can’t tell how much they have;
- Loyal donors with under-the-radar means (again, wealthy people have good reason to hide their assets);
- Supporters nearing a life stage where giving becomes part of their legacy plan.
However, traditional prospect identification methods can’t help you gather this kind of private, qualitative data. As a result, supposedly wealthy supporters get assigned to already stretched staff. Then the cycle continues.
What If There Was a Way to Help Donors Qualify Themselves?
Imagine engaging thousands of supporters so they tell you:
- Why they care
- What they care about
- Whether they’re open to a conversation
- If they’re considering a significant gift—now or in the future
- Why they might make that gift (their motivations) and how
- And more
That’s not a fantasy. That’s what happens when you use Fundraising Automation.
It flips the entire model. Instead of guessing who might be ready, your supporters raise their hands—and your gift officers only focus on those who have shown interest, affinity, and intent while signaling capacity by laying out which assets they’d consider sharing.
Automation Doesn’t Replace Fundraisers—It Frees Them
Gift officers shouldn’t be buried in spreadsheets or chasing cold leads. They should be building trust with warm, qualified prospects, facilitating meaningful conversations about giving, and co-creating philanthropic roadmaps with supporters. That’s what they’re good at. Not making cold calls!
Automation doesn’t take this in-person, relational work away—it makes more of it possible.
It alerts you to who’s ready. It delivers the right messages over time to warm supporters up and keep them on simmer. That keeps your supporters feeling known and respected along the way until they signal that the time is right for deeper engagement.
Multiply Outreach Without Burning Out Your Team
Let’s put it in numbers:
- The traditional model: A gift officer ‘might’ be able to truly assess 100 assigned prospects per year. Maybe 20–30 of them qualify as strong prospects. The process is time-consuming and rejection is rampant. Yet, most won’t be ready to talk turkey for some time.
- The contemporary model: A system engages 20,000+ people in your database. Hundreds self-qualify and opt-in for cultivation—and over time your team focuses only on those who are ready. Meanwhile, many of them will arrange appointments with you on their own. Imagine that! This way, fundraisers stay in their lane doing what they do best while the automation handles the grunt work.
Want to see what this would look like for your organization?
Schedule a free demo and we’ll show you how many major donors might be hiding in plain sight. Plus, we’ll explain our 10-to-1 Return on Investment Guarantee. We’re not afraid to offer it because our system always works. We’ve never had to give any money back.
Related Resources:
- 5 Steps to Take As You Prepare For Outreach to Major Giving Prospects
- The 4 Habits You Need to Develop for Productive Major Donor Outreach
- How to Determine Which Prospects Are Prioritized for Outreach
- How to Help Major Donors Give More By Knowing Their Own Motivations for Giving
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