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Fundraising Intelligence Isn’t Just for Large Nonprofits

If you work with a hometown nonprofit with only a few staff and a small pool of donors, you may think a fundraising intelligence (aka prospect research) platform is out of your league.  You may even think that since your nonprofit has relatively modest fundraising goals, you don’t need an FI tool in the first place.

At iWave, we strongly believe every nonprofit should be able to access critical donor information that helps them connect with donors, attract support, and achieve their goals.

While it’s easy to consider fundraising intelligence platforms a luxury enjoyed by big universities and hospital foundations, here are a few points that challenge those preconceptions.

Fundraising intelligence leads to more major gifts, period.

What is the fastest way to grow a small nonprofit into an organization that effects major change?  More donations certainly help, especially if they are coming from passionate philanthropists!

The Major Gifts Fundraising Benchmark Study sampled hundreds of nonprofits about their fundraising practices.  The results reveal prospect research is critical to success.  Out of the respondents who utilize prospect research in their fundraising, a whopping 84% met their goals year over year.

Imagine growing your organization’s operating budget exponentially.  Your cause could expand in scope and impact almost overnight.  But you can’t get there by throwing out major gift asks like shots in the dark.  Successful fundraising requires the research and development of evidence-based major gift asks informed by data that are delivered to the right prospects.

How does fundraising intelligence help?  To start, it helps reveal the “three keys” to a more confident major gift ask.  Read more about the three keys here.

FI platforms are intuitive, user-friendly, and fast.

If you have a small team or wear several hats at your nonprofit, you might think you don’t have the time or expertise for a fundraising intelligence platform.  You’re in luck!  Platforms like iWave were designed to offer the high-value results veteran prospect researchers expect with an intuitive interface that any nonprofit professional could use no matter their skill set.

G2 Crowd is a peer review website that lists a wide range of technology companies.  In the prospect research and fundraising space, iWave is consistently ranked highest for several features, including:

  • Intuitive interface
  • User-friendly features
  • Wealth screening accuracy
  • Ability to search across multiple databases and/or individual databases
  • Donor management system integrations
  • Customizable settings and prospect scores

Check out reviews of iWave here.

Choose the platform that works best for you.

iWave is a one-stop-shop for nonprofits large and small to start taking their fundraising to the next level.  It is rated to have one of the smartest interface and most user-friendly features available on any FI platform.

iWave is also one of the most affordable tools on the market.

But what if you are brand new to prospect research and just want to try it out?  What if your budget only allows you to use an FI platform for a couple months at a time?  What if you are happy with simply maintaining your fundraising goals?  For these reasons and more, iWave Lite might be a great option for you.

iWave Lite is in beta mode now.  Get in touch to try it out.

It’s never been easier to give FI a try!

Fundraising intelligence is a system of tools and strategies designed to help nonprofits make stronger connections with current and prospective donors.  Here at iWave, we want to help you and your nonprofit make the world a better place.  That hard work begins with fundraising, but you are not alone.  iWave’s effective and affordable fundraising intelligence solutions can help you take your nonprofit to the next level.

About the author: Ryan McCarvill joined the iWave team in 2016. Ryan enjoys meeting and learning from nonprofit professionals, researching trends in the nonprofit community, and offering strategies for development teams to use iWave’s solutions to meet and exceed their fundraising goals.

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