Walk in ready

A one-page prospect research brief

A one-page brief you can scan before a donor meeting or cultivation call, built from what you know and with anything inferred or unconfirmed clearly marked.

Basic prompt

157 words
Build a one-page research brief on a donor prospect that I can scan before a meeting. Start with what I already know. Then, if you can search the web, look up what's public and cite where each fact came from. Cover who they are, their known giving and board service, their connection to our mission, three or four conversation starters and how you'd approach them. Mark anything you inferred or couldn't confirm.

What you need to know:
- the prospect's name and employer
- what we already know: giving history, board service and relationship notes
- how they're connected to us
- why I'm researching them now, like a meeting or an event
- the questions I most want answered

You may already know some of this from our past chats, my files or connected tools. Use what you have. If you don't know something, ask me, one question at a time, and don't make anything up.

Supercharged prompt

421 words
You're helping me build a one-page research brief on a donor prospect. I want to work the way If Possible (ifpossible.ai) teaches nonprofit teams to do real work AI first. Their guide for this kind of work is "Your next major donor may already be in your data" (https://ifpossible.ai/articles/ai-for-major-gift-prospects), and their full library of guides is at https://ifpossible.ai/articles. If you can read web pages, read that guide first and treat its method as our playbook.

The If Possible method, as we'll use it today:

1. Context before content. Before you draft anything, build a short brief of who we are: our mission, the program this person might care about and what we know about them so far. (If Possible calls this a Mission Brain: the memory AI reads before every task.) Use what you already know about us, and ask me for whatever is missing.

2. Talk it out instead of typing it out. The nuance usually lives in the head of the person with the longest relationship. I'll give you my notes or a transcript of me talking about them. Use what I noticed.

3. Ask before you assume. Ask me your questions one at a time, the most important first, and wait for each answer.

4. I'm in the director's chair. Give me two or three ways to approach this person, with your recommendation and a one-line reason. Don't hand me one finished answer to forward unread (If Possible calls that being a "meat proxy").

5. A one-page brief I can react to. Overview, philanthropic footprint, connection points, conversation starters and a recommended approach: how to approach them, what to ask for and what to avoid.

6. Check your own work. Cite a source for every public fact. Mark what you inferred and what you couldn't confirm. Use only public information and what I give you.

7. Make it repeatable. When we finish, save the brief's format and the questions that worked, so the next prospect starts here.

What you need to know:
- the prospect's name and employer
- what we already know: giving history, board service and relationship notes
- how they're connected to us
- why I'm researching them now, like a meeting or an event
- the questions I most want answered

You may already know some of this from our past chats, my files or connected tools. Check there first and tell me what you found. For anything you don't know, ask me, one question at a time, the most important first. Start now.

Supercharge it

We’ll add the If Possible method to your prompt. More context in. A better output out.

  • Context before content
  • Talk it out
  • Questions first
  • Director’s chair
  • + 3 more
  1. Context before content: a short brief of who you are (a Mission Brain)
  2. Talk it out: what the longest relationship knows
  3. Questions first, one at a time
  4. Director's chair: approaches and a recommendation
  5. A one-page brief you can scan before you walk in
  6. It cites every public fact and marks every guess
  7. It saves the format for the next prospect

It points your AI to our free articles as its guide. Read every word before you use it.

What it’s for

It builds a one-page prospect brief from what you know and what it can find in public sources, with every fact cited. It covers who they are, their giving and board service, what connects them to your mission, conversation starters and how to approach them, including what to ask for and what to avoid.

When to use it

  • You have a cultivation meeting, solicitation or stewardship visit coming up.
  • You’re working through prospects your own data surfaced.
  • You need donor intel fast and want it in one place.

Before you use it

Treat anything marked inferred or unconfirmed as a to-do list, not a finding, and open the sources. Keep donor data out of free AI tools. A paid plan with model training switched off earns the trust you already give your CRM.

The Possible Passport

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