Your next major donor may already be in your data
Most nonprofits only give their biggest donor the personal treatment. AI can find who else deserves it and help you prepare for every one of those conversations.
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.
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.
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.
We’ll add the If Possible method to your prompt. More context in. A better output out.
Same job. Here’s what changed. More context in. A better output out.
It points your AI to our free articles as its guide. Read every word before you use it.
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.
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.
Most nonprofits only give their biggest donor the personal treatment. AI can find who else deserves it and help you prepare for every one of those conversations.
If you trust your CRM with donor data, a paid AI plan with model training switched off can earn the same trust. Here's what to check first.
Most fundraisers never trained for the ask. The fear is normal, and it shrinks when you know your donor. AI can help you walk in prepared.