The Art & Science of Identifying Your Next Major Donor

Ready to stop guessing where your next transformative gift will come from - and start finding the people already waiting to give it?

Identifying your next major donor isn’t magic. It’s a mission guided by curiosity, connection, and strategy.

Think of yourself not as a detective chasing clues, but as a listener with purpose; someone blending intuition (the art) with data (the science) to discover who’s ready to make a meaningful investment in your mission.

A strong donor qualification process is your most powerful tool. It keeps your team focused, helps you use your time wisely, and leads you straight to the supporters most likely to fuel your nonprofit’s biggest goals.

This is your practical playbook for finding and qualifying your next major donor.

Step 1: Create Your "Ideal Donor" Profile

You can’t find who you’re looking for until you know who they are.

It’s time to go beyond broad descriptions and build your Ideal Donor Profile. What's that? A composite picture of your most aligned, mission-driven supporters.

This isn’t about creating one “perfect donor.” It’s about recognizing the patterns, interests, and values among the people who already love your organization and imagining how to find more of them.

Gather your fundraising and program teams, pull up your donor data, and ask:

• Who are our champions? What are their backgrounds, industries, interests, and motivations?

• How did they first connect to us? Were they volunteers, event attendees, family and friends, or board members?

• What inspires their giving? Which stories, programs, or outcomes resonate with them and spark their generosity?

• How do they like to connect? Email, phone, in-person visits, personal notes, events - what keeps them engaged?

This donor profile becomes your compass. Instead of casting a wide, exhausting net, you’ll move forward with clarity and purpose, focused on people who already share your values and vision.

Step 2: Go Treasure Hunting in Your Own Backyard

Here’s the secret every great fundraiser knows: your next 6- or 7-figure donor may already be in your database. Your CRM isn’t a digital storage closet. It’s your treasure map. You just need to know where to look.

Start with these groups:

• The Loyalists: Those who’ve given for years, even modestly. Their consistency signals deep belief and trust.

• The Climbers: Donors whose giving has grown steadily. Their pattern tells you they’re ready for deeper partnership.

• The Volunteers and Champions: People who’ve already invested time or expertise in your mission. Time builds affinity, and often comes before transformational giving.

• The Passionate Responders: Donors who jump at certain campaigns or causes. Their giving history reveals what moves them most.

These are your warmest leads. They’ve already said, in one way or another, “I believe in you.” Your job is to meet them where they are and nurture the next step in their generosity.

And this is where the science supports your instincts — translating the stories you see in your CRM into insight you can act on

 Science Spotlight: Evolving Beyond RFM

Once you’ve identified your warmest prospects, it’s time to bring a little structure to your intuition. For decades, fundraisers relied on the RFM model (Recency, Frequency, and Monetary value) to identify likely givers. It was a good start, but it missed something vital: human behavior. Today, we know generosity isn’t purely transactional. It’s emotional, personal, and rooted in identity.Generosity lives where heart and behavior meet — and your job is to notice the signals that show both.That’s why I use an updated approach: RFM+B — Recency, Frequency, Monetary + Behavior. The “B” captures what numbers alone can’t:

• Engagement beyond giving (events, volunteering, advocacy)
• Channel preferences and communication styles
• Emotional or values-based connection to your mission

When you add this behavioral layer, your data becomes far more powerful. It stops telling you who gave and starts showing you who’s most ready to give again.

Once you’ve explored your internal data, it’s time to look outward with curiosity and care. Prospect research isn’t about invading privacy—it’s about building understanding. You’re painting a fuller picture of a person’s life and philanthropy so you can approach them thoughtfully and respectfully. Explore public, ethical sources like:

• Public Records: Property holdings and political contributions can signal general financial capacity.

• Professional Profiles: LinkedIn, company bios, and news stories reveal influence, expertise, and networks.

• Philanthropic Footprints: Foundation directories and nonprofit annual reports show where they’ve given and at what level.

[A note for Canadian and other fundraisers: research looks very different north of the border. Privacy laws are stronger, and far less personal information is publicly available compared to the U.S. That means your most powerful tools will be conversation, curiosity, and connection, learning about people through authentic engagement rather than relying solely on data.]

This kind of research doesn’t replace relationship-building. Instead, it prepares you to enter conversations with knowledge, context, and genuine curiosity.

Step 4: Use Wealth Screening as a Lens, Not a Label

Let’s talk about capacity. Wealth screening helps you see potential resources, but it should never define a person. Think of it as a financial snapshot - a data-informed estimate of giving ability based on public information like real estate, stock holdings, and past philanthropy. 

Wealth screening gives you a capacity rating, helping you prioritize your time. But remember: this is one dimension of who a donor is. Pair it with their values, motivations, and readiness to engage, and you’ll see the whole picture—not just the numbers. 

As I often say, “Affinity eats Capacity for Breakfast.” Because a donor who loves your mission will find a way to give. And someone with wealth but no emotional connection will rarely invest deeply.

Step 5: Apply the Major Donor Trifecta

Wealth alone doesn’t make a major donor. The most powerful philanthropic relationships happen at the intersection of three key elements: the Major Donor Trifecta:

1. Capacity (Can They?) – Do they have the financial ability to give at a major gift level?

2. Affinity (Do They Love Us?) – Do they care deeply about your mission and values?

3. Propensity (Do They Give?) – Do they have a demonstrated pattern of generosity toward any causes?

When all three align, you’ve found a potential partner - not just a prospect.

Evaluate each donor through this lens, and you’ll end up with a qualified, prioritized list of people who have both the ability and the desire to make a lasting difference.

A Note on AI and the Human Element

New machine learning tools can make this process easier, helping you spot who’s most likely to give, what to ask for, and even which donors may be losing momentum. But here’s the truth: technology can only take you so far. Data may open the door, but human connection walks through it.

Major gift fundraising will always depend on curiosity, empathy, and discernment, the art and wisdom that no algorithm can replace.

In Summary

Identifying your next major donor isn’t about guessing. Instead it’s about combining the art of curiosity with the science of strategy. When you take the time to know your donors’ values, understand their capacity, and align with their passions, you build more than a "fundraising list." You build relationships that change the trajectory of your mission. That is the beauty of connection-based fundraising.

If you’re ready to refine your prospecting systems and grow your confidence in identifying, qualifying, and cultivating your next generation of major donors, you’ll find the full strategy inside Major Gifts Catalyst.

Explore More:
The Ultimate Guide | Major Gift Officer | Identifying Prospects | Cultivating Donors  | The Major Gift Ask  | Stewardship & Retention  | Building a Major Gifts Program  | The Role of Technology  | Common Challenges  | Case Studies