Wealth Screenings: Checkmate or Stalemate?

You’re playing checkers… I play chess. 

What is one thing a professional fundraiser needs in order to be successful? 

Money?

That is a great answer for sure! But that’s not it. Try again. 

How about access? 

YES! ACCESS… to everything. 

Stories. Donors. And all of the tools to properly do what they do best: raise funds. 

When a fundraiser lacks access to stories of impact, it becomes incredibly difficult to share compelling reasons why someone should give. 

Lacking access to donors is even more of a challenge, if board members are not opening doors and helping make connections to prospects, then your fundraiser is left out in the cold. 

And when a lead fundraiser is blocked from using essential tools necessary to do their job such wealth screenings, it prevents them from properly qualifying donors before a major ask. 

Think about a carpenter that is unable to use their hammer. Sure, they can still build a house, but now it is going to take much longer than expected. This also opens up the possibility of the house not having a solid foundational structure. 

When you’re building something meant to last, you need the right tools. Read that sentence again. 

So, what exactly is wealth screening? Wealth screening is the process of using public and third-party data to screen the supporters in your database for indicators that signal they have the capacity and inclination to make a major gift. 

Does this feel a little invasive? Maybe at first glance. But here’s the reality:

The information provided during a wealth screening is all public information pulled from a variety of sources and given in one organized, segmented report. This includes real estate holdings, stock ownership, philanthropic support to other nonprofit organizations, to name a few. All public information, if you know where to find it. 

Whether you or your board members “feel comfortable” with wealth screenings or not. The truth of the matter is, if your organization is not doing this, other nonprofits definitely are. 

Don’t want to play the pawn in fundraising strategy? Purposeful Outcomes Philanthropy, LLC can help you navigate the opening move towards checkmate. Contact us today!