For Development Directors ·
What you'll accomplish
A donor prospect profile that used to take 60-90 minutes to piece together now takes 15-20 minutes. This guide gives you a repeatable process for synthesizing public research into a structured profile, plus a standard template that makes cultivation conversations more informed and major gift asks more targeted.
What you'll need
Before using Claude, spend 10-15 minutes collecting raw public information about the prospect. Open multiple browser tabs:
Copy all relevant text into a single document or your clipboard.
Go to claude.ai. Start a new conversation. Paste all your raw research text:
"I'm researching a potential major gift donor for our [organization type]. Here is public information I've gathered. Please analyze and synthesize this into a structured donor prospect profile."
[Paste all your raw research text]
After pasting, ask:
Create a structured donor prospect profile with these sections:
1. Capacity Assessment: What indicators suggest their ability to make a major gift? (Estimated range: under $10K / $10-50K / $50-100K / $100K+)
2. Affinity Indicators: What evidence shows interest in causes similar to ours? ([describe your mission area])
3. Connectivity: What existing connections do they have to our organization or to people we know?
4. Philanthropic Priorities: What causes and organizations do they visibly support?
5. Communication Preferences: What can we infer about how they prefer to engage?
6. Suggested Cultivation Approach: Based on this profile, what would be the best first step to cultivate this relationship?
7. Red Flags or Gaps: What's missing from this picture? What additional research would help?
Review the profile for accuracy (you're the expert on your community: the AI synthesizes and you judge). Add your own qualitative observations based on what you know from your community context.
Copy the key sections into your donor CRM contact record:
Ask Claude for help with the next step:
Based on this prospect profile, draft a warm introductory email from our Executive Director to [prospect name]. The goal is to start a conversation, not to ask for anything. Reference their [most relevant affinity indicator] and invite a brief call or coffee meeting. 150 words.
Full prospect synthesis:
Analyze this public information about [prospect name] and create a structured donor prospect profile with capacity, affinity, connectivity, and suggested cultivation approach. Our organization: [describe briefly].
Foundation research:
I'm researching [Foundation Name] as a potential grant funder. Here is their website giving history and published guidelines: [paste]. Summarize: their funding priorities, typical grant size, application process, and fit assessment for a [describe your org type and programs].
Corporate prospect:
Analyze this information about [Company Name] and its leadership for a potential corporate sponsorship. Our organization: [describe]. Identify: CSR priorities, potential alignment with our programs, and the right person to contact.