Advancement · Community & Giving

Research the gift.
Respect the person.

Prospect research helps a school or nonprofit ask the right people for the right gift. It also gathers information about real people, and that comes with duties: only what is relevant, only from public sources, each fact cited and nothing a donor would be hurt to read. Run each profile through the checklist before it is shared.

Check a profileWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Development and giving kit, $39 for 19 items.

Your profiles

The worked example is made up: a parent prospect whose file picked up a rumor and a health detail, and a clean alumni profile. Saved on this device only; prospects are listed by code.

Loading the profile form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Advancement · Community & Giving$5 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per profile: prospect code, purpose, capacity range and its basis, each fact with its source and whether it is public, and nine ethics checks. Counts facts, sourced facts and non-public facts; flags sensitive personal information, non-public sources, unsourced facts, personal social media, an unexplained capacity rating and a missing purpose.
Who it is for
Prospect researchers, development officers and advancement directors at schools and nonprofits.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per profile. Prints one profile’s review, every profile in a table or a blank sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Development and giving kit ($39) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Community & Giving space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add the profile by code with the purpose of the research.
  2. List each fact with its source.
  3. Mark whether each source is public.
  4. Remove what the flags point to.
  5. Work through the checks before the profile is shared.

Check a profile

Keep, leave out, always

What belongs in a prospect fileKeepGiving to you and toothers, from publicreportsPublic real estate andcompany rolesInterests the donorshared with youLeave outHealth, religion, familyconflictRumors and peers’guessesAnything you would notwant the donor to readAlwaysThe source and date ofeach factA capacity range,labeled an estimateAccess only for staffwho need itWhat belongs in a prospect fileKeepGiving to you and to others, from publicreportsPublic real estate and company rolesInterests the donor shared with youLeave outHealth, religion, family conflictRumors and peers’ guessesAnything you would not want the donor toreadAlwaysThe source and date of each factA capacity range, labeled an estimateAccess only for staff who need it
A practical test from prospect research ethics: write every note as if the donor will one day ask to see it.

Capacity is an estimate

Wealth screening and real estate records suggest a range, not a number. Label capacity as an estimate, show how it was reached, and remember that inclination, interest in your mission, matters as much as capacity.

Privacy law

Some data is regulated: student records under FERPA, health information, and in some places state privacy laws. A written research policy, reviewed by counsel, should set what your organization collects and keeps.

Sources

  1. Apra (Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement). Ethics and Compliance Statement and Donor Bill of Rights resources (aprahome.org).
  2. Association of Fundraising Professionals. Code of Ethical Standards and Donor Bill of Rights (afpglobal.org).
  3. Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Statement of Ethics (case.org).
  4. U.S. Department of Education. FERPA and alumni and parent records (studentprivacy.ed.gov).

The worked examples are made up. This checklist follows professional ethics codes in general terms and is not legal advice. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.