Advancement · Community & Giving

Qualified prospects,
not a list of wealthy names.

A major gift list built from wealth alone wastes the time of everyone who works it. Qualify each prospect on capacity, affinity, interest and who can ask, with research from public sources only. The checklist gives a verdict by stated rules and flags the asks with no conversation behind them.

Add a prospectWhat 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 27 items.

Prospects

The worked example is made up: a parent ready for a conversation about the robotics lab, an alumnus with capacity but little connection and a grandparent who gives small gifts every year. Prospect codes, not names. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

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

What you finish with
A record per prospect: code, connection, the school’s major gift level, five-year giving, largest gift, capacity range, affinity from 1 to 4, interest in their words, who knows them and seven checks. Works out a qualified, cultivate or not-now verdict; counts each and lists qualified prospects; flags capacity without a conversation, connections not yet built, research from non-public sources, qualified prospects with no ask drafted and prospects nobody knows.
Who it is for
Development directors, heads of school and board development committees at independent and charter schools and school foundations.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per prospect. Prints one prospect, every prospect in a table or a blank qualification 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. Set your school’s major gift level.
  2. Add prospects with codes, not names.
  3. Estimate capacity from public sources only.
  4. Hold the discovery conversation before deciding.
  5. Draft the ask for each qualified prospect.

Add a prospect

What qualified means

Qualified means all threeTestAskSourceCapacityCould they make a gift at our major level?Public information, giving historyAffinityDo they care about this school?Involvement, giving patternInterestWhat would they want to make possible?A conversation, in their wordsAccessWho can ask them, and will they listen?The people who know themQualified means all threeCapacityAsk: Could they make a gift at our major level?Source: Public information, giving historyAffinityAsk: Do they care about this school?Source: Involvement, giving patternInterestAsk: What would they want to make possible?Source: A conversation, in their wordsAccessAsk: Who can ask them, and will they listen?Source: The people who know them
Wealth alone does not make a prospect. The verdict here needs capacity at your level, affinity of 3 or more and a discovery conversation.

Research ethics

Prospect research is limited to public information and information donors chose to share. The Apra and AFP codes rule out private records, gossip and data gathered for another purpose. Keep notes factual; donors can ask to see what is held about them.

The loyal small donor

A grandparent who has given $100 every year for a decade is not a major gift prospect today, but loyal donors are the most likely to leave a gift in their will. Keep them in the annual fund and mention planned giving.

Sources

  1. Apra (Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement). Ethics and compliance statement for prospect research (aprahome.org).
  2. Association of Fundraising Professionals. Code of Ethical Standards and the Donor Bill of Rights (afpglobal.org).
  3. Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Major gifts and prospect management practice (case.org).
  4. Sargeant, A. and Shang, J. (2017). Fundraising Principles and Practice (2nd ed.). Wiley.

The worked example is made up. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.