How to choose the best wealth screening tools and how to use them effectively

A really happy woman is surrounded by wealth screening results.

Erin Booker

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May 7, 2025

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5 minutes

Nonprofit Trends

How To Nonprofit

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Nonprofits love donors. Nonprofits need funds. Nonprofits want to maximize the donations from the donors. Nonprofits use wealth screening processes to identify donors that can make the biggest donations.

What is wealth screening software?

Wealth screening software is a digital tool that helps nonprofits identify, segment, and prioritize high-potential donors based on their capacity and inclination to give. By analyzing both philanthropic history and wealth indicators—like real estate ownership, stock holdings, and business affiliations—these platforms give fundraisers the major power to pinpoint major gift prospects efficiently, saving major hours compared to manual research.

Side note: Is it wealth screening or donor prospecting? And are the tools the same? Check out our other article explaining the difference between donor wealth screening and donor prospect research, plus how to use the two together, plusplus some bonus tactics to take them to the next level.

Why consider wealth screening software?

As we already noted, nonprofits love donors of all sizes. And like with most things in life, it's not about the size of the gift, but the thought behind it.

Now that we've got that disclaimer out of the way, let's talk major donors. There's not a nonprofit out there that doesn't face the challenge of finding individual donors who can make transformative gifts.

Rhea Wong, nonprofit consultant extraordinaire, explains the reason in an episode of the Nonstop Nonprofit podcast: “For folks who have significant monetary wealth, their time is more valuable to them than their money. So if they are spending time with you—taking the meeting, going on the site visit—they're already giving something more valuable than their money, because time is not renewable; money is.”

Wealth screening software is the answer! It streamlines the identification process, uncovering hidden prospects within a current donor database and surfacing new major gift opportunities. Automated screening answers key questions about a prospect’s giving history, cause affinity, and financial capacity, so you can focus your fundraising efforts where they’ll have a lasting impact.

Benefits of wealth screening software

Speed up prospect identification: Instantly segment large donor lists to find top prospects for major gifts and planned giving.
Make data-driven fundraising decisions: Make smarter choices with insights into prospective donor wealth, giving patterns, and engagement.
Improve donor relationships: Personalize outreach and stewardship based on real-time donor intelligence.
Build fundraising efficiency: Automate research tasks, freeing staff to focus on cultivation and outreach strategy.
Increase transparency: Use public data to demonstrate ethical, effective fundraising practices and build donor trust.

Key features of top wealth screening software platforms

When evaluating wealth screening software, there are several key features that stand out as essential for nonprofit fundraisers aiming to maximize their major gifts program. Here are the ones that we think you'll love the most:

Comprehensive data sources

Top donor wealth screening platforms pull in a wide range of data points to build a complete profile of each donor. This includes wealth indicators like real estate holdings, stock ownership, business affiliations, and philanthropic history. Access to diverse and reliable data ensures you get a holistic view of your prospects’ giving capacity and interests.

Real-time updates

Donor information can change on a dime (or a silver dollar!). Leading software provides real-time or frequent updates so your fundraising team is always working with the most valuable insights into donor behavior, helping you engage prospects at the right moment—whether they’ve recently made a large gift, acquired new assets, or changed their philanthropic focus.

Customizable search and filters

Every nonprofit organization has unique priorities. The best wealth screening tools allow you to tailor searches and filters based on criteria that matter most to your organization—geographic location, giving history, wealth thresholds, or specific affiliations, to name a few examples. This customization helps you quickly zero in on your highest-potential prospects.

CRM integration

A seamless integration with your existing fundraising software is crucial. Platforms that connect directly to your CRM—like Funraise’s integration with Kindsight—make sure you can view wealth data within your donor management system, eliminating the need to toggle between multiple powerful tools and streamlining your workflow.

Predictive analytics

Advanced wealth screening platforms leverage artificial intelligence and predictive modeling to identify prospective donors with the greatest likelihood to give major gifts. Valuable insights like these help your nonprofit organization's team prioritize outreach and tailor cultivation strategies more effectively.

Automated alerts and insights

Top software includes automated notifications that alert you to important changes in donor status like new property purchases, recent gifts, or changes in wealth indicators. These timely alerts empower your team to act fast to maintain personalized engagement.

Best wealth screening software for nonprofits: Kindsight + Funraise

Kindsight (iWave)

Kindsight stands out as the best wealth screening software for nonprofits thanks to its unmatched accuracy, comprehensive data ...and seamless integration with Funraise! Kindsight combines billions of data points, real-time updates, and AI-driven insights to help nonproifiteers find and qualify best-fit donors, plus its proprietary scoring system evaluates giving capacity, inclination, and cause affinity, ensuring you target the right prospects at the right time.

Funraise

Having Kindsight's wealth screening tools built into Funraise helps nonprofits uncover donors’ capacity and propensity to give by scanning donor lists for wealth, affinity, and generosity signals. And when combined with Funraise's industry-best fundraising platform, strategic donor relationships feel natural and constructive. Here are a few extra specific reasons that Furnaise and Kindsight make the best team.

Nonprofit CRM & donor management

Funraise bridges front-end fundraising and back-end ease with a donor CRM that centralizes donor data and supports robust donor segmentation, making it easy to tailor outreach based on giving history and behavior.

Email messaging and donor communications

Automated, updated donor segmentation in realtime, no exporting and then uploading and then cleaning and then emailing. Just set it up, get it running, and then put out the next fire.

Automated tasks

Set up rules, assign donors or donor portfolios, and give your team the support they need without the hours and headaches of yesteryear.

Fundraising Intelligence (reports & dashboards)

Funraise’s reporting and analytics tools include predictive modeling, like AI-based donation forecasting, to inform your larger fundraising strategy.

Platform Security

Funraise’s security center details data protection measures, including PCI Level 1 compliance and encryption, underscoring the importance of data privacy in donor management.

Why Funraise + Kindsight is a winning combination

Funraise’s all-in-one fundraising platform offers direct access to Kindsight’s wealth screening and real-time donor intelligence. Perfect for nonprofits of all sizes, Funraise and Kindsight make starting a new major gifts program or scaling up an existing process easy and effective.

This partnership means:

View Kindsight data right inside Funraise—no more switching between systems.
Instantly identify, segment, and engage your best-fit donors.
Benefit from Kindsight’s live profiles, which continuously update donor insights, so your team always acts on the freshest data.

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Top wealth screening software platforms

DonorSearch

DonorSearch provides wealth screening and prospect research tools trusted by thousands of nonprofits. It combines AI-driven analytics with a comprehensive database of charitable giving, wealth indicators, and affinity data. DonorSearch stands out for its focus on philanthropic indicators alongside wealth and engagement data, empowering fundraisers to accurately identify and prioritize major gift prospects for more effective outreach.

GivingDNA

GivingDNA offers a next-generation fundraising intelligence platform that unifies wealth screening, donor analytics, and segmentation. Its standout feature is real-time, actionable insights that help nonprofits uncover hidden giving potential and create highly targeted micro-segments. Powered by deep fundraising expertise, GivingDNA is designed to make data-driven fundraising accessible and effective for organizations of all sizes, enabling personalized donor engagement and strategic decision-making.

Windfall Data

Windfall Data specializes in delivering precise, up-to-date wealth intelligence using deep insights into affluent and high-value constituents, including life events and career changes. Windfall is known for its accuracy, simplicity, and ability to support both prospect research and targeted marketing, making it a strong choice for organizations focused on major gifts and planned giving initiatives.

Altrata

Altrata is a global leader in people intelligence, offering access to millions of profiles on wealthy donors, business leaders, and decision-makers worldwide. Its differentiators include global coverage, loads of professional connections, and advanced integration options, making it ideal for nonprofits seeking comprehensive and actionable wealth intelligence.

LexisNexis

LexisNexis provides a robust suite of wealth screening and prospect research tools tailored for all kinds of fundraising. Its solutions combine public records, media monitoring, and AI-powered analytics to deliver deep insights into donor income, net worth, and connections. LexisNexis is distinguished by its extensive data sources, relationship mapping, and advanced due diligence capabilities, helping nonprofits identify, research, and engage high-value donors with confidence.

How to choose the best wealth screening software for nonprofits

Assess data quality. Look for wealth screening vendors with accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensive data sets.
Evaluate the integration. Ensure the software connects easily with your CRM and fundraising tools—like Funraise, which integrates Kindsight data directly in the platform for a seamless experience.
Consider customization choices. Choose tools that let you filter and prioritize based on your organization’s unique needs.
Review pricing. Match the platform’s pricing to your budget and database size.
Check support & training. Opt for vendors offering robust onboarding, support, and educational resources.

Best practices and how to use wealth screening tools

Wealth screening best practices are pretty common sense—think about how you'd want your public-yet-sensitive data handled and go forth, friend.

Prioritize data quality before screening

A wealth screening tool is only as good as the data you feed it.

Before diving into prospect research, ensure your donor database is clean, up-to-date, and full of accurate identifiers. This means cleaning and updating your donor database to ensure accurate screening results, removing duplicates, correcting outdated info, merging duplicates, updating addresses, recording valuable donor info, and filling in missing data.

We can't overstate how important this is; you can't build a relationships with donors based on incorrect information. Scrubbing your data dramatically improves the usefulness of any wealth screening service.

Look for hidden gems in your current donors

Don’t overlook loyal annual donors or volunteers—they may have untapped major gift potential.

Don’t just use your wealth screening tool to hunt for brand-new wealthy prospects. Its core strength is surfacing untapped potential within your existing donor base, specifially identifying under-giving donors: supporters who have modest giving histories but high wealth indicators.

For example, a donor who gives $50 annually but has capacity for $5,000 might be your next major donor if cultivated properly. Wealth screening these “hidden gems” lets you adjust your outreach (and ask amounts) appropriately. This wealth screening strategy is surprisingly overlooked, as organizations often fixate on external prospects when their next big donor may already be in the database, just awaiting a bigger ask.

Factor in staff time and training in cost-benefit analysis

As with any technology or tool, in evaluating electronic wealth screening software, you've got to consider not just the price of the software but also the human effort required to use it effectively.

A wealth screening tool isn’t plug-and-play—your team will need time to interpret the results, verify major findings, and integrate those deep insights into your fundraising strategy. Before committing, ask whether you have staff (or budget to train staff) who can turn wealth data into action.

For instance, can you provide training on reading wealth profiles and applying them ethically for your fundraisers? Is there capacity to follow up on newly identified prospects? By accounting for the implementation (not just the subscription cost), you’ll choose a tool that your organization can realistically adopt and derive value from, ensuring a positive return on investment.

Ethical implications and challenges

Respect donor privacy and use only publicly available data. Be transparent with your practices and ensure compliance with all relevant laws and ethical guidelines. Address concerns about data completeness and avoid over-reliance on wealth alone—consider affinity and engagement as well.

Top wealth screening consultants for nonprofits

Donorly

Donorly specializes in helping nonprofits of all sizes grow their fundraising capacity through tailored consulting, with a strong emphasis on donor research software and community-building. Their services include short-term jumpstart programs, fractional development team support, and capital campaign coaching. Donorly stands out for its hands-on approach, leveraging expert prospect research and proven systems to set up organizations for long-term fundraising success.

Donorly services

Prospect Navigator
Jumpstart
Major Gifts Momentum Builder
Capital Campaign Accelerator

VeraData

VeraData: The Donor Science Company, is a nonprofit fundraising consultancy turning insight into impact with their groundbreaking Donor Science. For the uninitiated, donor science, as defined by Michael Peterman, VeraData Founder and CEO, is

"human-assisted artificial intelligence that I think will lead to us being able to change the world of philanthropy."

And what does donor science do for major gifts?

"...we can score people with capacity and propensity and guide how much to ask for so that you don't have to wait for someone to raise their hand. ...put [your donor] where he belongs so that he's getting the right type of communication to maximize the financial relationship between the charity and the donor."

Zuri Group

Zuri Group provides strategic consulting and technology solutions focused on nonprofit fundraising operations, analytics, and digital engagement. Known for their deep technical expertise, they help organizations optimize donor databases, implement prospect research strategies, and integrate wealth screening tools. Zuri Group’s personalized approach and strong technology partnerships make it a go-to resource for nonprofits seeking to modernize their fundraising infrastructure.

BWF

BWF is a global fundraising consultancy that partners with nonprofits to advance their missions through strategic planning, fundraising campaign management, and data-driven prospect development. Their services include wealth screening, prospect research, and analytics, with a focus on integrating technology and best practices. BWF’s differentiator is their holistic approach to helping clients achieve ambitious fundraising goals.

The Helen Brown Group

The Helen Brown Group focuses on prospect research and wealth screening expertise, offering customized research, training, and consulting to nonprofits worldwide. Their team delivers in-depth donor profiles, data analysis, and actionable insights, supporting organizations building robust major gifts pipelines. The Helen Brown Group is known for its commitment to ethical research, industry leadership, and empowering clients through education and hands-on support.

Wealth screening software FAQ

What types of data will wealth screening software look at?

Wealth screening software analyzes data such as income, real estate and stock ownership, political contributions, business affiliations, and past charitable contributions. Platforms like Kindsight, integrated with Funraise, provide a comprehensive donor profile by combining wealth indicators and philanthropic history for accurate major gift prospecting.

What are some wealth screening tips?

Prioritize clean, updated donor data before screening, focus on uncovering hidden major gift potential among current supporters, and use donor segments to target outreach. Leverage integrated solutions like Funraise and Kindsight to streamline workflows and ensure your team is trained to interpret and act on screening results efficiently.

What makes wealth screening software a smart donor research tool?

Wealth screening software automates major gift donor research, quickly identifying major donor prospects with the capacity and inclination to give. With tools like Funraise and Kindsight, fundraisers access real-time, actionable insights within their CRM, enabling data-driven decisions, personalized outreach, and efficient resource allocation for major gift fundraising.

What does wealth screening offer to nonprofits?

Wealth screening empowers nonprofits to identify, segment, and prioritize high-potential donors, saving significant staff time compared to manual research. Solutions like Funraise with Kindsight help organizations model ideal donor profiles, uncover new prospects, and optimize fundraising strategies for greater efficiency and impact.