Your Next Year-End Gift Might Already Be in Your CRM

The Opportunity in Alternative Giving

Think about the different ways people support nonprofit organizations today.

Beyond credit cards and checks, donors may contribute through:

• Donor-advised funds (DAFs) - Grants recommended through charitable giving accounts.
• Employer matching gifts - Additional contributions made through corporate matching programs, including some retiree programs.
• Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) - Eligible IRA distributions made directly to qualifying charities, sometimes called charitable IRA rollovers.
• Appreciated securities - Gifts of stock and other investment assets.
• Private foundations - Grants supporting the charitable priorities of individuals and families.
• Recurring contributions - Gifts made through established monthly, quarterly, or annual arrangements.

These methods are not interchangeable, and they do not all follow predictable schedules. However, previous giving methods can provide valuable clues about how donors organize their philanthropy.

This is something I have been exploring in my own prospect research work.

By reviewing historical giving records and working with Advancement Services, we can identify donors who have previously contributed through donor-advised funds, matching gifts, and IRA charitable distributions.

Rather than sending everyone the same year-end communication, that information can help fundraisers prepare more relevant outreach.

In one recent effort, we used this approach to identify donors with a history of alternative giving and prepare personalized correspondence encouraging continued or increased support for a particular fund.

The outreach generated responses from individuals who wanted to discuss their giving further.

That is an important outcome.

Sometimes the opportunity is not finding a new donor. It is starting a better conversation with someone who already supports your mission.

Giving Behavior Can Reveal Opportunities Wealth Screening Misses

There is another part of donor data that I believe deserves more attention: changes in giving behavior.

Imagine a donor who has consistently contributed $100 annually to an organization for several years.

Then, without much additional engagement, their annual contribution increases to $1,700.

What changed?

Perhaps they received a promotion, changed careers, sold an asset, or experienced another financial event. Perhaps they simply feel more connected to the organization or have decided to prioritize philanthropy.

We cannot determine the reason from the gift alone.

But it is absolutely worth investigating.

A meaningful increase in giving is a signal, not a conclusion.

In my experience, monitoring these changes has helped identify prospects deserving additional attention, including relationships that eventually developed into major gifts of $50,000 and $100,000.

The important work is recognizing the change and making sure someone follows up.

That might be an annual giving professional, a development officer, or another individual responsible for the donor relationship.

The approach should depend on the relationship already in place.

It is also important to review household connections and existing portfolio assignments. We do not want multiple fundraisers contacting the same family without coordination.

This is where prospect research moves beyond identifying wealth and begins supporting the entire fundraising operation.

Why This Matters Now

Recent fundraising research reinforces the importance of understanding existing donors.

According to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project's October 2026 report, charitable giving dollars increased an estimated 6.6% through the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.

However, the number of donors declined 1.6%.

Giving growth continues to be concentrated among larger donors, even as organizations experience challenges acquiring and retaining supporters.

That creates a difficult situation.

We want to grow philanthropic revenue, but we cannot depend entirely on a small number of major donors to accomplish that.

A healthy fundraising operation needs to recognize increased capacity while continuing to build and retain its broader donor base.

For prospect researchers, that means helping annual giving, major gifts, and planned giving professionals see how donor relationships might evolve.

For Advancement Services, it means ensuring giving methods, dates, funds, and donor relationships are captured accurately.

And for leadership, it means making sure those insights translate into action.

Your Donors May Already Be Planning Their Year-End Giving

Another reason to begin these conversations early is that many donors are discussing charitable giving with financial advisors.

The 2026 Study of the Philanthropic Conversation from The Philanthropic Initiative found that 90% of surveyed professional advisors make it their practice to discuss philanthropy with high-net-worth clients.

Yet only 45% reported discussing philanthropy with most of their clients.

The study also found that 78% of surveyed high-net-worth donors use at least one structured giving vehicle, such as a donor-advised fund, charitable trust, or private foundation.

These findings suggest that charitable giving is increasingly part of broader financial conversations.

So where do nonprofit organizations fit?

I believe we should be part of the philanthropic conversation before a donor finalizes their plans.

Not to offer financial advice, but to help the donor understand the organization's priorities, its needs, and the impact their support could have.

Consider IRA Charitable Giving

Individuals age 70 1/2 or older may be eligible to make a qualified charitable distribution directly from an IRA to an eligible charitable organization.

For individuals who are subject to required minimum distributions, an eligible QCD may satisfy some or all of that requirement. The age for beginning RMDs is generally 73 under current rules for many retirees, increasing to 75 for later birth cohorts.

The IRS explains these rules in Publication 590-B.

The distinction between eligibility and required distributions is important.

As fundraisers, we are not responsible for determining a donor's tax situation.

However, if we know a long-time supporter has previously given through an IRA charitable distribution, it may be worth reaching out before year-end.

A simple conversation might begin with:

"As you prepare for your year-end charitable giving, are there any programs or initiatives you would like to learn more about? We would be happy to provide information you can share with your financial advisor."

That gives the donor an opportunity to discuss philanthropic interests while leaving financial decisions to the appropriate professionals.

Where AI Can Help

This is where I see a practical opportunity for AI in prospect research and fundraising.

Most organizations already have the information needed to begin this type of analysis.

The challenge is connecting it.

Gift histories may be stored in one area of the CRM, contact reports in another, employer information somewhere else, and wealth indicators in a separate research platform.

With the support of Advancement Services, prospect researchers can bring relevant information together and use approved AI tools to help identify patterns.

For example, we could examine:

• Donors whose annual giving has increased substantially over previous years.
• Individuals who historically contribute during November and December.
• Supporters who have previously used alternative giving methods.
• Donors with repeated contributions to specific funds who have received limited recent engagement.
• Individuals whose changing giving patterns suggest a need for updated research or a conversation with their assigned fundraiser.

AI can help organize these patterns, compare historical activity, and recommend records for further review.

But the first results should always be treated as a test.

Verify the calculations, confirm gift classifications, review household relationships, and make sure the information supports the conclusion.

Sensitive donor data should only be used in organizationally approved systems with appropriate safeguards.

AI should help us recognize opportunities. It should not make assumptions about someone's wealth, financial circumstances, or intentions.

The researcher still needs to validate the information. The fundraiser still needs to understand the relationship.

Prepare Your Fundraisers for the Conversation

Identifying a possible opportunity is only part of the work.

We also need to prepare our development officers to have meaningful conversations.

That requires collaboration between prospect research, Advancement Services, planned giving, annual giving, and major gifts.

Development officers do not need to become financial advisors. But they should understand which giving methods their organization accepts, where to find accurate information, and whom to contact when donors have questions.

Even more importantly, they should be prepared to discuss the donor's philanthropic interests.

Questions such as:

What would you most like your support to accomplish in the coming year?

Are there programs you would like to learn more about as you consider your charitable plans?

Would it be helpful to provide information you could share with your financial or tax advisor?

These questions help keep the conversation focused on the donor's goals and the organization's mission.

That is where relationships grow.

Start With the Data You Already Have

You do not need an expensive new platform or a complicated predictive model to begin.

Start with a review of your existing giving history.

Work with Advancement Services to determine which giving methods are reliably recorded. Identify donors whose contributions have increased significantly. Compare current giving with previous years and look for patterns that may warrant further research.

Then work with your fundraising colleagues to determine which relationships deserve attention and who should own the next step.

This approach also creates an opportunity to test how AI can support your existing workflows before expanding into more complex analysis.

The objective is not to generate another list that sits in a shared folder.

It is to turn existing information into conversations that strengthen relationships, increase donor engagement, and create opportunities for future giving.

As nonprofit professionals, we often work with limited resources and increasing expectations.

Finding new donors will always be important. But maintaining relationships, recognizing changing donor behavior, and identifying opportunities within our existing donor population are equally important to long-term fundraising success.

Especially during a campaign, when every relationship matters.

Sometimes the information we need is already in front of us.

We just need to look at it differently.