How to Get Started in Mapping Donor Ties

Start with the people you know.

Examine the personal and professional networks of board members and other key supporters.

Identify who cares about your community or cause.

Look at the boards of other local nonprofits as well as those of organizations that work on similar issues or whose supporter bases overlap with your group’s. See if any of the trustees are in your database.

Keep careful records.

Be consistent about logging donors’ data in the organization’s fundraising database.

Ask supporters for information directly.

Supplement relationship mapping with traditional fundraising practices, like asking board members to complete a questionnaire about their education and professional experience.

Don’t over-ask.

Be judicious when asking well-connected board members and supporters to make introductions. Asking too often or for frivolous reasons could alienate them.

Focus on your objectives.

Keep the organization’s fundraising goals front and center, and guard against mapping too many relationships.