Nonprofit FundraisingExpert-built kit

Prospect Researcher

Analyzes financial data, property holdings, and corporate interests, synthesizes prospect profiles, and assesses giving capacity and inclination.

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Interview content for Senior Prospect Researcher

26
What to ask. Competency and attitude questions, assigned to the right round.
208
What to listen for. Positive and negative indicators, per question.
6
What the hire must do. Capabilities with expected proficiency at each level.

Look inside: one question, as it appears in the kit

Pick the level you’re hiring. The sample changes with the level you select.

Round 2 · Hiring Manager Technical Deep Dive14 competency questions

Prospect Research & Intelligence

Compliance Screening & Due Diligence

Investigates complex regulatory flags and assesses reputational risk for high-value prospects.

Expected at Senior Prospect Researcher

Sample competency question

Describe a situation where your research uncovered potential reputational or compliance concerns for a prospective donor. How did you document and address your findings?

Ask once, as written, then allow silence. A helpful rephrase may hand the candidate the answer.

Positive indicators

  • References specific risk categories and screening protocols
  • Outlines clear documentation standards
  • Explains objective criteria for escalation
  • Maintains professional boundaries between research and legal advice

Negative indicators

  • Makes subjective judgments without verifiable evidence
  • Bypasses formal compliance review channels
  • Omits documentation or withholds concerning findings
  • Oversteps into providing legal counsel instead of research

While critical for high-net-worth prospects, complex due diligence often involves specialized compliance teams or standardized protocols; senior researchers focus primarily on analytical advisory rather than regulatory enforcement.

Ryan Mahoney

Why this role is hard · Ryan Mahoney

Finding someone who can turn scattered financial clues into straightforward advice without overpromising on a donor is the real hurdle here. I pay close attention to how they react when a donor’s giving suddenly stops. A solid candidate will trace that gap through tax filings and verified corporate ties before recommending an ask. You need steady judgment when campaign deadlines tighten and the pressure mounts.

Everything in the download, in the order you’ll use it

Level guides for Prospect Researcher, Senior Prospect Researcher, Prospect Strategy Lead and Director of Prospect Research.

Before you post

  • 1Ready-to-use job description
  • 3Video screening prompts
  • 8Resume screening criteria

In the room

  • 14Competency interview questions
  • 12Attitude interview questions
  • 1Hands-on work simulations
  • 1Presentation prompts

At the debrief

  • Progression framework
  • Exceeds / Meets / Below anchors for every exercise
  • 3Interview plan with time per round

Core Evaluation

Critical questions for this role

The competency and attitude questions below are where the hiring decision is made. They run in the live interview rounds and are calibrated to the level selected above.

14 Competency Questions

1 of 14

  1. Discipline

    Prospect Research & Intelligence

  2. Job requirement

    Compliance Screening & Due Diligence

    Investigates complex regulatory flags and assesses reputational risk for high-value prospects.

  3. Expected at Senior Prospect Researcher

    While critical for high-net-worth prospects, complex due diligence often involves specialized compliance teams or standardized protocols; senior researchers focus primarily on analytical advisory rather than regulatory enforcement.

Interview round: Hiring Manager Technical Deep Dive

Describe a situation where your research uncovered potential reputational or compliance concerns for a prospective donor. How did you document and address your findings?

Positive indicators

  • References specific risk categories and screening protocols
  • Outlines clear documentation standards
  • Explains objective criteria for escalation
  • Maintains professional boundaries between research and legal advice

Negative indicators

  • Makes subjective judgments without verifiable evidence
  • Bypasses formal compliance review channels
  • Omits documentation or withholds concerning findings
  • Oversteps into providing legal counsel instead of research

12 Attitude Questions

1 of 12

Accountability Mindset

The consistent internalization of personal responsibility for one’s actions, decisions, and work outputs, characterized by a commitment to accuracy, transparency, and systematic follow-through. In an organizational context, it reflects a proactive orientation toward owning outcomes, adhering rigorously to established protocols, correcting errors without deflection, and ensuring all deliverables meet predefined quality and compliance standards.

Interview round: Recruiter Screening

When a research deliverable is due for a high-stakes campaign milestone but a key data source requires additional verification, how would you manage the timeline and quality trade-offs?

Positive indicators

  • Proposes phased delivery approach
  • Aligns timeline adjustments with campaign needs
  • Escalates verification requirements transparently
  • Updates tracking systems to reflect status

Negative indicators

  • Submits unverified data to meet deadline
  • Delays silently without stakeholder notification
  • Lacks clear criteria for verification thresholds
  • Fails to document decision rationale

Supporting Evaluation

How candidates earn the selection conversation

The goal is to reduce effort for everyone by collecting more useful signals before adding more interviews. Lightweight application prompts and structured screens help your team focus interview time on the candidates most likely to succeed.

Stage 1 · Application

Filter at the door

Runs the moment a candidate hits Submit. Disqualifying answers end the application; everything else is captured for review.

Video-Response Questions

1 of 3

Application Screen: Video Response

Describe a scenario where you had to communicate complex prospect capacity data or methodological limitations to a development leader pushing for aggressive outreach targets. What specific steps did you take to ensure alignment and prevent misaligned expectations?

Candidate experience

REC
0:42 / 2:00
1Record
2Review
3Submit

Response time

2 min

Format

Recorded video

Stage 2 · Resume Screening

Read the resume against fixed criteria

Reviewers score every application that clears the door against the same criteria. Stronger reviews advance to live interviews; weaker ones are archived without further screening.

Resume Review Criteria

8 criteria
Application of statistical or historical conversion data to adjust wealth indicators into realistic capacity ratings aligned with organizational gift bands.
Conducting due diligence on high-net-worth or institutional prospects to identify regulatory exposure, advocacy conflicts, or reputational liabilities prior to cultivation outreach.
Translating research findings into actionable portfolio recommendations for development directors, including qualification thresholds and engagement pacing.
Designing automated tracking systems and guiding junior researchers in ethical data sourcing, query construction, and profile synthesis.

Does the resume show relevant prior work experience?

Is the resume complete, well-organized, and free from formatting, spelling, and grammar mistakes?

Does the resume indicate required academic credentials, relevant certifications, or necessary training?

Does the cover letter or personal statement convey clear relevance and familiarity with the job?

Stage 3 · During Interviews

Where the hire is decided

Interview rounds use the competency and attitude questions outlined above, then add tests, work simulations, and presentations that reveal deeper evidence about how the candidate thinks and works.

Presentation Prompt

Prepare a short deck and walk us through your approach to resolving a case where a prospect demonstrates high financial capacity but low or ambiguous philanthropic inclination. Discuss how you calibrated capacity ratings, identified non-monetary engagement signals, and formulated a recommendation for portfolio movement or qualification threshold adjustments.

Format

deck-and-walkthrough · 20 min · ~2 hr prep

Audience

Director of Prospect Research, Senior Development Officer, Research Strategy Peer

What to prepare

  • 3-5 slides outlining a past or hypothetical ambiguous prospect case (anonymized)
  • Notes on behavioral analysis methods, inclination signal detection, and capacity calibration logic
  • A structured narrative connecting data synthesis to strategic cultivation timing

Deliverables

  • A 15-minute deck-and-walkthrough presenting your analysis and recommendation
  • 5-10 minutes of Q&A on donor psychology, ethical engagement timing, and threshold calibration

Ground rules

  • Slides should focus on your analytical framework and reasoning, not net-new strategic artifacts
  • Anonymize all real prospect data; hypothetical cases are acceptable if clearly framed
  • Keep the deck within 3-5 slides to stay within the standard prep scope

Scoring anchors

Exceeds
Presents a nuanced, well-structured analysis that expertly balances financial capacity with behavioral readiness, offering precise qualification thresholds and ethically grounded cultivation strategies.
Meets
Delivers a clear deck that addresses the capacity-inclination gap with reasonable calibration logic and actionable recommendations, though some signal weighting or timing rationale could be more explicit.
Below
Relies heavily on quantitative capacity data without addressing inclination ambiguity, provides unclear or overly aggressive cultivation recommendations, or lacks a structured analytical framework.

Response time

20 min

Positive indicators

  • Surfaces explicit assumptions about donor motivation and clearly separates capacity from readiness
  • Uses a structured framework to weigh conflicting signals and justify a cultivation timeline
  • Articulates clear qualification thresholds and portfolio move recommendations with measurable triggers
  • Balances aggressive pipeline advancement with respect for prospect autonomy and privacy norms

Negative indicators

  • Jumps to a cultivation recommendation without framing the ambiguity or conflicting signals
  • Over-indexes on net worth while dismissing qualitative or behavioral inclination markers
  • Provides vague thresholds or recommendations that lack actionable next steps for development staff
  • Fails to address ethical boundaries or timing considerations in donor engagement

Work Simulation Scenario

Scenario. You are tasked with calibrating capacity ratings for a portfolio of 20 high-net-worth prospects where traditional wealth metrics conflict with recent philanthropic behavior and public statements.

Problem to solve. Determine how to synthesize quantitative capacity data with qualitative inclination signals to produce accurate, officer-ready readiness assessments.

Format

discovery-interview · 40 min · ~2 hr prep

Success criteria

  • Define a methodology for weighting capacity vs. inclination
  • Identify non-financial signals that indicate major gift readiness
  • Align research outputs with cultivation timing

What to review beforehand

  • Current capacity calibration guidelines
  • Historical conversion data for similar prospects
  • CRM interaction logging standards

Ground rules

  • Probe for underlying donor motivations before recommending ratings
  • Articulate your analytical framework clearly
  • Balance data-driven insights with ethical research boundaries

Roles in scenario

Major Gifts Officer (informed_partner, played by peer)

Motivation. Wants to move prospects quickly but needs research to justify ask amounts and timing.

Constraints

  • Prospects value privacy and may react poorly to aggressive outreach
  • Organizational gift bands require strict justification
  • Limited access to private financial records

Tensions to introduce

  • High-capacity prospect shows low inclination but recently attended a program event
  • Conflicting signals between public philanthropy and private wealth indicators
  • Pressure to inflate ratings to meet pipeline targets

In-character guidance

  • Share qualitative observations when asked
  • Clarify campaign urgency without dictating research methods
  • Answer honestly about donor feedback and relationship status

Do not

  • Provide a pre-calculated rating formula
  • Steer the candidate toward a specific prospect strategy
  • Volunteer unasked-for donor personal details

Scoring anchors

Exceeds
Constructs a nuanced, multi-dimensional assessment framework that integrates behavioral cues, explicitly addresses ethical boundaries, and provides actionable cultivation timing.
Meets
Identifies key inclination signals, proposes a reasonable weighting approach, and aligns research outputs with officer needs.
Below
Defaults to financial metrics only, fails to address conflicting signals, or compromises ethical standards under pressure.

Response time

40 min

Positive indicators

  • Probes for specific behavioral indicators beyond net worth
  • Explicitly addresses how to handle conflicting capacity/inclination signals
  • Proposes a transparent calibration method that respects donor privacy and organizational standards
  • Asks clarifying questions about cultivation timelines before finalizing readiness thresholds

Negative indicators

  • Relies solely on financial databases without asking about relational context
  • Agrees to inflate ratings to satisfy pipeline pressure without ethical justification
  • Struggles to articulate how inclination signals will be weighted against capacity data
  • Overlooks privacy constraints or suggests invasive data sourcing methods

Progression Framework

This table shows how competencies evolve across experience levels. Each cell shows competency at that level.

Prospect Research & Intelligence

6 competencies

CompetencyProspect ResearcherSenior Prospect ResearcherProspect Strategy LeadDirector of Prospect Research
Compliance Screening & Due Diligence

Runs standard compliance checks against sanctions lists and adverse media databases.

Investigates complex regulatory flags and assesses reputational risk for high-value prospects.

Authors institutional due diligence policies and establishes escalation protocols for compliance risks.

Sets enterprise-wide risk tolerance standards and ensures prospect research aligns with legal and ethical frameworks.

Data Enrichment & Source Verification

Collects and verifies biographical and professional data from public records and foundational databases.

Cross-references multiple data sources to resolve discrepancies and systematically enriches prospect records.

Establishes data quality protocols and integrates new external data feeds into research workflows.

Oversees enterprise data governance for prospect intelligence and evaluates vendor partnerships for enrichment tools.

Intelligence Reporting & Workflow Optimization

Drafts standardized research summaries and updates CRM records with new intelligence.

Produces executive briefings and integrates research findings into fundraising team workflows.

Optimizes reporting templates and designs cross-functional intelligence sharing processes.

Champions the adoption of advanced analytics platforms and drives continuous improvement in research operations.

Philanthropic Capacity & Giving Pattern Analysis

Analyzes historical giving records and identifies basic patterns in donor philanthropic behavior.

Models capacity and propensity scores based on complex giving histories and network affiliations.

Develops predictive scoring models to segment prospects by giving likelihood and strategic institutional fit.

Directs the long-term philanthropic forecasting strategy and aligns capacity models with institutional fundraising targets.

Prospect Identification & Financial Profiling

Conducts initial wealth screening and gathers public financial data on assigned prospects using standard databases.

Synthesizes complex financial indicators to build comprehensive donor profiles and validates data accuracy across multiple sources.

Designs standardized profiling frameworks and mentors junior researchers on advanced wealth analysis techniques.

Defines organizational prospecting criteria and aligns financial profiling strategies with institutional revenue goals.

Strategic Forecasting & Prospect Prioritization

Compiles prospect lists based on predefined criteria and applies basic prioritization metrics.

Evaluates prospect readiness and recommends cultivation timelines based on capacity and affinity indicators.

Builds dynamic prioritization matrices and aligns prospect pipelines with multi-year campaign goals.

Architects the enterprise prospect strategy and allocates research resources to maximize fundraising ROI.