The Donor Research Analyst serves as a strategic and technical partner in evolving Room to Read’s global donor research, due diligence, and data systems function. This role blends strong research fundamentals with AI-enabled tools, data discipline, and workflow design to help the Development & Communications team move faster—without sacrificing accuracy, judgment, or compliance.
This is not a static research role. It is a builder role, hired in anticipation of increased scale, greater use of AI, more complex event demands, and tighter integration with Salesforce and global fundraising workflows. The Analyst will work across constrained systems, balancing speed with verification, and translating information into actionable strategy—not just profiles.
The Donor Research Analyst reports to the Vice President of Global Business Operations.
Core Responsibilities
AI-Enhanced Prospecting & Research
Conduct proactive and reactive research on individuals, corporations, and foundations using a combination of research platforms (e.g., iWave, Apollo.io, ZoomInfo), AI-supported tools, and manual verification.
Pilot and refine AI-assisted workflows for summarization, enrichment, and pattern-finding, with clear guardrails for verification and quality control.
Apply sound research judgment to distinguish signal from noise and surface what is truly actionable for fundraisers.
Event Research & Relationship Intelligence
Produce concise, high-quality briefing materials for events and strategic meetings under tight timelines.
Translate research into insights, pathways, and recommendations—clearly articulating “so what” and “now what” for Relationship Managers.
Support event research at increasing scale, using templates, batch workflows, and AI responsibly to maintain quality under pressure.
Data Consolidation & Salesforce Integration
Clean, structure, and prepare Salesforce-ready datasets, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and minimal rework post-import.
Build and maintain Excel-based trackers and AI-supported tools to organize donor interests, capacity indicators, philanthropic history, and relationship pathways.
Partner closely with Global Business Operations (GBO), DevCom, and IT to improve data flows into Salesforce and reduce manual data handling.
Due Diligence, Risk Screening & Compliance
Conduct due diligence using public records, media sources, research platforms, and AI-assisted monitoring.
Apply consistent judgment across regions with varying data availability, norms, and risk thresholds.
Maintain documented workflows for screening, verification, escalation, and resolution of potential risks.
Systems Building, Documentation & Enablement
Design and continuously improve templates, trackers, workflows, and documentation that strengthen research efficiency and consistency.
Capture institutional knowledge related to tools, processes, and best practices in a shared internal knowledge hub.
Develop training resources and provide guidance to colleagues conducting localized research across regions.
Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement
This role is highly collaborative and serves as a connective function across teams. The Analyst will work closely with fundraisers, Global Business Operations (GBO), IT, and DevCom leadership to ensure research is accurate, timely, and usable for donor strategy, events, and pipeline development.
Externally, the role may involve limited interaction with research and AI vendors (e.g., iWave), external consultants, and occasional coordination with volunteers supporting training or process improvement efforts.
Qualifications
Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree in a relevant field.
2–3 years of experience in prospect research, analytics, fundraising operations, or other data-intensive roles requiring synthesis of complex information.
Strong research fundamentals, including the ability to find, verify, and synthesize information and exercise judgment about what is actionable versus noise.
Strong proficiency in Excel and data handling, including data cleaning, structuring datasets, and use of pivot tables and lookups.
Experience preparing, validating, or managing Salesforce-ready datasets, with an understanding of downstream CRM, compliance, and stewardship impacts.
Familiarity with donor research and data platforms such as iWave, Apollo.io, ZoomInfo, and/or web-scraping tools (e.g., Octoparse or similar), with the ability to learn new tools independently.
Comfort using AI-enabled tools for research, summarization, enrichment, and workflow optimization, paired with strong verification and quality-control practices.
Ability to balance speed and accuracy in deadline-driven, event-focused environments, clearly flagging assumptions, uncertainty, and risk.
Demonstrated ability to work creatively within a constrained technology environment, combining lower-cost tools, Excel, AI, and manual verification without over-engineering solutions.
Strong analytical judgment and builder mindset, with the ability to translate research into clear insights and recommendations while improving templates, workflows, and documentation.
